We both had a good nights sleep and were ready to face a day of sightseeing. We had decided to do a free walking tour in the morning, which would hopefully give us a good idea of what there was to see in the city.
The 'All free walks Budapest' tour set off from Vörösmarty square at 10:30am. Our guide and helper were excellent and the information we were given were both entertaining and informative. The free tour is basically an orientation guide to the city and it's attractions. It also covered the potential pitfalls and rip-offs that we might encounter if we were not careful. Starting in the Pest side of the city we had a brief introduction to Hungary's pre and post Communist past. From Pest we crossed over the 'Chain bridge' into Buda and up the hill to visit the Var (castle) area. As an added bonus after the tour, which lasted for 2½hrs, we were taken to a local canteen restaurant where we had a lovely and cheap traditional Hungarian meal. We have been on poorer paid tours than this one and would recommend it to anyone. Bare in mind that a tip is expected if you enjoyed the tour.
After the tour and lunch we returned to Pest and visited St István's Basilica. We were however too tight to pay to illuminate the mummified hand on display and no one else seemed willing to pay either. We had to content ourselves with the sights of the very ornate interior instead.
The afternoon became a bit of a marathon shopping trip as I wanted to buy some new swimming shorts to wear at the spa. I feel fit and healthy but the weight loss is paying havoc with my wardrobe! Needless to say we failed miserably at the purchase of shorts and had no success at the purchase of some Bikeline books that would cover the rest of our route through Europe. We have maps so it is not a disaster, but the moral is buy them when you see them!
By the time we got back we were both thoroughly worn out, so it was dinner and a few beers and then bed.
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