Heather and I both woke-up early in the morning and took a 3-hour train from Vienna to Budapest. When we arrived to the Keleti train station, and like flies on cow crap, tons of local people trying to rent to us a place to stay during our visit immediately surrounded us. A guy on the train on the way to Budapest was even pestering us. It was as if we had this flashing sign on our foreheads that said �Rich & Stupid American, try to take advantage of it while you can!� We finally decided to take this one guy up on his offer of a complimentary taxi ride to the hostel for just a simple look around. It looked nice, was clean, and cost $15 a night, so this Marco Polo hostel is where we stayed! But, problems instantly arose when we walked into our room and realized that it was an all boys� room, with 10 other guys, Heather, and I, on opposite ends of the room from one another. The fact that 45 year-old man sitting in the room, wearing a business suit, listening to headphones, and meditating in the same position for like 23 hours, plus the matter that she had to climb into an awkward top bunk above a weird boy that she didn�t know totally freaked the crap out of Heather and made her spaz out the entire time. I, on the other had, was in this little sleeping cubical with 3 other boys that I didn�t know, and also had to climb into the top bunk with a ladder and no poles to grab onto once I got half way up there. Needless to say, when these guys got up we got looks from them as if we were Goldilocks sleeping the bears� beds.
We left the hostel and went to the �West End City Center� mall where we found a small slice of heaven, also known as the T.G.I.Friday�s restaurant in Budapest. I savored some nachos and chicken fettuccini, while Heather made love to some Jack Daniels BBQ sauce-smothered Baby Back Ribs. I didn�t come near to finishing my meal, but the experience of a familiar place along with talking to our gorgeous, perfectly English-speaking waiter, and only paying the equivalent to $3.80 for my meal was absolutely wonderful! |
