This was my second trip with friends
from school – Deeps, Sal and Ivz. I have known these girls for 16 years and was
really excited to get away because I know we are all very similar and
likeminded. It was the first time all of us had gone away together but I had
gone with a few friends from school to Amsterdam in 2014.
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| Budapest 2016 |
Friday 3rd June 2016
Our flight was scheduled to depart at
8:30am. There was no issues getting to the airport and my friend’s (Deeps) dad
kindly dropped us off at Stansted airport. We managed to get through the gates
but there was a few mental detector beeps and one friend (Ivz) nearly had to
break her lock as the padlock code had changed somehow. Shortly after we
grabbed some on the go food and boarded the plane, we noticed that there was a
lot of stag do’s and hardly any women. The flight was around 2.5hours and I
think we all were too tired and so we all slept on the plane. Upon arrival, we
decided to check out the information desk, we bought a day group pass ticket
which was valid for 24 hours on the metro and buses. We decided to find our own
way towards our apartment. It was not too difficult and we had managed to find
our way there via a tram followed by the metro. We stayed at a place called
Corvin apartment suites (serviced apartment) as there were four of us; it was
nice that we were all in one room as opposed to two. As we walked from the
metro station towards the apartment, my friend (Sal) did not know her hoody,
which was on her suitcase had rolled over dog poo. Once we finally checked in,
the lady took us to our room, 109. It was a lovely apartment with two double
beds, kitchen and even a washing machine. Immediately, my friend decided to try
to wash her hoody that was full of poo. The washing machine made loud noises.
We decided to split into two, Deeps and I decided to stay in the apartment and
map out an itinerary for the upcoming days and Ivz and Sal went to change some
money and to get some drinks and snacks. It worked out well and we all started
to Kitty.
After unpacking and settling down, our
plan for the day was to go towards Heroes square and explore the park. We took
the metro to the park which was very easy to use. The weather was forecasted to
be thundery with heavy showers but it was promising, there was even sun. Deeps
and I dressed a like it was spring/ summer whereas Sal and Ivz perhaps had
dressed for a cooler weather. We joked that they had dressed like it was
winter. We took pictures around the park and had a really nice time just
looking around and navigating around the park. We found a small bar like place
and decided to sit for a break, we asked for a recommendation for a drink and
the lady gave us some herbal type shot and a cocktail. We got two of each and
shared this amongst us. None of us particularly enjoyed the shot but the
cocktail tasted better. We sat down and drank and just talked and relaxed.
After the drink, we saw an ice cream machine and we decided to get 4 ice
creams. The lady had told us to pull the handles carefully and slowly. Ivz did
not listen and had pulled the handle so quickly that a lot of ice cream had
fallen into the tray below. Deeps and I mixed both flavours and joked it was
Sal’s child. The ice cream was really good and soft, it tasted much better than
the drinks. We walked along the park with our ice creams and continued
exploring. We found the thermal baths which we had tickets for the following
evening, so we decided to check it out so we knew where we were going. It
looked really nice and we all were excited for the Sparty experience.
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| Ice Cream |
We had a few minutes before the Escape
Rooms which we had pre-booked so we decided to go to the ruins bars that
Budapest was famous for. We headed to one called Instant and we decided to try
the Palinka – a drink that everyone was talking about. We had about 15 minutes
before we had to make a move for the Escape Rooms. It came in a shot and we
decided to order in 4 different flavours. We decided to spit a bit and rotate
so we all would have a try of the different flavours. We had two sips of the
drinks and it was so strong and was told it was 40% alcohol and we all hated it
which made it really funny. We had about 5 minutes before we had to go at this
point but we decided it was better to get some drinks to mix it as it was
impossible to just drink as a shot. We spilt two Palinkas into one cup and one
was mixed with coke and the other with lemonade. We had about 30 seconds to
down it and make a move towards Escape rooms. We arrived at the Escape rooms
and found it with ease. We put our stuff away and got started relatively
quickly. The escape room experience was a little disappointing. We didn’t
manage to escape the room but I also think the clues and riddles did not really
flow as well as other escape rooms that I have completed. My favourite would
still have to be the adventure rooms in Greece. We did miss a few clues
but overall I still didn’t feel it was well linked. We came out feeling quite
frustrated too, because the door of a cabinet was slightly jammed so it was
difficult to open. With the frustration, we decided to go get some food. We
found a nearby Bistro and decided to eat there. We had shared a started and a
dessert. It was quite delicious. I tried a Hungarian dish which was really
good. The drink I had was not as good, it was a lime gin of some sort. After
the meal, we decided to check out the other ruin bar that was nearby called Szimpla.
