Budapest

 This morning, we sailed into Budapest. It is the first time here for both of us so lots of new things to see. After a couple of doses of antibiotics, Ian is a little better today but he still has a long way to go.

He did manage to join me on our fabulous morning activity to the Gellert Baths. The thermal baths are part of what was originally a hotel and spa but now just operates as a spa. The building is designed and decorated in the Art Nouveau style and it is astonishing. It is like stepping back in time. There are multiple baths running at temperatures from 34 degrees to 40 degrees. Making your way from one bath to another is like scurrying through a rabbit warren. It is a maze of curved corridors so you are never sure where you are. We really enjoyed the soak in the warm, mineralised water and it was a nice change of activity from the typical city walking tour.

Our last activity on our river cruise was the classic Budapest Illuminations tour. Budapest is beautiful at any time, but sailing up the Danube to arrive in Budapest at night is a brilliant experience. After dinner tonight, our captain headed back down the river about 10kms, turned around and gave us the fantastic night view of the city. It was a memorable end to our cruise.

Now that our first river cruise is over, we both have quite mixed feelings about cruise tours. On the plus side, we have lived in luxury for the past 2 weeks. The living environment is stunning, the food is top shelf and there is virtually nothing that the crew won't do for you. I haven't had to give any thought to finding GF food for the past fortnight which has been really nice. It has also been nice to hand over all the organisation and thinking to someone else for a brief time.

We have met some really lovely people but there are also a lot of people we wouldn't choose to mix with outside of this environment. I have made an awful lot of small talk in the last 2 weeks and it is a bit exhausting. I think I have realised that I am not as social as I might have thought. I struggled a bit with the constant expectation that I would spend my time with lots of people in highly social settings.

I have also decided that I prefer to choose all of my destinations. There are places we have visited that I could have skipped and it is a bit annoying to have spent time there when I could have gone to a location that I really wanted to see.

Finally, the sickness problem will deter both of us from ever doing a cruise again. I had heard about epidemics on big cruise ships but, for some reason, I didn't think it would affect us on a river cruise with only 140 people. But, ships are petri dishes and it seems that illness spreading through the ship is par for the course. Ian's health has really impacted on this past week and I wouldn't put myself in this situation again.

Next, we have 2 nights in Budapest in a hotel followed by a week in Bordeaux. Hopefully, we will be back to good health and can really enjoy our French soujourn.




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