Day 81 Liver Failure

Hey again! It's been a crazy couple nights, but I'm going to give you the highlights! Later on today a ton of us are hitting up a free walking tour, so that should teach me a little more about the city, rather than the focus on it's nightlife which I've had lately...

Heroes’ Square all lit up. That’s us in the foreground but you can’t tell...

We went to these Hungarian baths the other day, which are an amazing way to chill out from the night before. There are a TON of pools there, from 18 degrees up to 40, and a bevy of saunas and steam rooms to top it off. We spent 4 hours there, going from hot steam room to jumping into the cold, cold bath. Paul, David and I, the original three from the Bratislava bus, were joined by a fantastic Aussie guy Shannon, and three American girls from Conneticut who are lovely. We all relaxed in the outdoor heated pools, and went in this amazing whirlpool that shoots you around in a vortex: I haven't laughed that hard in a while! We meandered back to the hostel, past this amazing monument to Heroes, which looked even more beautiful than when we had gone by earlier as it was all lit up in the night.

Ashley showing some love.

That night Retox had a jager train, where they set up a record 430 bombs and dominoed the shots into the waiting energy drink. What a sight! My short self couldn't get a video, but the sound of all the glasses clinking was pretty cool too. Most people drank 5 - I had a bottle of wine instead. Darn that tolerance for booze and the hatred of too-sugary stuff. The energy was certainly high though! We all walked to a bar to meet up with the other party hostels (there are 4 in the chain) and do some open mic! Scott and I had decided to collaborate and do a few tunes, and they were SO well received! Everyone sang along and had such a good time when we were up, and we had such a good time singing along to the other acts. Macy Gray's "I Tried" went on for the longest time, and my voice is totally shot from belting out All the Small Things by Blink 182. I personally started off with Valerie, and then did Somebody that I Used to Know, Santeria and for kicks, whipped out Lose Yourself and rapped away. The most impressive singing went to a guy I don't know who did an acoustic version of Gangnam Style - whoa! The best act though was this great Aussie guy who played the diggerydoo on a vacuum cleaner.

Fun group! Ashley, Izzy, David and I all shiny and silly.

David breaking it down with Tony the Tiger and Pink Wig!

We all danced and sang and drank until the wee hours, and put makeup on Eggie, another friend, who looked Faboosh. He was the drummer, and banged away in essentially full drag. The American girls and I made some other friends and we all just had a great time. We hit McDonalds (but I didn't order anything!) and then went back to retox. Ben, another Aussie who is living in London with his girlfriend, decided to tape his whole face up, and then pole dance. The boys and I put cleaner down the length of the floor and slip n slid all over, meaning I had to put my clothes on the bed. I of course forgot to put them back down, so I cuddled my makeup bag and had a soft mattress of sweaters to sleep in. The final kicker was a very drunk Ben belting out Smoke on the Water to two kids who'd made an, ahem, connection, and were curretly exploring it's boundaries. Shame.

The next morning was a little rough. We had cooked up the night before, and ate leftovers for breakfast. We walked to the island in the middle of the Danube for some exercise. I've had such good luck with weather here! Always blue skies and wonderful temperatures. It's nice not to need the coat, but being headed to Berlin in 2 days means I'll for sure be grateful for it then! After Berlin I'm not sure exactly what my timetable looks like, but I'll make it work, and start evaluating what is unmissable.

Amazing view of the Danube, Parliament and the Chain Bridge.

These two Canuck sisters checked in on Monday, which was lucky as so many people checked out from the weekend. We played games with my Canada cards, and a few other international players. The plan that night was to go to a bar called Morrison's which had half-priced cocktails until 9. I cheekily bought a ticket for 4 beers for 500 HUF, and sold them for 2 cocktails - WIN! The amazing Aussies from Prague, who are staying at another hostel, but might switch here tonight, came out and did it up with us. It was so good to see them, and we called it fairly early to save ourselves for the Science Fiction theme party tonight. My voice is utterly shot though, and I'm squeaking out words. It's hard for such a talker like me!

Ashley, Me, Nicole, and Izzy leaving the amazing baths.

I'm wishing more of you from Canada were here with me. Being with the ladies is great, it reminds me of home, and I'm excited to do it up with all of you when I return!

Lots of love from Budapest! I'm going to go learn something about this city....