This was the more popular and I believe was voted as number 1 ruin bar in
Budapest. It was quite full and we checked the rooms out but decided not to get
a drink as we had planned to go out later. We got the metro back to our
apartment and as we arrived the building’s fire alarm had been set off. It was
painful and after some deliberation we decided to head into our room. It was
quieter but we could still hear the sounds piecing through the door. We all got
ready to go out. It was about 10.30pm when we got back to the apartment and we
aimed to leave around 12am to go to Margret Island. It was not clear where we
in Margret island we was heading but we had read that it was ‘good for night
life’. We had no idea really. We opened up the drink and we had this as we were
getting ready. We all decided to dress up with heels and it was getting later
and later. It was around 12am when we still needed more time but we had decided
that we was still going to go out as we was dressed. It was only about 1.15am
when we actually left the apartment to go out. As I had been drinking, I got
really merry. The idea that we was going out all dressed up at 1am to an
unknown place just brought me into a laughing fit. I could not stop laughing as
we walked out of the apartment and Deeps started to laugh which didn’t help, it
only made me laugh even more. My stomach actually hurt from the laughing and
there were a few people around so I tried to control myself. Sal decided to be
batman and we had taxis and people trying to stop us along the way in finding
our transport. We were thinking of getting a tram but in the end we decided to
get a taxi. When we got into the taxi and arrived at Margret bridge, we really
had no idea where we was going, we had heard some Beyoncé and Justin Bieber
music and so we decided to stop there. It was a bar called Raktar Beach. We
bought a shot of Jägermeister which came as a shot and half a can of red bull
separately. We stayed for a dance and again attached attention that we didn’t
really want. It was really good fun and a good laugh. After a few hours or so,
we decided to head out as the music wasn’t getting much better; there was a mix
of European and English songs. As we left, they started to play Rihanna, so we
had decided to party and dance on own outside of the club. We walked down the
bridge a little but decided it was not a good idea as it seemed secluded.
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| 1:15AM Drunk! |
Saturday 4th June 2016
We had pre-booked a shooting range for
11am. We had planned to leave about 10.30am which we were running a little late
on. We managed to get something to eat and some water before we found a taxi.
We managed to arrive in good time and got there around 10.15am. The timing was
good and we headed in. We had to read some instructions and sign some papers.
We were the only group of girls there and the others were guys. I didn’t feel
out of place instead I felt quite excited that I was going to be shooting with
real live loaded guns. After the reading the instructions and watching a
briefing video, some nerves started to kick in, it looked quite scary and was
warned at the weight of these guns. It was going to be an interesting
experience but one I was excited to do. There was quite a few targets pinned on
the wall and I thought we would all go up and shoot at the same time, luckily
it was not like that and two people go up with a one-on-one instructor that
helps you and guides you. This was really good, as I felt confident and
comfortable with holding the gun, so all I focused on was the aiming. It was
such a thrill and the instructor was impressed with my aiming. There was a
revolver that had a bigger bullet, which I could feel the recoil and it was
powerful. You could definitely feel it. There was shells everywhere and
surrounded by gun power smell. It was really exciting. The pistols were pretty
fun. We also had a go at the rifles, which had another briefing video. This one
looked even scarier and as it was close to your face and needed your shoulder
area for support. The Ak-47 was a good gun to use not too painful but the
Remington 870 was more powerful and the recoil was definitely felt. I was
hoping on my last shot that there was not too many left to go because it was
that powerful and every time I shot I felt the impact on my shoulder. I managed
to hit the target and the reloading of the gun and handling real guns were just
so fun. I absolutely loved it. It was definitely worth it. What I really
enjoyed too was that we were able to take pictures and videos during the actual
shooting as well as having time at the end to pose with the guns. I would
definitely recommend this activity for people who isn’t too scared and likes a
new experience. They also helped call a cab, which was really useful as it was
located in the middle of nowhere, it had seemed.
