Lilian's Tree

Royal Palace, across the Danube River. Parts of the palace are now home for a collection of Hungarian Fine Art, in the National Gallery. The castle is lit up at night and looks beautiful.   The Hungarian Parliament building. Built between 1885 and 1896, in time for the Millennium parliamentary session. It is 268m long and is symmetrical. The dome is 96m high. St Stephen Basilica. Named for King Stephen 1, third ruler of the nomadic and pagan Hungarian tribes. He converted to Christianity and after his death, was canonized. Construction started in 1851 and it was finally opened in 1905. Heroes' Square was built in 1896 for the millenary anniversary of the Hungarian conquest. The Millennium Monument is 36m high, with the Archangel Gabriel on the top. The National Heroes'  Monument was built in 1929 and is just in front of the Millennium Monument. It also has the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Budapest is a fascinating city and one we enjoye...

42 days, 6 countries, 9 stops, to many plane flights, bus rides and train trips to count, no lost items or luggage equals one amazing trip! We travelled to Budapest, Berlin, Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome, Athens, Santorini and Istanbul. Saw amazing sights, revelled in all that history, stared goggle eyed at painted ceilings, ancient ruins and beautiful gardens. Eaten and drank local food and wine. Walked for miles and miles exploring these places and it wasn't an organised tour. When we decided to travel to Europe we had some specific places we wanted to see, looked at tours and went, not for us. Our travel agent was amazing, working out the most direct way and easiest way to accomplish this, with out blowing our budget. Everything that we could organise, book and pay for, before we left Australia was done, so the we only had to pay for extra side trips and food. So much easier that trying to do it there. Doing it this way gave us down time, in each stop instead of the rus...