If you would have asked me at the beginning of the summer what cities I wanted to visit when I studied abroad, Budapest probably wouldn’t have been first on my list. But after three full days exploring the city I quickly discovered how beautiful, friendly, cultured, and not to mention inexpensive Budapest was! How did we decide to go to Budapest? Truthfully, it was the cheapest flight we could get at the last minute. We flew out Thursday morning and about an hour later we were in Hungary!
Me, my roommate Taylor and our friend Becky spent our first two days in Budapest walking miles around the city, checking out the famous sites and learning all about Budapest’s rich history. We joined a free walking tour where we were taken to sites around the city like the Chain Bridge, Castle Hill, and St. Stephen’s Basilica. After our tour we were given us a whole list of sites to see on our own, bars to go out to and restaurants to eat at in Budapest. I loved having the local suggestions! We took our guide up on one of her suggestions, and went out with a big group of people from our hostel to the 3rd best bar in the world, Szimpla Kert! According to which list I am not sure, but I believe them. The bar was huge and kind of reminded me of Madison Bear Garden in Chico, California because of all the random objects hanging from the ceilings and walls.
Our last and final day in Budapest was my favorite. We spent all day lounging around the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. It felt like a luxury resort! A day full of rest and relaxation was the perfect way to end an action packed weekend.
Until next time Budapest!
{Climbing up Gellert Hill}
{View of Castle Hill}
{Lions guarding the Chain Bridge}
{A traditional Hungarian dish: Goulash}
{Our hostel- which I would recommend to anyone traveling to Budapest!}
{Suite Hostel}
{Buda Castle}
{A random Ferris Wheel}
{St. Stephen’s Basilica from a distance} 
{The Chain Bridge}
{Overlooking the Pest side of the city}
{Castle Hill}
{Armed guards guarding the President’s office}
{Matthias Church}
{Yet another picture of the Chain Bridge, I couldn’t just pick one! 🙂 }
{Budapest sunset}
{Hungarian Parliament Building} 
{BUDAPEST}
{Inside Szimpla Kert..”3rd best bar in the world!”}
{We leave Italy and we still get croissants and cappuccinos for breakfast 😉 }
{Heroe’s Square}
{The Széchenyi Thermal Baths!}
{Embracing my inner mermaid!}
{The Széchenyi Thermal Baths}
{The only perk of having a flight scheduled at 6 am is getting to watch the sun rise}
{Amazing Louis Vuitton scarf!}
{What to do?// Installation at the Gallery of Modern Art}
{All you can eat sushi!}
{A fishy pedicure in Budapest}
{Making Tiramisu in my Italian Cuisine class }
Riley Everyday 