Up and out in the morning with only a mild hangover from the night before. Walked over to the Buda side of the river and climbed up Gellert hill to the old Citadel for great views across the city, I say great views but it's foggy today so we'll say reasonably good views instead. Got up there in good time to mooch about looking at the monuments while it was quiet and left just as a gaggle of coach parties turned up.
Wandered around the gardens back down other side of the hill and went inside a church cave monastery, yes it was a church in a cave system inside the hillside frequented by catholic monks. Interesting place and has its own central heating system provided by the volcanic thermal springs that run under the hill.
Went to the Gellert spa baths for some relaxation, bathed in the 40'c hot thermal baths supplied directly from volcanic springs. The baths are in the setting of marble columns and colourfully intricate mosaic tiles with the water gushing from the mouths of ornate dragons, I can think of worse places to spend a few hours!
Back out into the relative cold outside and went to back over to Pest, got a table on the street outside at a restaurant so seemed a good idea to get soup and mulled wine to keep us cosy.
I've noticed that many of the Hungarians, particularly the women don't like smiling unless they really have to, if you smile at them they frown at you rather than smile back. Reminds me of when I was in Prague, the Czechs smile even less. I reckon they think we are all grinning idiots, smiling for no reason at the slightest interaction "vy are zey smiling for? Stupiid Ingleesh, do zey think zat we are friends just because we spoke for 2 seconds?" sorry, still not mastered any Hungarian!
EDIT: please see future post 'day 4 in Budapest' for a retraction of the above along with an apology to the wonderful smiling people of Hungary!
Off out tonight for food and drink at a quirky little place called the Drum Cafe
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