Sav: Today we started the day with a quiet morning at the hostel. Meaghan stayed in to shower and relax and I went in search of coffee with a few new friends we had met last night. (Shout out to Ben, John and Anthony!). We ended up at a place nearby called Cirkusz where I had the greatest espresso I’ve ever tasted. No seriously, Canadian coffee? Ruined. I will definitely be going back. We met up with Meags shortly after and made our way over to a Zoo Café where another friend, Anas, joined us.

The Zoo Café was The. Greatest. Place. Ever. You order a coffee and they bring different animals to your table over and over. Just a sidebar though I was SHOCKED that this was allowed. What kind of permits do you need to do this?! Also it’s only occurring to me now that we are the type of people who wonder about permits for zoo cafés and insurance for party hostels. Anyway they start you off with small easy animals like geckos, and slowly work their way up to bigger things. We sat and talked and laughed for 3 hours while playing with geckos, turtles, chameleons, kittens, snakes, rabbits and guinea pigs. It was wonderful! Every new animal that came to the table startled me, while Meaghan eagerly stuck out her hands to hold all of them… Even the snake. I think she’s still on a bit of the invincibility train after caving yesterday! I was in love with the guinea pig and I just wanted to grab him and run out the door…

Meag: She was so excited about the guinea pig that I wouldn’t have been surprised if she pulled a stolen guinea pig out of her sweater back at the hostel. Zoo Café was ridiculous. I kept looking around us at the parrots, iguanas and toucans thinking “HOW IS THIS REAL.” The chameleons were so cool, with their funky Spok feet and their crazy eyes. I’ve also never held a snake for that long, so I really had a chance to feel how it moved. I loved it.

We went to check out the central market for a bit too. There was tons of food and homemade items for sale. I have my eye on a little something that I think I’ll go back for in the next couple days. We ended up getting separated at the market, but we all found our way together for dinner.

S: We went to Bamba Marha, a gourmet burger place down the road before the evening shenanigans were to begin. We bought tickets earlier for a boat party where you float down the river and watch the city slide by, all lit up and gorgeous. When you step on the boat they give you a bottle of champagne and everyone cheers and pops their bottles when the boat leaves the dock. It was so much fun to be there with all of our new friends. I loved how easy and happy the atmosphere was.

M: The boat was beautiful. I had already walked down to check out the Parliament Building by night, but having my contacts in and being on the water made it all so much more beautiful this time.

S: We are both loving Budapest so much, a few days in. We are exhausted, but so happy.

S&M