Budapest, Hungary!

We hit the road around lunch time to drive to Bristol to catch our flight. Bristol is a three hour drive and this gave us plenty of time to stop at a pub for food and check in early enough for our flight that left at 6pm.

We had purchased parking online (as this is the thing to do here and it's cheaper that way) so we drove to the parking area and they shuttled us to the airport (15 min drive). This was very convenient as we didn't have to deal with airport traffic.

Once checked in and through security I realized I left my coat and phone at the security desk - I'm bound to lose this jacket and phone at this rate! By the time I made it back to get my things and returned to Keith, he realized his boarding card was missing! Oh dear, what a start we're having to our vacation. We never did find his card but it wasn't a problem once we boarded. Bristol airport has an interesting setup. When you go through the boarding line up you're put on a bus and driven to the airplane! There isn't enough space at the airport itself, so the planes are at a different location on the property. Interesting! We flew with Ryanair which is the low cost airline here. That being said, it's a charter flight which is very cozy with limited leg room and no free munchies. Not a big deal, it's only a 2 hour flight and a return ticket for the 2 of us was $160. I wasn't complaining. I met a wonderful Welsh lady on the plane and she gave me lots of pointers for our visit to Budapest.

We arrived in Budapest at 9:30pm. From here we caught the airport shuttle and they took us directly to our hostel. I don't normally stay in hostels as they scare me a little but this was a double room with our own bathroom so it was perfect and of course cheap! I tried to make this trip as cheap as possible as we're both traveling home to Canada this year and that's not cheap. Once we were here we didn't worry about cost it was just the main items we wanted to save money on (flights, parking, shuttle and accommodation).

I was so excited to be in a new country I was checking out all the sights on our drive. We arrived at our hostel and I was scared! Oh my God I think we're in the hood! We got out of the shuttle and I said to Keith holy shit where the hell are we? I had booked this hostel also because it had hundreds of rave reviews - now I'm thinking those people were drunk!

There was no sign, barely any lighting and graffiti all over the building. As we approached the door a dark figure came out of the small park behind us finishing his cigarette. He asked if I was Amanda and helped us in to the hostel. He was one of the managers and once we were inside it was a completely different place. Thank God! It turned out to be a very cozy home, and our room was great. Nothing fancy, but clean and comfortable - what more could you ask for? And the manager was wonderful. Very friendly and welcoming. He spoke decent English but it was a bit broken with his Hungarian accent.

Not ready for sleep yet and anxious to see what's around us, Keith and I took an hour walk along the Danube River which was on the backside of the hostel. It ended up being a great location as well. I would stay again! It was a beautiful evening and Budapest looks amazing at night all lit up with the city lights. We crashed hard when we got back after our travels and fresh air.

Hiking the Helford River

What an amazing day! The weather the past few days has been less than spectacular so we've kinda been stuck not doing anything outdoorsy.

Since the sun is finally shining we decided to go for a hike around the Helford River which is a 20 minute drive from here. The hike turned out to be part of the South West Coast path which is a trail that covers just over a 1,000km of the South West peninsula coastline. We've done bits and pieces of the trail since we've arrived and Keith's goal is to do a huge chunk of it before we leave. We were planning to hike a few days of it during leave but the weather hasn't cooperated. We could only hike for about 2 hours or so as it was late afternoon and we were having a few people over for a BBQ.

Unfortunately the heavens decided to open just before everyone arrived and Keith was left to BBQ in the rain. It eventually cleared up but such typical English weather! Holly, Andy, Bungy and Mitch came over and we enjoyed lots of food and spent the evening watching TV, having a few drinks and chatting.

Everyone left just before midnight and I was on a mission to get packed. We leave tomorrow for Budapest!!

Link to pictures (not sure why it doesn't show these as a hyperlink - just copy and paste into your browser):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105960&l=dd09d&id=732460083

Dinner & Pub

Welcome to the world Ryan George Spearin! Kyle and Paulette had a beautiful baby boy today! Congratulations! Can't wait to meet him.

I can't really remember what we did today! In the evening we went for dinner at Giuseppe's - an Italian restaurant here in Helston - and had a nice meal. Afterwards we met up with the crew at 'The Angel' pub/club for drinks. We didn't stick around for long as they were going dancing and Keith wanted nothing to do with it. Mr Dancing queen he is not. So we came home and watched a movie.

Back to Penryn

A year today since I've seen my family and friends at home (Ingonish).

As we didn't finish our errands yesterday we headed back into Penryn. We dropped by the dive shop as Keith's regulator has to be inspected. Then we went to a shop called the Boathouse where I finally found a new jacket! Yay! It's taken me 2 months to find a replacement for my Jacques Whitford jacket that was stolen. I bought a black Columbia Titanium which is very similar and I love it. And I didn't have to pay too much of a fortune for it.

Spent the rest of the day getting things done and watched movies in the evening.

Keith Home

I enjoyed a few days to myself while Keith enjoyed spending time with his bro and family. I started my vacation today and am off until April 7. Yeehaw!

Keith caught a train this morning from Exeter so I picked him up in Truro early afternoon. On the drive back we ran some errands in Penryn then came home as Keith was anxious to be home.

Easter Monday - Back Home

Keith has decided to stick around for a few days and go into work with dale this morning to see what he does. I have to work the next two days so I'm heading back home.

Dale went to work early this morning and I dropped Keith off at lunch time. I decided to spend a few hours in Exeter shopping and using our Debenham's gift card Chris and Vern gave us for Xmas. Once shopped out and fed I hit the road for home. Back to the grind tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

I can't believe this is our second Easter here! Wow!

Lauren and Dale are hosting Easter dinner this evening so Lauren and I were kept busy for the day preparing the veggies, fixings and appetizers. Keith and Dale are in charge of the turkey and making lemon meringue pie for dessert.

Lauren's parents and Sam arrived around supper time and we enjoyed lots of appetizers and drinks. After some relaxation and chatting we gathered for dinner. It was excellent.

Once dinner was finished, Dale played Easter bunny and hid the eggs. Olivia and Jack had a great time finding them. I think Olivia was amazed and a bit confused by it all at first. It was so much fun to watch her giggle as she found the eggs and even funnier to watch Jack crawl around eying the ones laying close to the floor. Kids definitely make the holidays.

Throughout the day I talked to all my family at home which tops off my holiday!

Link to our pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100731&l=f3010&id=732460083