Living statues, Liszt Square

Today we drove back to Budapest from Gereby Kuria, exhausted after a long day/night of wedding festivities. On the way back to Art 'Otel, we stopped for lunch along the lovely, cafe-lined Raday Utca street in Pest. This street was highly recommeded by both our Rick Steves book and one of the Hungarian bridesmaids who lives in Budapest. We were attracted by the menu at Soul Cafe and sat at one of the tables that was spilling out into the street. I had delicious salmon and gnocchi, so nice to have some fish after all the red meat we have been consuming the rest of the trip so far!

After lunch we walked down Vaci Utca again so Olive could look for a scarf. We saw a "living statue" outside one of the stores and stopped to take some silly pictures with him (of course we had to pay him :) ). I think we see these living statues every international trip we take, but I don't think I have ever seen one in the US. I wonder why?

Olive and I pose by our living statue friend. Olive had never seen one before!

A "sultry" pose.

A "flirty" pose. :) I get a kick out of these living statue guys. :)

We headed back to the hotel for a "short" nap. I guess we should have set an alarm, because we ended up sleeping until after 9pm! Gavin's family still appeared to be asleep, so we went out for dinner by ourselves. We drove over to Pest side for dinner at Franz Liszt square. This beautiful, car-free square was lined on both sides with lovely restaurants and cafes. We walked past dozens of colorful awnings over the outdoor seating areas, and finally settled on Passion Cafe because of the steak listed on the menu and also because of the heaters and blankets they had under their awnings. :) As an appetizer I had a tasty cold strawberry soup with almond whipped cream. Our steak arrived, and it was HUGE, about the size and width of a softball! It was good, but certainely can't top Argentine steak... We each drank a single glass of wine, though we made sure to hang out in the restaurant a long time and drink slowly since Hungarian law states allows NO alcohol in your blood if you are driving. We had an apple tart for dessert that was a bit dry. We have not been all that impressed with Hungarian desserts. They seem to be either too wet (custardy, soft, gelatinous things) or too dry (crunchy cookies, cakes and tarts with a dry texture instead of soft and moist). The only desserts in Hungary that we have really enjoyed (pretty much every day on this trip... :) ) is ice cream; anywhere in Europe the ice cream is amazing, and Hungary is no exception. So, fat and happy, we drove back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Cafes in Franz Liszt square.

Hmmm, what unhealthy thing shall I order tonight? :)