As many of you already know, my nightly regiment is a sleeping pill for 3 days when traveling to a time zone +/-4 hours from my time zone. I started it when I was traveling to France for work, as I would arrive and then not be able to sleep, which made for miserable and unproductive days.   I hate pills in general, but hate not sleeping even more and Ken has become convert as well. So! We each took a Sominex and were fast asleep by 830p and slept until 8am…whewhooo!!

We joined Albert and two other couples in the breakfast room, where Ken enjoyed a tasty omelet and I was a bit unhealthier with fresh pastries and coffee.   Albert kept us entertained and provided some guidance on the Baths, which we will hit tomorrow.  I was able to finish and post yesterday's blog and Ken got caught up on the NY Times, before facing the sunny, brisk day outside.

Our first stop was going to be the Grand Synagogue, which is the largest in Europe and where the largest concentration of Jews lived prior to WW2.   Unfortunately, during that war, 600,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered by the Nazi regime because of their heritage.    Hopefully we won’t see a repeat of that all in the name of "cleansing" our world.    The Synagogue was more like a church inside and it is known for its Catholic Church like features. We also went through a small museum that narrated the elements of a Jewish life and various celebrations.

We then decided to find the New York Café, which is known for it’ over the top opulence. It was built in 1905 by the New York Life insurance company and the goal was to make it stand out. And that it did. It is now a hotel and very fancy coffee house.   We had to wait 10 minutes for a table, but it gave us time to gawk at the gold fixtures, chandeliers and artwork. We ordered a light snack of apple panna cotta, chocolate mousse cake, cappuccino and hot lemonade with chili/oranges. It was all quite good and it was a nice break in the day.

By the time we were done with our snack, it was almost time for our 3pm tour of the Opera House. In fact, we had to power walk to make it in time. Luckily, it had just started and we joined the English speaking guide in touring the beautiful structure. At the end, we were treated to a wonderful performance by one of the singers, who had an incredible voice and was the highlight of the day. I have included a video of her, so hopefully you are able to open it.

We went back to the room and took a quick nap before heading to our 7pm dinner reservation at Hunkarikum Bistro.    http://hungarikumbisztro.hu/#prettyPhoto     It was a cozy little restaurant with wonderful service and local specialties. We have been so impressed with the friendly service and even friendlier prices. Dinner for two with a bottle of wine, appetizer and entrée was $50.   What a deal!!

After dinner we wandered through the quiet streets and stopped for a nightcap at a wine bar next to St Stephans Cathedral which was all lit up.   We sat outside, enjoyed our wine and marveled at the beautiful view of the church.   Great way to end the day!