Berzo to Budapest

Hello from Budapest, where everything is written is Hungarian! This is going to be quite the challenge. No Italian, no Spanish, but thankfully the hotel staff speaks English. We arrived under cloudy skies, the same type of weather we had in Italy the past few days. It rained, and rained, and rained for 3 days straight in Berzo, so we really didn't get out much except to visit Milano one day and twice to Orio Center (the mall in Bergamo).

We took the train from Bergamo to Milano to avoid driving into the city. Unknown to us, though, we were supposed to have "validated" our train ticket before we left the station, so we got stung with a 50 Euro fine,which translates to about $60.00!!! The train attendent told us the fine was typically 50 euro per person, but since I feigned understanding Italian (and thus deemed a tourist), he only charged us one fee! Nowhere on the front of the ticket did it say that the ticket needed to be "validated", nor did the instructions provided at the ticket booth. It was, however, printed in small print on the back of the ticket. Lesson to all - if you travel the trains in Italy, make sure you validate (punch) your ticket! We made up for our misfortune, however, with an incredibly delicious lunch at the Bar Madonina overlooking the equally incredible Duomo cathedral. We also visited the Galleria where all the trendy fashionista shops are (Gucci, Ferragamo, Prada) and the Castello Sforzesco, a beautiful castle in the center of Milan (will post pictures soon.

Shopping at Orio Center focused on Rachel buying shoes - she bought 4 pair and was smiling the whole time!! I'm sure that there will be more shoe shopping before we leave Italy. Greg was frugal, buying only a rain jacket and umbrella, while I splurged on some Italian CDs, having dropped way too much money on jewelry in Venice.

We've only been in Budapest a few hours, enough time though to see how spectaculary beautiful the city is. We are staying on the Buda side, in the Castle District, near St. Matthias Church. The architecture is stunning, dating back at least 1000 years. We'll be walking around the city tomorrow, and I will definitely post pictures then.

Greg's post: We came with wallets full of Euros ready to increase per capita incomes of eastern Europe.........But NO! Hungry is not on the Euro even though they are a member of the European Union. So does anybody know what a HUF is worth in dollars? Send Help!