so finally, I tell……..We flew from JFK to Budapest on Czech Air. Upgrading to Business Class was a complete waste of money–consider it the Communist version of Business Class. We did sleep well with the help of Ambien No 10. We stayed 4 nights at the Le Meridien. The hotel is in a beautiful and central location in this grey and dismal city. There are many things to see and do here. A highlight is the Jewish quarter tour which leads you through a maze of history veiled in new development. This area is becoming their Soho. Take a walk down Andrassy Ut (the main avenue). Stop at the Hungarian State Opera House for a tour, The Terror Museum, pass the many Embassies and end up at address>Heroes Square

     The Museum of Fine Arts is a must before you continue through the square to the park. The Gellert Hotel is a must for a spa visit. Plan on spending a few hours there and then weave your way through Buda Hill. Great Great restaurants- if you enjoy fine dining. To name a few Spooncafe, Cafe Mokka and Borak. Spoon, a floating restaurant with fab views of castles and bridges, is now on my ‘top 5 restaurants in the world”.list has beauty and historical interest, but Prague…oh Prague is a fairytale to get lost in. What a magical place it is! The architecture, winding cobblestone streets and magnificent walking bridges can make you shed tears of joy. There is wonderful shopping and eating and museums. The Jewish Quarter is more what is what because it was saved by Hitler himself and then left alone by the Communists. Yes, there is a Louis Vutton store on the main square. Prague Castle, way up in the hills, is a small city within itself and takes a full day to go through. There are so many museums and galleries in Prague that one could not possibly make a dent in two weeks. We stayed at the Josef Hotel, a contemporary sleek structure in a central area called Josef. Trying to be a design hotel, it missed its claim by being too sleek to the point of cold. It did have a great location and good breakfast and very hip clientele….I among them. Three great dining experiences were Kampa Park (book a table with a river view), Pravda and Barock. All totally fab with excellent dining experiences.

     I will return to both perhaps with an add-on of Germany. Why not torture myself completely. I hear Berlin is very hip now. Or is it Bucharest?