Today we are around Pag Island, relatively relaxing day. A couple of photos from the Breakfast buffet.
Slice your ownHam and Cheese Omelot
Our first stop of the day is to be one of the cheese factories, second biggest, on Pag Island. As it is her custom, Julie elected to walk there. Some of the photos she took along the way.
Threatening skiesThe Cheese Factory
We are given a tour of the cheese factory. We all have to wear protective hair covers, vests and shoe covers.
We all had to wear bathing cap, raincoat and plastic on our shoes
We then go upstairs for a cheese tasting. We select a large platter of the standard and a small platter of the spicy. The truffle cheese was amazing.
Spicy cheeseBig platterOn the plate – the truffle cheese was very impressive
We then went back to the hotel for the rest of the day. Actually, Julie went out prancing again. Some photos:
GrapevinesPigsChooksMarket
Back at the Hotel we have a small wine tasting with Tapas.
Tapas
It is a quiet afternoon after that. Dinner is also to be in the Hotel but we are sitting inside this time as it is getting quite cool.
Suckling Pig
Then it is off to bed as we leave Pag tomorrow morning.
(Apologies loyal readers – I got stuck on this page for several days. Hopefully I will be able to catch up a bit).
Today we are to drive virtually across Hungary. We have breakfast in the Castle Hotel and I am disappointed that there are no eggs. I ask the hotel guy and he says what would I like, so I order an omelot.
Ham and Cheese Omelot, not bad
There is a lot of driving today, probably over 5 hours so maybe not so many photos. We stop at a roadhouse for gas.
Some of the food at the roadhouse looked alright but we are to do lunchArriving at the Bock Obor Restaurant
The Somelier explaining the wines
Bock winery is one of the Villany area’s most distinguished wines. One of it best is a straight Cabernet Franc, unusual.
Boris and a new friendOur group
At the near right is Tibor our driver and at the far right Julia our guide. Sadly, we are going to lose them tonight they are going to drive back to Budapest from Villany. Lunch is served.
Part of the menuSecond wine, straight Cab FrancLarge saladCold meat platter for JanSoup
The Third WineCarp for JuliePig Knuckle for me – DaintyDessert
We then get back on the bus and drive the rest of the way to where we are staying in Villany which is the Crocus Gere Wine Hotel. There is spa, sauna and pool but we tried too late to get a massage – only one was available so Boris took it. Julie and I decided to do a couples “wine spa”.
Wine Spa
A bit of a misconception as it is a hot bath with a jug of wine poured in. Never mind the hot bath was good.
A glass of the wine was also provided
Dinner was at the Wine Hotel restaurant. We are joined there by Andrew, proprietor of Savor Tours who will be our guide for the rest of the tour.
Impressive light arrangement
Salmon for JulieAnother dainty serveOur wineDessertDessert
At one stage during the dinner, Julia and Tibor depart for the drive back to Budapest. It is sad goodbyes. Eventually after the big day, we all drift off to bed.
No, there is no bad luck on this day. In fact, it is a very good day. Julie decides to walk into town where we are to meet at Jan & Hugh’s Hotel, so off she goes. Edith shows up at the spa hotel and shortly thereafter our driver shows up. We drive into the city and to the Hotel and there are Julie and Hugh waiting out the front.
Our first stop is at the Citadel, a site on the Buda side of the river. From there you can get a panoramic view of the river and the Buda and Pest sides.
Walking to the viewOverlooking Budapest and the Danube
At this stage it is time to discuss the bridges of Budapest which link the Buda and the Pest sides. During World War 2, the Hungarians were originally on the Nazi side but toward the end of the war, one Hungarian politician declared they were no longer supporting the Germans. In retaliation, the Germans destroyed all nine of the birdges over the Danube which had to be rebuilt after the war ended.
The Green Bridge
After the Citadel, we went to a Brewery/Restaurant for a tour, tasting and lunch.
The Brewery RestaurantIt is quite a large placeThe girls settled inPretzels
We were promised a tour of the brewery and soon enough the third generation owner comes by to lead or tour. We are all given a glass of beer to assist the touring.
The Owner and Hugh
We complete the tour and go back to our table. We order some Hungarian wine while Hugh sticks to beer, getting one of the other of three beers they make. He does not like it as much as the first one and it is eventually replaced by the first one by the owner. We order our food.
Goulash SoupMeatball soupThe wine
Goose Leg
Our Guide, Edith
After lunch is finished, we go to the Budapest market. It is modern and clean and has a large variety of stalls. Jan buys her faourite Paprika to take home.
In the market
Jan and Paprika
We go upstairs in a corner for a bar area which is known as “The Library” as this is where the men typically go when they are tired of walking around the market with their wives. Julie continues on the prowl around the market.
Goulash in Bread looks like a great idea
A little crowdedOne thing I missed on this tour was Spicy FoodHad to have Salmon in a photoMore Salmon
Wooly PigEvery Town needs a steak shopWow!
How red is that fruitSmall chunks of PorkPork crackling?
Burgers anyone?
Very impressive market and great photos Julie. Any way, it is time to depart. We drive past some scenic sites although I fall asleep and miss most of them. When I wake up, we are back at the Spa hotel, they decided to go there first. So I hop out of the bus and say goodbye to our wonderful guide for the last two days, Edith. Julie, of course, goes back to the city so that she can walk back. The following are some of the photos she took while on the prance.
The Yellow Bridge for walking on/off the Island
The bus in the river. It operates on dry land too.
When Julie finally returns, I had been snoozing, we do not need a big dinner as the lunch had been huge. Edith had kindly done some baking and provided that and other snacks which was perfect for what we needed to eat. Thanks, Edith.
