Tour of Parliament

On our FULL DAY OF SIGHTSEEING in Budapest, we chose to spend part of it touring the Parliament building. If it's possible to have a crush on a building, this would be our building crush. We paid an expensive fee and got an English tour of the parts of Parliament that were a) open to the public and b) weren't being used by Parliament (which was actually in session that day).

This is the first thing you see when you exit the metro station. It's actually a little breathtaking.

We bought our tickets and then had to wait for about 45 minutes until our tour time. Because it was FREEZING, we hung out at a nearby cafe and had the best hot chocolate I think I've ever had. It was sort of like hot chocolate pudding.

This was the ceiling in one of the large entryways of the Parliament building. All of the paintings tell a little bit about Hungary's history and the glory days of the Hungarian empire. Unfortunately, I'm not very skilled with a camera, so most of my pictures can't capture how truly magnificent it was.

Fancy windows were everywhere. I took several fancy window shots, but I'll only post one. You're welcome.

One of the entryways/hallways. So grand.

Domed ceiling the room-whose-official-name-I-can't-remember. I do remember that I wasn't allowed to use my flash.

Display case housing the scepter, orb, and crown of the Magyar kingdom.

Guarded by these guys. They had real swords.

In addition to those guys, the whole place was guarded by Aslan and his twin who were hanging with the lamp posts. Of course.

I had quite a few more shots from the inside of Parliament, but very few of them turned out well. what a pity... A few more pictures and stories coming up!