"Of Course You Speak English - You're Not Naked!"

Budapest - NOT my favorite. Another long train ride to get here, and all the taxis have different fares because they are not regulated. The Internet said a fare from the train station to the hotel should be about 2000 ft ($8). The taxi drivers offered us 8,000, then 6,000, then name your price. They didn't like the 2000 price, so we settled on 4,000. The hotel was very nice and cheap. It was on the Buda side of town- aka the quiet side of town. I did not know that Budapest is actually two cities. Buda is on one side of the Danube and Pest is on the other. That's the side I belonged on. It has a bit more to do. I did get a massage that felt incredible and was able to swim and use the sauna in the hotel. The first day it rained - nonstop. I had to buy an umbrella outside the Royal Palace, and my flip flops did not help much when I walked through the deep puddles along the cobblestone roads. But now I have an excuse to buy a new pair or two when I get back to Vegas! Saw the castle and some magnificent churches, but the pictures aren't great due to the gloomy weather. Because of the rain, I decided to stay in the hotel for the night. I found a local grocery store and bought some Hungarian wine, cheese, and bread. I really wanted a bottle of regular water, and the past two or three that I had purchased ended up being sparkling. So, being the genius I think I am, I stood in the local grocery store and shook all of the bottles of water to see which ones bubbled. No wonder Americans get a bad reputation in Europe. The worst part is, back at the hotel room, I discovered that I choose wrong - again! Budapest is known for their wine, paprika, and natural hot baths; so, I went to Gellert's Bath House. It was built in the early 1900's and is based on the tiled baths from Ancient Rome. It is actually quite beautiful and warm. There is a section for mixed sexes as well as large private sections that are gender specific. I was in the steam room in the female section when a group of 16 year-olds walked in. They were giggling and talking about how the steam room is cleaning out their 'nasty' pores. I laughed because it sounded like an exact conversation I would have had in high school. They apologized for making noise and I replied "It's fine. You all are funny." Then one of them responds, "You speak English! Of course you do, you're not naked!" And they were right. I had noticed as well, that all of the rather 'healthy' Hungarian women were enjoying the baths completely nude - and they don't necessarily have the same tastes in physical appearance as most English cultures do, if you know what I mean! Since Budapest was not the most enjoyable place, we decided to make it better by going to a local bar on the Pest side and having a few drinks - cheap. Buying a round for the three regulars was a smart move and only cost about five dollars. Soon we were all having shots of the local spirits and of course - beer. A lot of drinks later, it was time to walk back to the Buda side. On the way, pizza sounded like a good idea. There are shops selling slices of pizza on the side of the road. There was the normal, pepperoni, sausage, ham and pineapple, but, they all had kernals of corn on them. Trying to catch a train to Croatia in a hurry, I ended up taking a taxi to the wrong station and had to take another taxi to the right one. Waste of money - there goes my new flip flops. But now I am in Zagreb, Croatia, and will be taking another 7 hour train ride to Split, Croatia - right on sea. Not sure which one - I need to look at a map. I do like it much better here. By the way, I am not happy with those of you who told me to read 50 Shades of Grey. It is cruel and unusual punishment when I am over 9,000 miles from home, but I sure am blushing on those long train rides!