Why I loved my weekend:

The 3 girls I was with were awesome. I love them so much.

The hostel wasn’t sketchy at all and had clean bathrooms.

The Liberation Monument is beautiful. It is my favorite monument ever. I love that placement on the top of Gellert Hill. I love the way it is sculpted – so that she looks like she is standing against the wind. And I love the way it presents its message.

We climbed Gellert Hill in the rain, and the view was stunning.

I went to an expensive restaurant and got a salad with avocado and papaya and mango dressing. It was amazing; I’ve been missing fresh produce so much.

I wore my bright pink Nikes and felt really fast.

They don’t speak German in Hungary.

200 Hungarian forints are equal to 1 USD. There is a certain thrill from paying 2409 for dinner. It feels like your spending a small fortune.

I remembered random facts from when I was there last year. I was pretty impressed with my ability to retain information.

I felt so lucky to have been there twice in less than a year. I walked along marveling at how lucky I am.

We were standing on the Chain Bridge when the lights turned on. It was incredible to see it light up.

The hostel had free Internet.

- We went to St. Stephens Basilica 3 times. First time it was closed for a concert, the second time it was closed for a wedding, and the third time it was finally open.

The first time we went I saw the words “ERO SUM VIA VERITAS ET VITA”. I looked at it for a minute and realized I knew what it said because of the Latin class I took this year. Few things are as exciting as applying something you learned in school to life.

The third time I went to the Basilica it was Sunday and Mass was happening. It was beautiful! There was an excellent choir singing and organ playing and with the acoustics in there it was amazing to hear. There were a ton of people there, and I felt like an undercover Catholic. Actually watching the ceremony was really interesting too. It was really spiritual. Then when it was time for everyone to take the sacrament it was amazing to watch. All of a sudden, like half of the people just flooded into the main aisle to get it. It was like letting loose a dam. It took like 45 minutes for everyone who wanted it to get it. I stood at the side, watching. It’s a beautiful ceremony. I like Mass, but I’m not going to become a Catholic.

I ate amazing orange gelato. Amazing I tell you. Best I’ve had since last year.

The bus ride was gorgeous passing small towns and farms.

I really love the book I’m reading (Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder)

I got some cool cheap souvenirs.

Basically, it was the perfect weekend in Budapest.