Morocco Rabat to Tangier
This morning we met Abdul when he came to the riad to pick us up. We will be using the same car we were in with Karem.  First we began with a tour of the Casbah.  One of the first people we met was the guide who took us on a tour yesterday. Oh well, we didn't realize we were getting a tour today.  Next we visited the royal palace.   Didn't see that yesterday but could have missed it today.  You have to get signed in with your passport to drive around and look at Royal buildings and the king doesn't even live there.  Next we went to Hassan's Tomb and didn't tell him we were there yesterday.  Guess we did a good tour ourselves. After that we went for lunch in a place Moroccans like to eat. It was sort of like Kentucky fried chicken without the coating.  It was okay and the price was right. 
After lunch we drove from Rabat to Tangier.  It took all afternoon.  We saw cork trees. They peel the bark and then it regrows.   Also learned that they grow a lot of bananas outside Tangier.   The bananas are grown in the soil under a cover of plastic, like a green house.  Casablanca has a wonderful looking tram system.  Vancouver should be ashamed of theirs.  They are building a line for a fast tram between Tangier and Casablanca, a distance of about 350 km. It is another year or so away from completion. Oh yes, Moroccans do not consider themselves African but aline themselves with the Middle East.
Arrived at the Movenpick around 5:30. It is deluxe. I could stand a few nights here!  We over look the Mediterranean,  Spain is in the distance.  Had dinner at the hotel restaurant  as it is a long way from another place to  eat but, the food was okay but the service was so slow we could have walked to another place. Roy says that I need to qualify that statement. It was my fault the service was slow -I ordered a Tagine  and they take 1/2 hour or more.  Gorgeous view.
Tangier to Chefchouen tomorrow

Abdul and Linda on the Plaza at Rabat Kasbah

May 4,  Day 2

We slept fairly well but were awake early.  After another not very inspiring breakfast (pretty bad) we went down and checked out early ready to meet our driver early for our trip to Rabat.  At 10:38 we decided enough was enough and called the tour company.  A few minutes later Karim (turns out that's his name)came in the lobby.  He claimed he had been waiting out side all that time. I had gone out and looked and didn't see him, why didn't he come in and let us know he was waiting? Water under the bridge and we move on.
The drive to Rabat should take an hour but we were two because of traffic.
You can see the ocean on your left as you approach Rabat. It looks blue, beautiful and vast. We drove along the ocean when we got into Rabat with a beautiful park between us and the water.   After quite a long drive we entered the gates of the Medina.  Karim parked or rather he stopped in the street and made a phone call.  It was chaotic out side and there wasn't much very eye appealing. "The porter will be out for your bags" says Karim.  I know we are staying in a Riad that sounded pretty nice on the Internet.   This isn't anywhere near pretty nice.  We entered a narrow street with very ornamental doors of homes on either side of the street and after a few twists and turns entered a gravel and dirt street. We bumped along it (it had a few more turns) and we were outside the door of Riad Kalaa.  Oh my! Inside was nothing like outside.  It is tastefully decorated in Moroccan style.

our bed

door to our room

After you leave reception you enter a common area with tables and chairs.  The ceiling is open to the sky (with a glass cover of course.  The second floor has traditional filagree  ornamental railing edging the hallway ( the name for it eludes me) around the rooms on that floor. There are 9 rooms.  Ours is on the first floor and is the smallest on the ground floor.  We entered through to arched, carved dòor to see our that bed has rose petals sewn across the foot as does the bath mat.   We have a bouquet of fresh flowers, a bowl of fruit and 2 litres of water.  There is a towel warmer in the bathroom. It is also tiny.  Just room to walk sideways on either side of the bed. No chairs -  no room for them.  The room is about 8 feet across and 24 feet long with a divider for a bathroom.  But it is wonderful.  The reception staff are young and eager to please.  Very helpful and patient.  Zenam gives us a map and circles the things we should see.  She suggests we have dinner at Riad Kalaa number 3 (We are at  #2) and takes our order in advance. She will be serving there tonight and will see us at 7:30.  Moussine will walk us there.  Thank goodness. We'd never find it.  I shouldn't go on about food but our tagines were delicious.  The salad has to be mentioned.  Roy even took a picture and we do not take food pictures.  Three salads in individual ramekin size dishes. #1  aubergine, #2 pickled peppers, #3

