mother-daughter bonding time :-)

What an amazing week I just had. Last Wednesday, my mom arrived in PRAHA! Immediately after class, I went to her hotel, which was located in a prime location right in Old Town Square. Right when I got to the hotel, we were so excited to see each other. After a little time catching up in the room and after my mom finished the Pilsner beer I got her (most popular beer in prague) I took her to the dorm to see my FABULOUS living condition and to meet my roommates. 

First sushi dinner in 2 1/2 months!

After a brief tour of my dorm (you only really need about 10 seconds to see the entire room/kitchen) we headed back to Old Town Square to this cute little italian restaurant for appetizers. I can't even describe how happy I was to be in Old Town Square, one of my favorite spots in Prague, with my mom! After some grilled asparagus and sausage, we started walking around to find a spot for dinner. Once I told my mom I was craving sushi since it had been 2 and a half months since I've eaten it, she decided that's what we were going to eat...and I could not have been more thrilled! We went to this cute sushi place called Yami Sushi. We were pretty adventurous as always, and ordered a few of their specialty rolls. The rolls came out on a boat and we were both taken aback when we saw it! The food was delicious and I will definitely be back there with my friends.     
The next day, we woke up BRIGHT & EARLY for our flight to Budapest, Hungary. When I saw the tiny prop plane we were about to embark upon, I started to freak out a little bit. Luckily, I was too tired to stay scared for long since I passed out right when we took off. After a short hour and a half flight, we landed in beautiful budapest. Right when we arrived, we walked around the square by our hotel and stopped at a little cafe for some breakfast! The weather was absolutely perfect ALL weekend.. clear skies, sunny, highs of 65 in Budapest. As I'm sure you can imagine, I was very happy, considering how cold it was in the beginning. After breakfast we checked into our hotel and rested a little bit before our venture to the baths. 

Szechenyi Bath and Spa

Everyone who had been to Budapest before told me I absolutely had to go to the Szechenyi Bath and Spa, so my mom and I decided the first day would be a great day to go and start off our trip with a nice massage! What's so cool about these outdoor and indoor pools is that they are heated from underground hot springs... there are NO heaters! The downside is that the entire place smelled very strongly of sulfur... we were not too stoked about that, but what can you do. Since it was so sunny out, I decided I had to lay out on the lounge chair before my massage. I don't even remember the last time I laid out, and WOW was it amazing. Of course, there I was moving the chair every 5 minutes to be in the direct angle of the sun! Some things never change I guess. The massage was incredible as well. Apparently I had a few knots (who knew studying abroad was so stressful?!) because she was massaging REALLY AGGRESSIVELY on my upper back. It felt great though, and my mom and I were completely relaxed afterwords. When we left the baths we headed back to the hotel, the Sofitel. It was located right next to the famous Chain Bridge and our room had a gorgeous view of not only the bridge, but the city as well. After showers and naps, we were ready to venture out to our wine tasting at Faust wine cave. This place was so cool: it was underground and had such a great vibe. We tried 5 different red wines and then got to choose one more that we liked the most to try again. It was such a treat and I got to taste numerous different flavors of wines. My favorite was a blend of two different red wines! The man who owned Faust was very knowledgeable; throughout the entire tasting, he showed us (on a map) where each wine was made and where the grapes came from. After a delicious wine tasting, we kept the italian spirit going and headed to a cute little italian restaurant not far from our hotel. Overall, our first night in Budapest was a success!

