Again, we followed Grace's research (in books and Tripadvisor) and walked to Vintage Garden, only a couple of hundred metres from the apartment, for lunch or brunch. It's an enclosed and glass-roofed old courtyard. I had the "Hungarian French Toast" but found it insufficiently French: rather dry. Grace's salmon and poached eggs was more successful.
As it happened, the hen party from the baths the previous day turned up for breakfast. The Bride was still wearing her cap-with-veil. We thought they might be fighting a hangover (get some calories in you: it's the only way) but as well as breakfast, they ordered cocktails. Slightly subdued compared to the previous day though.
We then took a Metro and a tram to Margit Sziget, Margaret Island. It's named after the princess and saint who spent her entire life in a convent there in thanks to the Almighty for Hungary being delivered from the Mongols.
"Hippie Island" isn't an alternative name for the island itself. Hippie Island is a resort and bar for sunbathing, drinking and doing sporty things. In early April, in low temperatures, it was deserted, of course.
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| Hippie Island. | Margit Sziget. | Storks. | Saint Margaret. | St. Margaret's convent. |
There's a mini-zoo on the island, the main focus of which seems to be a refuge for rescued birds of prey, but there are storks, ducks, rabbits, ponies and deer as well.
The ruins of Margit's convent were uncovered in modern times, and although there is little more than a floorplan, you can see that it was a grand establishment.
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| Gerbeaud café. | "Just one more thing, Sir..." |
After our fill of the island, we returned to the tram stop at the end of the bridge, and by tram and Metro, arrived at Vörösmarty Ter, the square that sits at the city end of the long "shopping" street Vaci Utca. On the square is the ornate premises of Gerbeaud, a famous 19th-century café and patisserie, of French origin. Naturally, we had to have coffee and cake.
I think Peter Falk's mother was half-Hungarian.
After a rest stop back home, we walked 25 metres to Havana for an early dinner. Until recently, the bar was called "La Bodeguita del Medio", but now they've decided to be a bit more literal, and brief. They still do Cuban and Mexican food though. We both picked the chicken fajitas, which were very good.
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| I'm on a boat. | Elizabeth Bridge. | Parliament. | On deck. |
It was an early dinner because we had booked a short river cruise for the evening. There's a company called Legenda, who advertise very extensively, and offer expensive dinner and drinks cruises, but we went for Duna Cruises and one glass of fizz included. It was the better choice: smaller, more intimate boat; and the jazz trio from Monk's Bistrot! Seeing the illuminated city from the water was a great experience.
We returned to Havana for a drink, but in contrast to our ealier visit, the joint was absolutely heaving with punters, most of them doing the salsa or something similar. There were also a couple of showgirls in headdresses and very skimpy costumes mingling with the crowd, but I told Grace I wasn't that interested. Anyway, we were dressed for a night out on the river, not a hot night in Cuba, so we just had the one drink and went home.