Edith’s snacks
I will add Edith’s contact details as soon as I can find them. Highly recommended.
We check out of our Hotel and jump in the car to head to our next destination – Transylvania. The first stop is at Sinala to see Peles Castle.
Peles Castle
When we arrive at the Castle, there are tons of people waiting in large groups to get in. I would have given up at that stage but Alexandra is a professional guide and is able to get us near the front of the queue with an English speaking group. When we get in we have to put blue plastic bags on our shoes. We are also told that no flash photography is allowed. So I have no pictures inside the palace that is called a castle. I encourage you to Google “Peles Castle” – Wikipedia has a great story of it. It is very ornate with lots of valuable art, wood work, weapons etc. We have a coffee outside, inside the cafe is full and it is raining somewhat but we get a seat under an umbrella and then take the medium walk back to the car in the rain.
Rugged up for the rain
We drive onto Brasov which is our destination for the next two days. I think it is the second largest city in Romania but it has a lovely old town where we are staying in the Bella Muzica Hotel.
The entrance to the HotelThe girls checking in
It is quite an old Hotel but stuff inside is good. The following are photos from the Lobby.
Sofas and chairsA radio labelled 1944 – the year of my birth
There was a massive “attention bell” and they allowed me to ring it once. It was very loud.
Ring that bell!
We go to our room to drop off our cases while Alexandra, who is staying elsewhere, goes to check-in. There lots of passages going in all directions with layers of stairs going up and down.
Julie in the passageway to our room
We are having LLED (my new coining for Late Lunch, Early Dinner) in the Bella Muzica Restaurant in the Hotel. The menu describes it as Traditional Romanian, Hungarian and Mexican food???!!!
When Alexandra comes back, we go into the restaurant. It has a number of rooms / alcoves and we are lead into the bottom one which reminds us of a cave.
The Girls in the cave
Lots of discussion about what to order off of the comprehensive menu. Alexandra recommends the bean soup>
Bean soup in a loaf of breadThe soup with the Hat off
Although I did not order it and only had a couple of tastes, I am voting this as the best dish I experienced in Romania.
Julie had a mouse of salmon and smoked salmonand a common saladAlexandra, getting into the Mexican theme, after the Bean Soup ordered QuesadillaI only ordered the Pig Knuckle
The waiter had warned us that it was probably big enough for 2 and he was probably right. I made a good fist (pun) of it but had a fair bit left in a doggy bag.Our drinks
After the meal it was time for a tour of Brasov. I decided to rest up instead so the girls headed off. The following are photos taken by Julie on the tour.
The sign lights up at night
The girls then went into a bar.
They then went to the “smallest street in the world”. I will concede narrowest maybe.
The girls part company and Julie comes back and said we should go to the bar shown above. Assuming it was not very far away, I did not rug up enough to cater for the very long walk across to the big square and then a long, long mall.
A rock band playing in the squareFinally reaching the bar
It is quite crowded but we manage to get a table.
Julie orders a Chicago Coffee?Julie with her coffee
The bar is getting more and more crowded and I am not that comfortable there so we leave for the long walk back to the Hotel. It is very cold. I was glad to reach our room and hit the sack.
Today we drive out to a wine area outside Bucharest to learn about and taste Romanian wines. We are picked up at 8:30 and there is a lot of rush hour traffic to drive through. Eventually, after 2 plus hours we read The Hill where there are a lot of grapes growing and wineries and arrive at our guest winery.
The Winery with our Host for Today coming to greet us
The Host is very knowledgeable, speaks English, friendly – just what you want.
Some of the vines
We went in to see the various bits of equipment that they use to sort the grapes, crush the, ferment, bottle, label etc.
We had been given a glass of rose at the start and told to bring the glass along. From the steel barrels we had a taste of their multi-grape white and a very young Shiraz.
So, what is all this about the Lizard?
The Lizard – in Latin Lacerta which is the chosen name of the wineryAn array of Lacerta wines
We eventually reach the cellar door where we started, we have been set-up with a table, stools and snacks.
The table, and my stool in particular, seem to be falling off a cliff but on close inspection there is glass there.
Out host asks me which wines to taste and I select three. He says that this is not good enough, 6 are required. The serves are quite generous, his point is that it gives the taster a chance to swirl the lot around and a generous taste and then tip the rest.
The 6 wines that we tasted
We bought several to take away. During the tasting a heavy downpour occurred but as we leave is has dampened down a lot. I would have to say, it was one of the better winery visits we have been to. BTW: Roy, have you tried Romanian wines? Some,e.g. the Shiraz, were very good. The Romanian grapes, a little less so.
After that we drive to a nearby town, Buzau for lunch a Taverna Buzolana. Arival time is, deliberately, after 2:00 and the large place is nearly empty.
The Girls settled in
There was quite a lot of discussion as to what we should have for lunch. Julie of course wanted the salmon on the menu but Alexandra cautioned that it was likely frozen and not very nice. She suggested we go for one of the platters for two:
We eventually selected the Outlawry DinnerPickled vegies and a big slug and variety of meatsAlexandra had ordered something that was not available and went for the lamb sausages instead
The latter dish for Alexandra and the large pile of sausages eventually defeated her. Julie had a side salad and with some of the pickled vegies, and a litle bit of the meat, evenually had enough. Me, I piked out with still a fair bit left on the platter.
We drive back to town. It is still realtively early in the afternoon, which does not stop me from napping and Blogging. The girls go out and their separate ways. Julie goes into a market with the following photos:
A young girl offered Julie “upmarket cheeze snacks” which were glorified CheezelsJulie brought some back and as I was busy Blogging I eventually snarfed some down.
On that disgraceful note I will sign off on this Post.
