Hi Dad!
How are you? I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you but I promise you haven't left my thoughts. I have loads to tell you. I just came back from Budapest! The school organized a 3 day trip with my whole grade. It was amazing really.
So general overview, the trip was very nice. The city was beautiful. But the people weren’t so welcoming. They were sort of angry. The food was not bad. Every meal was a soup, a dish and a desert. The Hotel was really nice. And the group, including the teachers, was extremely good company. I had the opportunity to see a different side of the people in my school.
Okay so Day 1:
I left the house at 12 AM on Friday arrived at school at a quarter to one. Joined my class in the Pullman and went to the airport. The flight was okay most of us slept for an hour the rest we talked. We arrived at 6 in the morning in Budapest.
We went strait to a restaurant and had a traditional Hungarian breakfast. Then we went to a market. It wasn’t that great, half of it was closed because of the early hour.
After that we directly started the tourism. We saw the Buda Castle which was extraordinary. The details in the sculptures are incredible. Then we saw the Parliament which was a beautiful building. We visited 2 cathedrals. Everything was really amazing. After that we had lunch at a classy restaurant next door to the ex-president so everyone kept shushing us every time we spoke to each other. But whatever it didn’t stop us from having fun.
Then we were so tired we went to the hotel. Unpacked, rested and got ready. I had a single room all to myself which was ideal. At night was had dinner at a restaurant, the owner was actually pretty cool. We then tried going into pubs but they were either fully reserved, boring or for over 18 only. So we ended up at a pub called Juicy Cactus (or something like that). The Music was cheesy and it was mostly empty. But still we danced and had fun.
Then it was back to the hotel at that point no one could open their eyes. We all went to bed at around 3 in the morning.
Day 2:
We woke up at 8:30, had breakfast at the hotel then off to another full day. Personally it was my favorite day. I had loads of fun. So after breakfast we went to the Szechenyi Bath in Pest. It’s a natural thermal pool. Pap, the water is at 37 degrees. It took some time for me to get used to it and be able to go in. We all swam and took many pictures. After the bath we visited the Heroes Square. We took a lot of pictures. Then we had lunch.
After that we went to a sort of ranch an hour from Budapest. They apparently had 120 horses, 20 ponies and white cows with those extremely long horns. We tasted a salty cake with a shot of apricot alcohol. We all choked, it was so strong. Then we took a ride around the area in a carriage pulled by horses. We were divided in 3 carriages. It was going slow so we decided to silently get down and walk behind it. We all went down and the hoe decided to run so we were all chasing the carriage and we were laughing so hard. Then, the owners and the caretakers prepared a show. A tradition in the Hungarian history. It’s a sort of a competition. It was really nice and impressive. For example, there was a guy that rode 5 horses without any saddle, he was standing on 2 horses and was going really fast. I don’t know how to explain but I’ll post some pictures. And I’ll see if I can post a video for you. Then they showed how the trained the horses to sit like a dog and lay them down on the ground and lie on top of them. It was impressive.
Then we had dinner, there was a live band. It was okay. Then we returned to the hotel. It was a long ride so everyone fell asleep in the bus. At the hotel we rested, got ready, had dinner and went out to the same pub we went to the day before. It was crowded and some people drank a bit too much. But it didn’t ruin the night. We ate at McDonald’s then went back to the hotel and slept.
Day 3, yesterday:
We woke up at 7:30. Yes it was the hardest thing we did during this whole trip. We packed our bags, and had breakfast. Then left to see a small castle, with a killer view of Budapest. Then we had lunch and then went to a mall. Yeah, a mall, because everyone wanted to go shopping even though we had exactly all the same stored here. But whatever it wasn’t all a waste. There was a show in the middle of the mall. A complete dance performance with a big group. It was very nice. Then we had dinner. After to waste time we went to visit the liberation monument on top of a hill. We had a few laughs and then we went to the airport and back to Beirut.
So there you go, that was my whole trip. Three full days of walking, laughing, taking 4 GB worth of pictures and collecting blisters. But it was what I needed. A change in the routine. And I socialized with a lot of people.
And I wish you were here because I miss you so much.
I love you dad.
Your Sasouma
