it feels like an age ago, last year, but in reality it was only just over a month. so it seems silly, that a holiday that boyfriend and i took, just over a month ago, hasn't yet made it onto the blog. especially considering how many holidays i've been on since: zero. you might remember that this trip was my birthday present from boyfriend, and our last big holiday for the year. i was super excited to get out there, as i'd heard such wonderful things about the place. in reality, when we got back, i had nothing really good to say about the trip. on a whole, i had a pretty bad time. an i don't mean to sound ungrateful, or snobby, or like a spoiled brat, but... the holiday was not everything i had built it up to be, and i was a bit embarrassed to write about it, knowing what kind of a prat i would seem like.
hindsight is a wonderful thing. now that i have calmed down - a bit, it seems only fair to share our time in hungary with you lovely lot. we'd booked flights and three nights accommodation for the two of us, for a measley £175. total. what a bargain! the flights we got were at a really reasonable time of day, so wasn't too hard to get to luton for the midday departure. at the airport, there was panic - and this is where the holiday started going downhill; the airport. the security guy was an ass and made me buy new plastic bags for our liquids. rather than one big one (that i've never had any problems with, ever), we needed two little ones. two little ones for £2. fine.
in the line for our gate, more panic - our bags were considered 'large' and 'large' bags carried an extra cost of £27 (£9 online, £18 at the desk or £27 at the gate, naturally). my fault for not reading the t's + c's, obviously, so the thought of losing nearly £60 of our holiday money at the airport was.. not appealing. well, we tried to hide our bags by putting them on our backs. and... surprisingly, this worked. we fretted the whole time, and then hid as soon as we handed our boarding passes over. we were on board!
the flight was nothing - probably an hour or two, and when we arrived at the airport it was fairly easy to find transfers. thanks to amazing exchange rate, we paid a few pounds each for a return trip in a heated mini shuttle that picked us up and dropped us off at our front door. barrrrgain! it was -11 when we arrived, at maybe 3 in the afternoon. we got to the 'hotel', checked in, headed upto the room and then.... my world came crushing down. around me. this wasn't a hotel, it wasn't even a hostel; it was a dorm room! plus, it was so so so sososoossoo cold, and... not that this matters, but there was no tv. i realise that's not the measure of a hotel room, but.. what room doesn't have a tv?! the room we were given was on the 1st floor, and slept 4 people. 4 single beds, with nothing but a giant pillow and thin bed cover. my face obviously said it all, so boyfriend went back down to reception, to ask for a double room.
we moved up to the third floor, into a room with two single beds shoved next to each other, a giant, useless radiator, still no tv and the thinnest covers known to mankind. i was not best pleased, and instantly questioned why anyone would assume that £175 for two people would turn out any better than this. meanwhile, while we waited for the restaurant to open for dinner, boyfriend was happily looking through all of the maps and brochures, planning our holiday. i, was furious.
thank god i brought warm clothes and a decent book. the help really helped me get through that first night. we headed down to the restaurant, and were the only people in there. a... bad sign? we ordered and waited, and were tended to very thoroughly by the staff, which was nice. i had to have the goulash, while boyfriend opted for some pork concoction. all very hearty and warm, nothing to complain about there - and the beer! sooooo cheap, so yummy. probably less than a pound. the meal was definitely the highlight of the day, and after it, the beer and the afternoon we'd had - there was nothing left in me but more reading, complaining about the cold (so much so that boyfriend went and found me extra covers), and wishing i was home again.
poor boyfriend. that first day, he wished he was anywhere but there. more stories to come.