mashed cauliflower with a mint leaf.  All of the vegetables were cooked so we were able to eat them.  A Swiss family joined us.  They had very good English though it was hard for them.  Later we were joined by a lady from France.  She had enough English that we were able to converse. After we finished Moussine came and walked us back to the raid.   Surprisingly we would have been able to find our way but I would have hated to get lost!pleasant time. Moussine came and walked us back to the Raid.   Surprisingly we would have been able to find our way but I would have hated to get lost!
During the day we disobeyed Abdul once again and wove our way though the twists and turns in the  streets.  Roy took pictures at the corners so we would have landmarks.  The best landmark turned out to be the two flattened boxes a man put out side his door to keep the dirt from coming in his house.  After we got out to the main street we retraced our steps in the hope that it would help us find our way back later.    Still got misplaced once.  Not much was open on Friday afternoon as everyone has 2 hours off to go to the mosque.
The Kasbah was a fortress.  If you are reading this and want to know the history you fill find it on the Internet.  Even before we entered a man approached us and offered a tour which we took.  He had grown up living inside the Kasbah. There are many people living inside the Kasbah now. It is very clean and our guide said that the residents monitor it themselves.
The Kasbah design Oudaias sits overlooking the Atlantic and guards entrance to the river that separates Rabat from Sale. It was built by Yacoub Manor and contained a sultans residence.
We wandered through the streets and saw different door knockers. Some were the hand of Fatima to protect the home against evil spirits and some indicated that Jewish people lived the (the knocker was by their choice).  There is an open area where bazaars and slave sales were held that overlooks the ocean and the necropolis in Sale. Within the walls is a beautiful old garden.  It is very peaceful and filled with many exotic plants.  I wish I could remember how old it is.  Guess I could look it up??
Next we were confused so back to the Raid for help from the lovely Zemem.  Following her advice we set off to the Hassan Tower and the chellah.  We had to cross 4 lanes of traffic, jaywalking!  We wait til the locals cross and try to keep them between you and the traffic!  This took us to a park by the river and it was fun watching young boys diving in the river the daring one another to jump in and impress the girls.  We decided the Chellah was not possible so back we went across the lanes of traffic again.  We wound up crossing that road two more times. So we visited the Tower of Hassan and his tomb then retraced our steps.  More was open in the Medina when we got back and so we bought a leather cushion. Even bargained but probably could have done better.
Back to the Riad.

Day 2 Rabat

May 4,  Day 2

We slept fairly well but were awake early.  After another not very inspiring breakfast (pretty bad) we went down and checked out early ready to meet our driver early for our trip to Rabat.  At 10:38 we decided enough was enough and called the tour company.  A few minutes later Karim (turns out that's his name)came in the lobby.  He claimed he had been waiting out side all that time. I had gone out and looked and didn't see him, why didn't he come in and let us know he was waiting? Water under the bridge and we move on.
The drive to Rabat should take an hour but we were two because of traffic.
You can see the ocean on your left as you approach Rabat. It looks blue, beautiful and vast. We drove along the ocean when we got into Rabat with a beautiful park between us and the water.   After quite a long drive we entered the gates of the Medina.  Karim parked or rather he stopped in the street and made a phone call.  It was chaotic out side and there wasn't much very eye appealing. "The porter will be out for your bags" says Karim.  I know we are staying in a raid, well it sounded pretty nice on the Internet.   This isn't anywhere near pretty nice.  We entered a narrow street with very ornamental doors of homes on either side of the street and after a few twists and turns entered a gravel and dirt street. We bumped along it (it had a few more turns) and we were outside the door of Riad Kalaa.  Oh my! Inside was nothing like outside.  It is tastefully decorated in Moroccan style.


