Elf's Adventures: The mystery of the missing people and their shoes left scattered on the promenade.

An evening stroll along the magnificent Danube River with the truly beautiful palace and cathedral gracing the horizon across the torrent of the Danube, on the shores of Buda. And the parliament buildings dominating the skyline where I was walking, on Pest.

It was an end of yet another adventure packed day of discovery and even some emergency shoe shopping!

This morning I left early for my morning walk around the neighbourhood, walking past the Opera House and heading towards St Stephens Bastion. I returned an hour later, due to the lame excuse of I was feeling... lame, with a terrible cramp in my left leg. So I returned back to my apartment and settled for an opportunity to have breakfast and read for half an hour. Time soon was up as I was due to go on the Hop On Hop Off bus, and I cunningly opted to go to the Opera pick up point as this was literally 3minutes walk away. Getting there early I was very impressed that the bus was rolling up to the stop as I walked to the meeting point!

I hopped on and away we went, down an avenue called Andrassy Utca. Both sides were laden with attractive antique buildings and town houses. The road was wide and according to the tour guide tape, used to have wood chips scattered on the ground so the horseman galloping down the road would not wake the wealthy neighbourhood.

We stopped at Hero Park where everywhere you turned you caught the gaze of impressive statues representing historic icons of the Hungarian existence.

The first statue in a line of fourteen was rumoured to have received his crown from the pope in the year 1000. The angel Gabriel was high above the ground holding a crown in his hand that was apparently given to the first king directly from God. To the left of the square was the museum of fine arts. On the stairs the opening of Evita was filmed here as the building is a close replica of the parliament buildings from Evita's neck of the woods.

We zigzaged through the shopping district and eventually went across the bridge named Elizabeth, her husband has a bridge named after him just further up the Danube. In the early 19th Century they were designed and built exactly the same but several wars and politics have changed his bridge but they remain there resting in peace like an old married couple.

Elizabeth took us across to Buda, rumoured to be named this from when the Turks ruled the city for 150years. Another rumour is that it is named Buda, somehow after all the thermal water that bubbles below the city. There are 118 thermal baths in this city, similar to New Zealand, hundreds of people flock here for the medicinal healing powers of the water.

We floated up a steep hill named Gellert, which up until just over a century was believed to be bewitched. The last witch hunt taking place in the late 18hundreds in Switzerland. The tour guide tape rattled off some co-incidences about people being killed etc on the hill but it was hauntingly beautiful overlooking the palace, cathedrals, bridges and all of Pest.

We then traversed across to the next hill and here I jumped off spending an hour an a half just soaking up the atmosphere, the surroundings and the history. Walking around I happened upon the changing of the guards at midday. A whole pompous ceremony with a trumpeter, guards and ceremonious opening of the gates accepting in the new guards as the public watched from afar. I then went to the courtyard of the palace. The building is huge with the west wing having been destroyed in World War II, and more than 45million artifacts being stored in the new wing alone. The palace is now home to an art gallery I didn't go in but can only imagine the masterpieces adorning the numerous walls.

From here I traipsed across to the cathedral, whose name I forget. What beauty! I can picture storytellers travelling here and coming up with weaving tales of heroes and knights conquering evil, be it from the hills or from across the river.

Having absorbed as much beauty as I could I headed back to the bus stop to hop onto the orange bus but a sign caught my eye and the knowlegde of my return being a distant one I headed off, in search of the hospital in the rock. Sounded fascinating and most probably was but after trekking for about twenty minutes I didn't come across it, having peered over the cliffs but didn't come across anything. So headed back to the bus stop.

The bus then took me back to close to the hotel and I then went shopping, for lunch and Ritter Sport. Decided that 4pm was a grand time for a feast of a turkey and beef wrap.

Putting my feet up, literally-on the coffee table, mum would not approve but I think this happened for a reason... I discovered that my trainers were hanging on by a whim and a prayer! No wonder it was a bit draughty down there. So I had to dash off to find a shoe store that had a sale on... after having done a whole cinderella out of necessity I settled on a pair of rather comfy running shoes.

I then returned to my apartment wearing my new pair of trainers, having tried them out on the walk home. Amazingly, it was far less drafty walking home.

I then ventured out to see the night sights that everyone raves about! Well all one person that I have spoken to here in Budapest. I headed off on a mission to see the three main sights resting along the Danube. And strolling along the promenade that was built rather patchily with solid stonework and then stretches of rumbling stone. On the next patch of stone work where solid bollards lined the waterfront there lay 118 bronze shoes, some in pairs, some kicked aside, so individually all facing the water. A mixture of ladies and men's and only one pair of child's shoes scattered on the edge. No where was there a placard explaining this boardwalk art or perhaps tragic historical significance. But certainly a syory lay there and my mind is racing making up its own stoires of the men and women that were lost to the mighty river.

I have settled into a restuarant close to the tourist shopping walk, having decided on here due to the Hungarian Goulash that is on special and the rather good looking staff. I have sampled therenown Hungarian Goulash and the marvellous wines from the region and am now sitting back and enjoying the diverse cosmopolitan conversations floating around from the posh couple where the husband cannot be satisfied, to the Manchester honey-mooning couple where the sife calls the shots, to the Italian misfit couple to the german book club ladies and finally the pudding Welsh looking house wives who are swimming there way through the emergence of grey hair whilst they asses the crowd over their pints of Pilsner.

Oh Budapest, what an adventure!