We then headed to towards the castle
district and planned to explore the area of the Buda castle and looking at more
historical and cultural areas of the city. It had started to rain a little so
we decided to find a place for some food. We weren’t particularly hungry so we
got a small meal. I tried the Goulash soup which was ok, it very runny and
there was a layer of oil over it which was a little off putting but taste was
good. After our little stop, we continued our exploring we headed around
Fisherman Bastion. We then headed towards the Parliament by foot and we walked
across the chain bridge and luckily the sun had come out for us, so the weather
was good. By the time we reached the parliament we all was a little tired so we
decided to stop for a water break. This was quite nice, just to sit around and
chat and relax. After a little more picture taking we decided to head back to
the apartment to get ready for the Széchenyi bath party.
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| Shooting Range |
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| Sparty! |
We decided to go to a nearby restaurant
and grab some food. We ended up in a burger place that had really tasty but
large sized burger. This was good; as it helped line my stomach for drinks. We
had bought a bottle of vodka the day before so we decided to drink that before
heading out, we had a few hours so it wasn’t so bad, unfortunately this wasn’t
enough time, or that I had not diluted my drink enough, so I ended up feeling
rather tipsy to the point it was not enjoyable. So I decided to hold off on
free drinks at the Sparty. We arrived there and then the party started! It was
such a funny experience and one that was rather good shared with friends. We
had many laughs and approached by a group of friendly Irish guys which we
bumped into a few times. It was a good night. We left the place around 2:30am
and managed to bargain for a taxi to take us back for 5,000HUFs. Most were
asking for 10K, which we were not willing to pay. When we came back to the
apartment, we all took it in turns for the bathroom and cleaned ourselves up.
Sunday 5th June 2016
The morning after the night before, we
all didn’t feel too bad and none of us was hung-over. We all packed and were
ready to roll out! It felt quite sad because the trip had come to an end. It
was a great weekend. We dropped out luggage off to the reception and went to
walk through the local mall and also had some breakfast. Soon after, we picked
up our bags and left for the airport. It had just been one of those memorable
weekends that felt great. We played games along the way and reminisced the
holiday. It has been fantastic!
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| Bye Bye Budapest! |
Information/Activities:
Apartment: Corvin Center Suites - 1082 Budapest Futo utca 34-36, Budapest
1082, Budapest, Hungary
Pistol: Gun type:
GLOCK 17, Caliber: 9x19mm, No. of shots: 12
Pistol: Gun type: Ruger
Mk III, Caliber: .22 LR, No.
of shots: 10
Revolver: Gun type: Smith &
Wesson 18, Caliber: .22 LR, No.
of shots: 6
Revolver: Gun type: Taurus 86, Caliber: .357 Magnum, No. of shots: 6
Riffle:
Gun type: Kalashnikov (AK-47), Caliber: 7,62x39mm, No. of shots: 10
Riffle: Gun type: Remington
870, Caliber: 12 gauge, No.
of shots: 5
Ruins
bar: Instant &
Simple
Moments:
Ivy stacking
it over the road bumps
Sally's
hoody in poo
Laughing
fits to Margret island
Leaving at 1.15am
Sally being
batman
Conversations
always went off into a tangent
Sally is in
love with Ross
Deeps
doesn't get on with people (family talk)
Palinka
switching try, didn't taste of any flavors, we had to down it and mix it
Herb alcohol
was disgusting
Ivy slipping
on stairs at baths
Sally and
deeps stepping in piss at baths
Sally thinks
an elephant is the same as a hippo (What's that hippo called?, Oh Nelly the elephant)
Deepalis is
rude (does Sally know what the m25 is?!)
Screaming in
the pool and scaring everyone away
Sally
finishing the toilet tissues
Good music
played after we left
Irish
guys
Gun
bruises
Pda discussions
Random
walking discussions loud disagreements
Accents
Shotgun 'I'm gonna get ma shotgun and shoot ya...'
Fire
alarm
Washing
machine sounds
Work work
Lyrics
Marco - Polo
Mario - liugi
3x+ 4 = 12
Ice cream,
you scream, we scream for ice cream