After you leave reception you enter a common area with tables and chairs.  The ceiling is open to the sky (with a glass cover of course.  The second floor has traditional filagree  ornamental railing edging the walkway ( the name for it eludes me) around the rooms on that floor. There are 9 rooms.  Ours is on the first floor and is the smallest on the ground floor.  We entered through to arched, carved dòor to see our that bed has rose petals sewn across the foot as does the bath mat.   We have a bouquet of fresh flowers, a bowl of fruit and 2 litres of water.  There is a towel warmer in the bathroom. It is also tiny.  Just room to walk sideways on either side of the bed. No chairs -  no room for them.  The room is about 8 feet across and 24 feet long with a divider for a bathroom.  But it is wonderful.  The reception staff are young and eager to please.  Very helpful and patient.  Zenam gives us a map and circles the things we should see.  She suggests we have dinner at Riad Kalaa number 3 (We are at  #2) and takes our order in advance. She will be serving there tonight and will see us at 7:30.  Moussine will walk us there.  Thank goodness. We'd never find it.  I shouldn't go on about food but our tagines were delicious.  The salad has to be mentioned.  Roy even took a picture and we do not take food pictures.  Three salads in individual ramekin size dishes. #1  aubergine, #2 pickled peppers, #3 mashed cauliflower with a mint leaf.  All of the vegetables were cooked so we were able to eat them.  A Swiss family joined us.  They had very good English though it was hard for them.  Later we were joined by a lady from France.  She had enough English that we were able to converse. After we finished Moussine came and walked us back to the raid.   Surprisingly we would have been able to find our way but I would have hated to get lost!pleasant time. Moussine came and walked us back to the Raid.   Surprisingly we would have been able to find our way but I would have hated to get lost!
During the day we disobeyed Abdul once again and wove our way though the twists and turns in the  streets.  Roy took pictures at the corners so we would have landmarks.  The best landmark turned out to be the two flattened boxes a man put out side his door to keep the dirt from coming in his house.  After we got out to the main street we retraced our steps in the hope that it would help us find our way back later.    Still got misplaced once.  Not much was open on Friday afternoon as everyone has 2 hours off to go to the mosque.
The Kasbah was a fortress.  If you are reading this and want to know the history you fill find it on the Internet.  Even before we entered a man approached us and offered a tour which we took.  He had grown up living inside the Kasbah. There are many people living inside the Kasbah now. It is very clean and our guide said that the residents monitor it themselves.
The Kasbah design Oudaias sits overlooking the Atlantic and guards entrance to the river that separates Rabat from Sale. It was built by Yacoub Manor and contained a sultans residence. 
We wandered through the streets and saw different door knockers. Some were the hand of Fatima to protect the home against evil spirits and some indicated that Jewish people lived the (the knocker was by their choice).  There is an open area where bazaars and slave sales were held that overlooks the ocean and the necropolis in Sale. Within the walls is a beautiful old garden.  It is very peaceful and filled with many exotic plants.  I wish I could remember how old it is.  Guess I could look it up??
Next we were confused so back to the Raid for help from the lovely Zemem.  Following her advice we set off to the Hassan Tower and the chellah.  We had to cross 4 lanes of traffic, jaywalking!  We wait til the locals cross and try to keep them between you and the traffic!  This took us to a park by the river and it was fun watching young boys diving in the river the daring one another to jump in and impress the girls.  We decided the Chellah was not possible so back we went across the lanes of traffic again.  We wound up crossing that road two more times. So we visited the Tower of Hassan and his tomb then retraced our steps.  More was open in the Medina when we got back and so we bought a leather cushion. Even bargained but probably could have done better.
Back to the Raid.

Casablanca Day 1

"Their taking me to Marrakech. ..  " The song has been playing in my head since we began to plan this trip.  Now after almost 2 years one might think I would have taken time to learn more than the first two lines of the song.  Tomorrow we are off on a new adventure.  Morocco for 17 days on a guided tour for just the two of us.

We are excited about visiting a new country and filled with apprehension at the same time.   We are going to visit souks, medinas, Fez, Tangier, sleep in the dessert in a Bedouin tent but what if the guide isn't good or one of us gets sick.

The bags are packed and we are as prepared as we know how to be.  I had a pedicure yesterday so my toes are gorgeous.   What more do we need.