Faust wine cellar in Budapest

    The next day we had a very in depth tour of the Jewish part of Budapest. Our tour guide, Andrea, really knew her history. She even talked more than Michael (and we all know that's quite an accomplishment!) However, I did learn a LOT about Budapest during the communist age. We walked into two synagogues that withstood the Nazi invasion and we walked by buildings which still had bullet holes in them! It was amazing to learn about the history of Budapest and actually see the buildings which made it through the war. In addition to the Jewish tour, Andrea took us to some important sites in Budapest. We saw the Parliament, the US Embassy, Freedom Square, and a statue remaining from the Marx era. At the end of the tour, she took us to the top of this hill where we overlooked the entire city. After a wonderful and detailed tour, we were dropped off at an indoor market, filled with vendors selling meats, cheeses, caviar, dried fruit (my favorite!), hungarian dishes, leather goods, souvenirs, glass art, and much more! We walked around and definitely did a little bit of damage here, but everything we tried was delicious! That night, we went to a restaurant called The First Strudel House, where we watched bakers stretch out the dough for strudel and make it fresh right in front of us.. YUM. On our way back, my mom and I were feeling quite adventurous so we stopped into the casino in our hotel. We were on a losing streak at this blackjack table until we all of a sudden had more chips than we started with!! Wow, guess I'm officially ready for VEGAS!

Cooking class in Budapest!

  Saturday was one of my favorite days in Budapest because we took our very special cooking class! We were each given our own station to cook a different recipe. I was at the dessert station (typical) and I made a sponge cake: half vanilla, half chocolate, with vanilla custard and rum soaked raisins! I've got to say, I was quite impressed with my skills. Just imagine how much better I'll be at cooking after living in an apartment next year! My mom made a potato soup with sausage and a mushroom cream goulash with noodles. I wasn't a huge fan of the sausage soup, but the goulash was AMAZING! The class was so much fun and we had a lot of laughs. For our last night in Budapest, we went to a very nice restaurant specializing in caviar. The food was incredible: I had borsht to start with (Nanny, I'm sure you're proud to hear this) and for my main course I got a grilled salmon on top of risotto with salmon pieces. DELICIOUS! Of course, after dinner we decided to give the casino one more go... while I didn't do so well, I learned quite a bit of blackjack 101 since I was sitting next to a professional GAMER! What a fabulous way to end the trip!
 Back to Prague we went! My mom took my roommates, along with Jenna's boyfriend, Mack, out to a cute czech restaurant. We all had a great time talking and catching up on our weekends. I am so glad my mom got to meet my friends whom I talk about all the time! Now she can actually put a face to a name. After some wine and delicious food, we called it a night and headed back to the hotel. Monday was definitely not the most uplifting of days because me, my mom, Jenna, and Mack headed to Terezin, a concentration camp located about 45 minutes from Prague. It was unbelievable to be standing in the cells that Jews were crammed into, walking on the paths that lead to most of the deaths, and to visit the crematorium where nearly 80,000 bodies went through. Our tour guide was unreal, mostly because he was so passionate about the subject and he was full of knowledge. It was crazy and sad to see the camp, and I learned a lot about the propaganda of Terezin. Unfortunately Jenna and I had class but when I was done, my mom and I walked around a little before dinner and then we headed to this adorable italian place overlooking a very busy street. We split a pizza and pasta dish and like every other night, had great conversation and plenty of laughs! On our way back to the hotel, we walked through Wenceslas square and lucky for me, past H & M where my mother so kindly bought me a number of cute dresses to start my internship wardrobe! 

On the Charles Bridge

Unfortunately the last day of my mom's visit came too quickly! Tuesday I had class but met up with my mom at one of our favorite spots: Bohemia Bagel. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it. After, we walked into the Spanish Synogague which was awesome to see, especially after having been to Terezin. Since it was such a gorgeous day out, we walked toward the castle and stopped by the river at this cafe for some wine and a latte. What a wonderful way to spend the day! I had such a great time walking around the city pointing out all my favorite spots. For our last night together we went to the most incredible restaurant I've ever been to. Located at the top of the Dancing House, Celeste, a French restaurant, overlooked the entire city. We got there at sundown, and by the time we left, the entire city was lit up perfectly. Our meal was unbelievable! After wine, lobster appetizer, and veal rib, we were stuffed! After a quick look on the terrace which had breathtaking views from outside, we headed back to the hotel. Honestly, this was the best week I've had, and I am so glad my mom got to see what my life has been like here. I can't even describe how amazing this city is but now she got to witness the beauty of it!