Budapest was the last stop of our Europe trip in 2011. The capital of Hungary is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and is home to numerous World Heritage sites including Heroes' Square, Buda Castle Quarter and Andrassy Avenue. You'll see more pictures of these lovely attractions in my later posts.

Did you know that Budapest was initially made up of 2 cities, named Buda and Pest? These 2 cities were then united in 1873 to form Budapest. Buda is where the castle quarter resides while Pest is where the city is.

Truth be told, there is really nothing remotely frightening about Slovakia, except for the strong winds that we experienced. If anything, it is the quietest, most peaceful city I've ever been to. The people are generally friendly and very good-looking too (especially the girls). That probably explains why we spent most of our time chilling out at cafes and people-watching. :P

You may recall that I blogged about Cesky Krumlov a while back, under I left my heart in Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov may just be a small town in Czech Republic, but not only is the scenery captivating beyond words, there are also some very interesting sights to behold.

We visited the Mirror Labyrinth, which is essentially a maze lined with mirrors. This temporary exhibition has the largest number of mirrors in Europe and is designed to give you the illusion of indefinite corridors.

It was exhilarating and nerve-wrecking at the same time because it was virtually impossible for us to find our way out! We almost bumped into the mirrors and killed ourselves on several occasions, so it's really important to put your hands in front of you as you walk!

After we got out of the maze relatively unscathed, we ventured upstairs to view the distorting mirrors! Doesn't JW look like one of the characters in the cartoon "The Incredibles" with his huge-ass head and tiny body? LOL!

OMG..check out my fat legs!!! These are my legs at their stumpiest! We look like hobbits from Lord of the Rings right?

After laughing at our ridiculous images, we moved on to the Museum of Torture. It felt like we were thrown from Heaven to Hell instantly. All the funny images that we encountered vanished as we descended into a dark, musky dungeon where instruments of torture awaited us.

Deep down below in the pitch dark chamber lay torture instruments such as the witches' chair, knuckle cruncher and other unimaginable equipment used during them medieval ages. The walls were icy cold and you could hear water trickling, combined with the horrific screams of witches burning in a corner. It sent shivers down our spine!

As if to tell us our nightmare hadn't ended, we returned to our hotel only to see everyone dressed in medieval costumes! Goodness, they looked like ghosts! Haha but we realised soon enough that they were just guests as they were all Asians. :P


Plus, there was one knight in shining armour who came to our rescue!


Haha, he's one of the many statues that the hotel placed around the lobby. He looks kinda creepy up close actually. :S

Both the Museum of Torture and the hotel are perfect locations for haunted houses during Halloween! You don't even need props! Speaking of which, it's time I start sorting out those Halloween pictures! You'll see them in time to come I promise. :)

The waters are crystal clear and the sand is so fine you literally sink into it as you walk along the beach.


In case you were wondering, these shadows belong to us. JW insisted that we take this photo as he thought it was a romantic moment, but in reality, I was chasing him to hurry so I could get out of the hot sun. I was about to melt.

Yup, now you know I'm really a vampire.


As we were there in late summer, when the skies were still blue and the sun was scorching, the beach was rather crowded. This was on a weekday afternoon, mind you, but it felt as if it was a Saturday! All along the beach, you'll see the young and old suntanning, swimming or just chilling out with a magazine on their laps. Unfortunately, I didn't expect to go to the beach on this trip because I thought it'll be cold, so I didn't have any beachwear with me. :(

One of the unique characteristics of this tapas joint is that there is no menu. The servers make recommendations and you basically just go with the flow. One thing to note though, the seating capacity is extremely limited - everyone just sits at the bar counter, so if you can, try to get there just before dinner time to avoid the queue!

You can't see from the picture below, but by the time we left at about 8pm, there was a long queue right up to the door. I reckon there were at least 20 people waiting for their turn. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Barcelona's Gothic Quarter is the heart of the city's old town. It is home to many buildings dating to as far back as the Medieval times.

Within the Gothic Quarter lies a famous cafe by the name of 4Cats, which used to be frequented by famous artists including Pablo Picasso. It was here that Picasso first exhibited his paintings and the cover of the menu (bottom right) was drawn by the artist himself.

Established in 1897, the cafe still retains its old world charm and the walls are decorated with beautiful paintings of the artists who used to meet at the cafe.

Well, they're all dead now of course, and the cafe seems to be more of a tourist attraction now thanks to its historical background. To say that the cafe is bustling with life is probably an understatement, although the pictures here depict a different atmosphere altogether. We were just lucky to have gotten there before the lunch crowd arrived.

Before our set lunches were served, we saw tour groups from Mainland China and tourists from various parts of the world streaming in and out of the cafe as if it were a museum. The Mainland Chinese tourists occupied the long tables and were so loud and animated throughout their meal, you could hear their shrill voices from a mile away.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a Caucasian couple cringe in disgust at the uncouth Mainland Chinese tourists who were talking at the top of their voices without any consideration for their fellow diners. JW and I could only look on in exasperation as we prayed that no one would associate us with the Mainland Chinese.

While the service was friendly and attentive, the quality of the food left much to be desired. I admit that I am a fastidious eater and I can be pretty picky about my food, but even my other half felt that the food here paled in comparison to other eateries and cafes in Barcelona.