Day 1

We made it!  We are in Casablanca.
The trip here went smoothly.  Air Rouge was actually pretty good.  After my moaning because our previous experience wasn't so hot they didn't have to do much to exceed my expectations.   The staff were excellent. Our seats, thanks to Mickey were excellent too.  The plane that took us across Canada was much nicer than the one we flew to Casablanca on.  Too bad it hadn't been the other way around.
Arrival time in Casablanca was 7:00 am.  Roy slept, I did not. Customs went well.  The line was long but we chatted with the couple ahead of us in the line.  They travel a lot and had some interesting stories to tell.  Ya gotta love fellow travelers.
Once though customs the nerves kicked in.  How will we find our driver what if he isn't here, how the heck to do get out of the terminal!  All is well; not only did we find the exit we found a young man with a sign with our names on it. I couldn't stop smiling. I was in Morocco and we found our driver.  We had both admitted that we were nervous but everything turned out the way it was supposed to.  Amazing.  The city is a long way from the airport.  Our driver was not the chatty type.  A  very nice young man.  We learned that he is 22 and wants to get married. He answered all of our questions but didn't volunteer any information.  He taught us how to say thank you and how to pronounce jebala, or at least he tried to. Neither of us caught his name.  He says will drive us to Rabat tomorrow. If he is our guide as well as our driver I sure hope his tour guide mode kicks in.
The drive is like any from an airport to the city.  Not very exciting.   Everything is much greener than we expected it to be.  They have had some rain.  The buildings on part of the drive reminder us of Mexico.  Once in the city there were traffic jams that you would associate with morning commutes anywhere.
He who has no name let us out at the hotel saying he would pick us up at 10:00 tomorrow.  The area surrounding the hotel doesn't look too swift but it is a huge step up from the areas we drove through.  The hotel lobby seems very nice.   We went up to the reception desk and Roy passed the reception lady his passport. She looked perplexed when we checked in.  We stood at the counter wondering what the heck was going on. "Is their a problem", we ask.  "There is", she replied," I have no reservation for you ".  Our hearts sank to our shoes.  Then I passed her my passport.  It was all good. We were registered under my name. Relief!  Although we were very early we were able to get a room right away.
The phone rang seconds after we got into our room.  It was Abdul, our guide, calling to apologize for not meeting us at the airport and cautioning us not to go out into the streets as we would be hassled.  That's a downer.  We were told we could get something to eat in the hotel coffee shop.   The lady there sent us up a floor to the breakfast room.  We had a mediocre, at best, breakfast the cost $50.00!  Oops.  We are seriously jet lagged.  Roy especially.  He is literally tripping over his feet.  After a nice long nap we feel much better.
Time to find some bottled water so in spite of Abdul's advice off we go. We found several shops selling groceries and a nice looking coffee shop but we walk back to the shop closest to the hotel and get a pack of 6 bottles of water (9 litres).  After dropping it off at the hotel we head out in the opposite direction. Not far from our hotel is a big square and a nice shopping area.  Some streets are closed to automobiles so that makes it quieter and relaxing .  We found a place that we will return to for dinner and stop at a sidewalk cafe for mint tea with sugar.  It seems you can sit as long as you want, even sleep at your table for the price of a pot of tea (  $1.50).
Dinner was unfashionable early.  We pretty much had all the waiters to ourselves.  I had a chicken tagine which was delicious.  Roy had  spaghetti which suited his jet lagged soul.? off and typing ddďdg x every time I drifted off to sleep.  Bedtime

