After a roller coaster month on top of a hill in Perugia, Italy — we were delighted to be back on solid ground in Budapest.

In hindsight I was so glad we had done it in the order that we did - Perugia first, then Budapest. Because the other way around would’ve sucked even worse.

We had a long travel day to Budapest from Perugia. First Alessio drove us down the hill to the train station and we took a few trains to get to the main station in Rome and then out to the airport. From there we took a quick and shitty Ryan Air flight to Budapest, and from there we actually splurged and took a shared shuttle van that dropped us right at our door.

We had rented a private studio apartment through Airbnb and it was just as darling as it looked in the photos, such a welcome change from our cave like apartment in Perugia. Budapest is a super affordable city and we rented the whole place for $700 for the entire month.

This is the location — it was a very nice, quiet, residential neighborhood and a great base. We walked everywhere.

The apartment complex itself was really cute and had an interior courtyard that everyone’s front doors were situated around. It was super adorable and very quiet. You walked into the apartment and were in the kitchen and then to the right was a big open room that served as the living room and dining room with a small bathroom in the corner that had a toilet, shower, and washing machine. The bedroom was a loft that spanned the length of the apartment so there was a bed and then further down was a large closet area. It was perfect for two people and was super warm and cozy. That espresso machine that you see on the kitchen counter — that’s what started it all for us. That was our first time using a home espresso machine and we were hooked. After a month in that apartment there was no turning back our coffee making game.

We dropped our bags and then were super exhausted, but had to head back out to find food. That can honestly be the worst part. In hindsight, I don’t know why I haven’t learned to just ask hosts to leave us food. Like I wonder if they would do that….

Anyway, we stumbled back out onto the foreign streets of Budapest and were a little overwhelmed, but happy to be in a cosmopolitan city that was FLAT. Then we rounded a corner and like a beacon of light — there was a Subway. I’ve never been so happy to see a Subway or speak to someone in English in my entire life. We got subs to go and headed home to eat and chillax.

The next morning was sort of a similar thing. We were a bit overwhelmed and then out of nowhere — a Starbucks! Familiarity. Their blueberry muffins and mint tea taste the same no matter where you are. Why is that so comforting? To just know what you’re going to get.

Anyway, once we settled in, we had a really fantastic month there. We ended up getting some dental work done and that was a great experience. It was super high tech, but no frills — like no huge reception area or waiting room or even private offices — it was just a row of a dozen dental chairs and sparkling dental equipment. We got cleanings and cavities filled for pocket change. It was such a good experience.

The grocery stores were reasonably easy to navigate, but the check out gals were always crabby. We mostly ate breakfast and dinner at home — opting to have leisurely mornings, afternoons out, and evenings in.

We found that in Budapest, buffets were popular. Like Vegas style buffets. We went to a couple of different ones and they were super yummy. One of our favorites was Trofeo. In general the food in Budapest was fucking delicious, totally world class. We found a cafe called Fruciola that ended up being our go-to. It was a healthy cafeteria style cafe that also had a great to-go section. They had delicious smoothies, tossed salads, freshly made pasta bowls, fruit cups, chia puddings, it was all so delicious. We ate there probably a dozen times.

10698438_10205006642469476_4092078780044867387_n - Copy.jpg

Another favorite was Budapest Bagel. Like. Holy shit. It was a tiny little place where you just ordered at the counter and ate outside, but dang. Like a freshly made bagel with marinated duck meat and a balsamic glaze was literally $4. What? That place was a gem.

We also had great Japanese food and possibly the best English breakfast we’ve had anywhere. How random is that? I had a fun suprise when I ordered a coffee with cream and it came out as a scoop of vanilla ice cream with coffee poured on top.

The baths ended up actually not being great. They were mostly populated by fat old people and they were just really crowded. And the changing rooms and locker room areas were just kinda gross. I don’t know. All in all it was more like a public pool, which I suppose makes sense. It wasn’t like a hot spring in the middle of the woods or something.

Our four year anniversary happened while we were there and we went out and had a fancy dinner at Zeller Bistro, which — with the awesome exchange rate — was only about $40. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was really fantastic and the service was amazing. We were greeted with elderflower procecco, for fuck’s sake.

Budapest, Hungary — Anniversary dinner at Zeller Bistro in Budapest

Another night we had an awesome dinner at Hungarikum, an authentic Hungarian restaurant and that was ridick.

Also we got side by side erotic massages, which warranted its own blog post.

Not speaking the language was generally fine. The only places it was weird was in non-touristy places like the grocery stores and farmer’s markets — we were just intimidated mostly. Like we were in one market and people were yelling and it was super chaotic and busy and we just stopped and hugged in the middle of it all.

One day we walked through Vörösmarty tér, which is a beautiful square with an open air market and Kris convinced me to get a bunch of adorable felted stuff I was eyeing — a strawberry shaped fanny pack, a scarf and a hat. I’m so glad I did.

Another day we went to the Ikea just to see what it was like, and also to buy more pillows because our Airbnb was lacking. I bought a six pack of tiny teaspoons just for the sake of having bought them in Budapest.

The architecture was amazing and walking around was so nice. The weather was great and the parks were gorgeous. We even threw a frisbee a few times. We frequented Városliget, which we were staying very near. It’s just a gorgeous massive green space that you can get lost in.

Oh, and I had a really good tex mex burrito at Arribia Taqueria for a little taste of home!

We had so many different kinds of foods while we were there! It was such a nice change from Perugia.

The most delicious lunch at Imazs (Click the image for a map link)

One day we were just walking down the main drag and came upon this Japanese style tea house (I can’t remember the name!!) that was super pretty inside and out and had really interesting drinks and delicate desserts:

All in all we had a fabulous month there, I would spend a month there again, and I would totally recommend going. The exchange rate is in your favor so it’s very inexpensive to eat and live quite well there.