Bath-tastic

Wow, I feel clean. Pretty much cleaner than I've felt in the last month. This afternoon, a bunch of us went to the Gellart baths, a very cool bathhouse here in Budapest. There are a few different baths (Roman style, also called spas) here in town, and I think we'll be visiting a few more before the trip is done! It was truly amazing. We paid our entry fees (about $10) and entered a different world. There was a big outdoor wave pool type thing, as well as an indoor swimming pool. Both of those were open to both sexes.

But then we girls ventured into the thermal baths, which are segregated by sex. There were different thermal baths of different temperatures, saunas, steam rooms, the whole bit. I'm sure there was some special order we were supposed to go to everything in, but we couldn't figure it out so we just went every which way. Kate and I braved the hottest of the sauna rooms, and it was so hot that you couldn't put your feet on the stone floor or you'd burn them; you had to make sure you feet were always on rubber mats.

We all left there feeling like absolute jello, and tomorrow we're going back to get the full experience: mud baths, massages, pedicures, the whole bit. The best part? It's absolulately dirt cheap!

I should tell you a funny story about last night though. Chris and I met three Australians at an Irish pub (we'd originally met Wayne, Dave and Kate in Kracow) and had a good few drinks there. Chris and I left around 1 pm, and as we made our way back to the hostel, we kept our eyes open for late night munchies. Nothing seemed to be open, so we were thrilled when we saw a pizza place with lights ablaze. We walked in, and it took us a minute to realize something was up. I didn't quite grasp it until Chris said "ummm, I think we're in a film set." Yup, the blazing lights truly WERE blazing. They were super duper film lights, and everyone sitting in the restaurant gave us the dirtiest looks. We high-tailed it out of there before we could even check for anyone famous!

I should let you know, my itinerary has slightly changed. Instead of spending a full week in Budapest, I'm cutting my trip here slightly short, and leaving on Friday (I think) for Slovenia. I'm spending a couple days in Ljubljana (the capital), a couple of days in Bled (a mountain resort town) and then going down to the beach for a few days. It's just a teensy way away from Italy, right on the Mediterranean, and it sounds amazing. As much as I'm loving these fascinating cities, I really would love to get some beach time in before it's time to go home. Chris is going to be with me for all the Slovenia parts, and then he's going to take a catamaran to Venice while I head up to Bratislava, then to Cesky Krumlov (in Czech Republic) and then back to Prague to fly out.

It's hard to believe that my trip is half over. Hard to believe because it's gone by so fast, but also hard to believe because I've experienced so many adventures, I can't imagine what's still in store for me!

I'm feeling pretty knackered (sorry, I'm trying to learn to speak British) so I'm going to head home to bed now. All that steam had gone straight to my head.

Dani: I wish you were here too! I'm loving reading your blog too...everyone else, check it out at www3.sympatico.ca/daniwarren.

Mom: I'll do my best to give you guys a call in the next day or so. Glad the birthday party went well, I hope you gave Grandpa my love! And say hi to Chris from me if you talk to him. And yes, I'll get a bottle of Absinthe for Spike when I'm back in Prague at the end of my trip.