Test

Budapest

 Budapest
Here we are at the end of our cruise.  It has been too short.  Just as we got in the rythmn it was time to end.  We have enjoyed getting to know our cruise companions and will miss them.  We plan to meet Ron and Barbara in Budapest and go to the Gellar spa.  Geoeff and Kay are doing back to back cruises so will be off for more on the Avalon Passion.
It was so nice to have prepaid our tips.  We left extra for Birgit, our maid as she was very sweet and attentive.  I asked for one extra bath towel and some days we had 5 of them. Everyone took very good care of the guests.  Considering they are on the boat for 8 months we only 1/2  day off a week they were in great spirits.
Tony told everyone to be on deck as we sailed into Budapest so we were up extra early.  It was interesting to see what are obviously holiday homes intermingled with beautiful new homes buit for year round living.  But then, we arrived in Budapest.  We cruised past Margaret Island,  a beautiful, traffic free island, under  the Chain Bridge, past the glorious parliament buildings, and the castle high on the hill in Buda and docked near the Lisbeth (or White) bridge.  It was one sight after another.  With Tony narrating we knew where to be looking and that was a good thing as there was  much to see.   After docking we had a bus tour of Budapest which should have got us orientated but it didn't seem  to work for me.  We seemed to go over a bridge and then back over another until I didn't know if I was in Buda or Pest.  Roy said it didn't help him much either but we both had some landmarks and that helped.
We got a walking tour of Buda.  Took pictures of the view from the Fisherman's bastion and toured Mathias church.  This was not, as Roy said, an ABC (another bloody church).  It has almost no gold trimmings but every available space was painted in patterns which in my memory are earthy tones.  The organ music was pleasant to my ears and made it feel like a place to worship.   We even found time on our way back to the bus to pick up an ornament for our travel tree; an egg shaped, hand painted wooden ornament.   Now that we are home and looking at it I fear it probably wasn't hand painted,  oh well!
We are being careful with our purchases in the hope that we can go home with only carry on luggage.  Glass objects purchased in Prague may put that idea out of reach but we will see.
Back on the bus we finished our tour of the city and we're on board for our last lunch.  Lunches are buffet style.  I have been trying  hard to be careful not to gain too much weight  and find buffet meals harder than meals served to me.  It is a bit strange because I can take only what I want but I seem to be better at portion in what is on my plate a day eating only part of it.
After lunch we went out on our own.  We haven't done enough preparation for Budapest so had to sit down and read our trusty Rick Steves book for a bit.  There is much to see so we have to be organized. A plan in place we set off for the Market and walk down Vaci Utca on our way. Though Rick Steve says this street is over rated we enjoyed our stroll where vendors sell ice cream in originally presented displays, side walk cafes abound and a shop with unique hats attract our attention.

Crossing the tram lines and street to the market is interesting.  There are traffic lights that no one heeds and they don't seem to actually work anyway so we finally just cross when it seems safe to do so.  At the market entrance a lady in traditional garb is passing out advertising for something and she let's me take her picture.  Barbara and I discover we took identical pictures.  I wonder how many times a day she is photographed?

The market is huge, and hot.  It covers 3 floors and covers a city block.  It is rated the second best market in the world.  In the basement you can find live fish in tanks, food, kitchen tools and liquor.  The main floor offers mainly food, with fresh food stalls around the perimeter ( the smell of the fruit is tantalizing.  Cherries are in season, blueberries, raspberries,  peaches.  They all smell so good!  The vegetables are equally inviting and artfully displayed.)  Meat vendors are in the next row in facing the fruit and vegetable stalls.  It all looks great too. Oh, to be able to shop here for our food.  It is an intoxicating idea.  Not that we want to live here but it makes the markets we know, including Granville Island look dull.  There are spice vendors and we check out several in search of paprkia. Prices seem the same at them all. I am determined to go back to the first but in the end we just buy at the last one we stop at.  The couple we met from the southern U.S. are looking for paprika as well.  While Liz decided how many bags of parika she needed.Roy showed Bruce the  currency converter on his phone. We had already spent time doing that and will discover, when we get home that we are short a bag.  Did we pay for it?  We will never know.

Parliament 

P

Finished with the main floor we take the stairs to the top level.  This is all clothing, tablecloths, tee shirts, touristy junk and crafts.  We find the first pillow covers we have seen on this trip and buy one.  The stall has hand carved Santas that are beautifully painted but not as well carved.  Both of us think that one would be a nice souvenir but Roy decides  that they are overpriced for the quality of workmanship.

Back to the boat for the last dinner aboard. We dine with our friends and exchange address information.  Barbara and Ron are interested in going to the thermal baths as are we so we agree to do that together while we are in the city.
Roy and I went to the upper deck for a last shipboard drink.  A free one! Mickey  signed us up for the Avalon cruise club and we will have to thank her as it got us extra perks -a fruit basket in our room, a free drink each, Avalon pins.  Nice!  It is pleasant up there. Not many people and the views of the city are pretty.  We opted not to go on the city light tour but that may have been a mistake.  They didn't get back until 11:00 and packing still had to be done so perhaps we don't have many regrets.
Next morning we have breakfast and say goodbye to the crew we have grown to know.  They all seemed to relax after the talent show.  When I comment on this to one of them he said it takes a few days to size up the passengers and decide who they can joke with and who they have to be careful with.  He particularly had a problem with people who are okay with him but complain to someone above him.  They are a nice bunch and seemed willing to chat about themselves, the boat and the passengers interests.  The boat is their home when  they are sailing and they treat it as such.   The captain was usually around and willing to chat and generally made the passengers feel that they were welcome in his home.  Our cruise was seven days.  I think the 10 day version might be a nicer option.
Our taxi picked us up just before 9:00 and drove us to Hotel Palazzo Zichy.  I never, never want to drive in Budapest!   The driver had grown up in that area and told us about shopping on Saturdays with his dad in the Great Market (not a favourite passtime), and where  the bakery that had been when he was a boy, his school and he suggested where to eat that evening. We did eat there and enjoyed it immensely.   The restaurant had a history and I think everyone but us were locals. Roy had a pizza that was tasty and quite spicy and I had a salad that had more prawns than lettuce.  He had beer and for about the first time I only had water.  My stomach was rebelling because I indulged in too much sweet stuff in the afternoon but it was totally worth it! More on that later.

After we checked into the hotel we went to the metro and bought 24 hour tickets at a kiosk.  A young woman was buying a ticket at the same spot and as we were all novices we helped one another.  Roy and I  left her helping the next people in line.  You do meet the nicest people. We took the underground and got more help from two young ladies from Belgium who were on the way to the highly rated zoo, and managed a transfer.  After that we used the underground and mainly the trams all of the time.

Our first destination was the Opera.  We could tour the lobby which is very impressive.  English tours were cancelled that day.  After that we thought we might go to the House of Terror but there were huge line ups and we were booked for the Parliament buildings at 1:00.  We took the subway to the  Parliament buildings and found a place to have lunch.  A nice little sidewalk cafe where we had a beer and a tasty ham and cheese sandwich.   I mention this because it seems to be about the only sandwich filling.  It is usually called toast.  Off for our tour.  Of couse there is airport style screening and what does Roy have in his pocket - his new knife. After a bit of fretting it is our turn go through screening.   They tell him to put his knife in his backpack and all is well.  We enjoyed the tour.  It begins with a climb of a 133 step flight of stairs and then you can view the 96 step grand staircase.  It is quite impressive.  Then on to look up at the dome which is 96 meters tall.  There is a significance to the number 96.  896 is the year the Magyars came to Hungary.  Below the  dome the crown jewels are under 24 hour, armed guard. The guards even have a guard and we are told to stay two meters away from the armed guys. No problem!  The tour finishes with a trip down some secret stairs and then back to the ones we came in on.  The tour over, we caught the tram in front of the Parliament buildings.  The line runs along the river and besides being very scenic is historic.  I believe National Geographic voted it second most beautiful line in the world.  It would be even more beautiful if they washed the windows.

Roy figured out the tram lines and we went on to find The New York  Cafe ...
Marianne told us about The New York cafe and we planned to meet there before we discovered that we would be there on the same date but different months . An old but newly renovated cafe in Budapest.  Wow, what a place!  It is neo Baroque and neo Classical, over the top.  A virtual palace.  We ordered Sacher torte, a chocolate cake with apricot filling and slabs of dark chocolate on each side.  Thats not all - iced cappuccino with raspberry yogurt and whipped cream for our drink.  Yup! A real blowout.  I cannot imagine the calorie count.  Probably a weeks worth.  After our dinning experience we wandered about two of the three floors of opulence and took pictures.

Roy suggested we try to visit the House of Terror now.  Maybe the lines have died down. Off we go first at tram and then the subway.  Everyone had moved on and there are no lines.  We walk straight into the exhibits. I wiĺl quote the brochure for it says it better than I can.
"The  House of Terror is a museum now, but it was a witness to two shamefull tragic periods in Hungary 's 20th century history. It was a house of terror.
In 1944, during the domination of the Hungarian  Arrow Cross party, this building was known as the "house of Loyalty" was the headquarters of the Hungarian Nazis. Then between 1945 and 1956, the notorious communist terror organizations, the AVO and it's successor, the AHV, took up residence here. 60 Andrassay Blvd has become the house of terror and dread. This museum commemorates the victims of terror, but is also a memorial reminding us of the dreadful acts of terror of dictactorships."
The museum depicts the atrocities carried out by both the communist and the Nazi's in this house.  It is horrifying and tragic to learn of the cruelty inflicted in this building. I am brought to tears by pictured and movies of Hungarian people trying to escape the country.  How sad that we cannot learn from the mistakes of the past.


Ron has texted us today to say that they have talked to people on the cruise who felt the thermal baths weren't that clean and the prices are confusing.  We decide to go out for dinner and to a concert at St. Mary's church the next evening.
After a rest we try out the taxi drivers restaurant suggestion this evening. As I have already written, it was a success.

Our room at the Zichy is quiet and we are able to have a good rest.  The room is pretty much like any other but the door to the bathroom is a glass door.  It has art like they put on bus windows, a baroque design, I think.  It didn't offer a lot of privacy.
The breakfast room offered pretty much the same as every other on this trip except they didn't have eggs cooked to order.  They did have a grapefruit juicer which was a novelty the first morning and then we decided that we like the fruit better.  We did have had great breakfasts.  Norwegian smoked salmon was a sure thing every morning.  After my Prague experience I didn't touch it again until the last morning. I have to say it was awesome!
After breakfast on our last day in Budapest we tried to book our concert tickets.  We had to use a computer in the hotel business center in order to print the tickets.   I am still a bit concerned that we couldn't clear the history of our transaction with our credit card number in it.  Got a confirmation saying this was "not the tickets and that it wouldn't be recognized as tickets at the door.  The real tickets would follow in two working days if available". DAMN!  Now what to do.  We texted Ron and Barbara and told the, we would go out for dinner but might not manage the concert.  The front desk gal said she would look into it for us and she did but we found the church ourselves and there was a young man there, I guess taking  reservations and when we told him of our dilemma he opened his note book and there was our name at the top of the list (the only name in fact).

Our day was a bit jumbled.  The tram to the Great Synagogue wasn't running so we walked. It wasn't far. We were using the tram to save time.  When we got there there was no tour til 11:00 and that was 45 minutes away.  Decided to do a self guided tour.  Oops,  there is airport like security and someone has his trusty pocket knife.  Oh well, it turned out that was the least of our worries.  I had on a sleeveless top and Roy was in shorts.  No shoulders, no knees.  No synagogue for us.
We ventured over to Androssy  Street, named after one of Hungary 's greatest statesmen, Count Gyula Androssy.   Jill and Dave had recommended the Book Cafe so we went there for lunch.  Another opulent cafe on the top floor of a book store (much like Chapters).  We should have visited it first as the New York Cafe had spoiled us.  It was pretty special though.
We revisited the Great Market using the subway and tram again.  Darn, we are proud of ourselves!  I should say Roy, as every time he told me the direction we should be going I thought we should go the other but learned early on to be quiet as I discovered I was usually wrong.  I finally figured it out.  Just go opposite to what I thought.

We had missed one whole level of the market sof decider to go  back aND see what welse missued and maybe have another look at the Santas . Live fish swimming in tanks. Other than that it was pretty much the same as the other floors but not as touristy.  We went to the top floor and wound up getting the grandkids each another tee shirt.  We found ones with bicycles for the  boys and what I hope Marlo and Alex and V will like.  No Santa.
Back to the Zichy.  We downed a few bottles of their free water and printed our boarding passes.  The was a lawyer fellow in the business center who set our teeth on edge because he knew that the Hungarian revolution  didn't happen but was just some communists fighting amongst themselves.  Having just come from the House of Terror this was a little hard to swallow. We left him to believe what he wanted but we're very happy to get away from him.   Tickets printed, refreshed and redressed, suitcases packed we set out for the tram to meet Barbara and Ron at the Intercontinental.  It is a much busier lobby than the Intercontinental in Prague.
Their concierge had suggested Cyrano for a place for dinne.  It turned out to be a Michelin star rated restaurant.   It deserved it.  Our first!  The food was exceĺlent. I don't think I have had better.  I could go on but you get the picture.  The bathrooms were quite something too. The walls were all glass. Roy and Barbara both went and came back bemused.  I went and walked right into a mirror. If they did they weren't admitting it.
It was a short walk to St. Ann's church and we were there a few minutes early.  It is a beautiful, small church with an extremely ornate sanctuary.   The priest came in before the concert was to begin and looked disheartened by the poor turn out.  The churches all have concerts to make ends meet.  It might be a good idea for them to put in some more comfortable seating.  Those pews would put a saint off going to  church.  The concert was excellent.  The acoustics were too.  We hear J. Pachelbel's Cannon,Vivaldi's Gloria (Domine  Deus), Albnoni  - Adagio, Schubert  -Ave Maria, Mozart -Church sonate  in D minor, Ave Verum, Alleluia from Exsuitate Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Saint-Saens the Swan.  There were seven strings called The Duna  string Orchestra and a soprano (that we could have done without).
After the concert Ron said we should go for strudel as I had been whining that it had been my goal to have strudel in Hungary and I hadn't  found any.  We went to a place they had found and the apple strudel was divine!  Thanks Ron!
Then it was time to say good bye to them. A sad momment for we truly enjoyed their company and felt a bond with them. It would be nice to maintain that connection.  I rarely feel a mutual bond that strongly.

The next morning we were up at six and breakfast and ready for the airport before  8:00 when the taxi would pick us up.   We had lot's of time to kill so had coffee and I blogged away, then had a muffin and I blogged some more.
We were delighted to find that we were the row behind the ugly seats we had going over.  The people who got them were just as unhappy as we had been only they were luckier than us and had a daytime flight so we're not trying to sleep. We had scads of room!  Still no screen in the back of the seat but we had a window blind and we're away from the bathrooms.
The flight was late getting off the ground so we were late arriving in Toronto. We had to go through customs.  Roy eyes wouldn't scan for the Nexus retinal scan but the lady at the desk stamped our declaration so that helped save time.  Once through customs we had to find the domestic flights. Up one escalator, down another,  up an elevator.  Then we have to go through security and there are about 50 people ahead of us and no Nexus line that we could see.  I asked the security guy if he could let us move up in the line and showed him the departure time on our boarding pass. He said we had lots of time.  Then after a few minutes told us the line was shorter upstairs, we should go there.  The bloody lines were longer.   Eventually we made it through.  Someone along the way suggested our time was out on our watches, and we had an hour. We decided to hurry anyway,  a good thing for as we raced along we both thought, dimly, that we heard Berg paged but didn't ever think it was us. It was. We just made it onto the plane.  In hindsight we wish we had missed it and got the next flight.  Many people had their flights rescheduled but not us to Vancouver.  The plane was spacious, roomy, and clean.  What a treat.  You had to pay for gross food but the plane was clean and big.  Who cared. We arrived in Vancouver and waited for our one checked bag. We had decided to check an tote bag that we brought for that purpose as things the carry on were getting bulky and a bit heavy.  We probably would have been okay but decided to play it safe.  It seems we were supposed to have to have taken it through customs in Toronto and checked through to Vancouver.  We didn't know that so, oops!  The man in Vancouver at the lost luggage was very calm and said that our bag was in Toronto and would be in YVR by morning and would be delivered my afternoon.  Sure enough it was...
So we got home safely, a few of our belongings came a little later but on the whole  it was a very successful journey.  We met the nicest people, had a wonderful cruise even with a glitch because of the high water, our time in Prague and Budapest was well spent and we saw and did lots.  What more can we ask.

MELK/VIENNA
We went for a guided tour of MELK Abbey founded in 1089 and is dedicated to saints Peter and Paul. The tour  is included as arequired most of the tours.  It is a Benedictine Abbey located in the Wachu Valley.  They may have been sworn to poverty but the abbey is lavishly Baroque.  They have a portable altar made of pure ivory.  The library is huge and old.  The bindings all match to fit the Baroque style. They have  85,000 books and 2000 illuminated manuscripts.  We took a bus there and then walked down through the pleasant town.  It was nice to have a walk.
In  the afternoon we sailed through the Wachu Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  There were castles galore.  It was beautiful.

  I went for a tour of the kitchen later in the afternoon.  Wow that kitchen is pretty little yet they manage to feed 168 people 3 meals a day. There are 9 people  cooking and they come  from 7 different countries and there are 10 wait staff.  At times the all have to be in the kitchen (when the meals are ready to go out to the tables).  They have 15 minutes to get the main course plated and ready to be served.  All tables are served at the same time.  That evening we went for the Bistro dinner in the salon.  Only 24 can go to it each evening

.   Barbara and Ron, Jeff and Kay and Roy and I went.  We didn't get to sit together but it was an enjoyable time. They served 8 or 9 different things in small sampler size portions.  It was all good. We were a bit concerned as Barbara and Ron are vegetarian but as usual the crew took care of them.
The crew performed for us this evening.  What a talented crew.  None of them seemed to want a career in music but they were good enough. Everyone was in awe.