Some ideas of "fun in Budapest"!

When visiting a new place, are you always in search of fun, interactive activities?
Are you an active person, that doesn't really like to follow the classic tourist paths when visiting a city?

Then perhaps some tips and tricks, from my recent Budapest visit, may be of your interest :-)

We don't usually do the <<group guided city visits>> and we don't always go for the classical "must see" sights. Usually we select the interactive & fun experiences...

Here's some of my favorite "to do's" in Budapest:

RoomEscape Games - Out of all the European cities, I think Budapest is home to most real room escape games. I heard there are over 100 games in the city... basically, there's plenty to choose from, for every visit :-)
This time we tried two of them, from different "providers": Claustrophilia and Trap

Both of them were interesting and each left an impression... Every room-escape game is designed in a different way so it's pretty hard to get bored from playing!
The goal [to get out in time] is the only constant for each real room escape game :-) During the first plays, it's most probably you won't get out in time, but after some games, "not failing" becomes a personal goal :-D
It's been a while since we've been playing these games and I must say, while playing the game @Trap, I had some doubts we were actually going to make it :-)
But, our 5 members-team managed to work together and ... successfully we got out with 5 more minutes to go ;;)

We played one game from each, so there are some "scenarios" left for when we come back next time :-) Besides, we collected Cards from other room escape games in Budapest, for our next visit.

Aquaworld - a collection of indoor and outdoor pools, hosting a great variety of water-slides... I'm usually not a great slide-fan, but you can find some also for the "weak-hearts" :-)
Thanks to a great friend, I got over my "slide-fears" :P and had a great deal of fun!
Overall, the indoor place is not so big, but during the warm season there are also a variety of outdoor activities.

Miniversum - a collection of interactive miniature worlds... saying more would spoil the visit, plus, I'd rather let some pictures describe it...

So, whether you're traveling with children, or just in the mood to feel like a child again :D , don't miss a tour of the Miniversum... A tour of miniature European sights that becomes even more lively during the evening when the lights go off and the miniatures "come to life" :-)  

While we're talking "miniature worlds", did you get a chance to visit the "Marzipan Museum" of Budapest? ... Some of the Marzipan art, left me nostalgic about the cartoons I grew up with... :-)
Enjoy!

So, for now I have only one thing left to say... Have fun, the next time you're in Budapest!

Enchanted by Gaudi's work, in Barcelona

I must say, Barcelona is, by far, the greatest place I've ever visited: colorful streets; the latin spirit feels spread everywhere; a ton of places to see, to visit, a lot of museums (per square meter!) and most important, it's located by the sea...  All in all, it has all the spices and flavors that a proper vacation requires :)
This colorful city, with a very strong beating pulse, is practically inviting you to discover it by foot: weather it's a long walk on the beach, or sitting in the port to see the vessels, visiting Las Ramblas, crossing the Gothic Quarter, or taking the Cable Car up on Montjuic, picking a museum to check out or simply eating out, to try some traditional dishes... At every corner you may find something a museum, a building, a store, a view, that will take your breath away and impress you to such a level that it will stay in your soul, long after the city visit is over... and silently whispering to you: when are we coming back? there is yet so much more to see, to do, to feel, to live. 

Though I ended up falling in love with this city, what actually drove me towards it in the first place, was the great curiosity I had, to see, live, Antoni Gaudi's works of art. His great name is liked to Barcelona and any tourist can feel the city's vibe through his creations.
I have been impressed by Gaudi's work just by reading about it (like anybody would probably be), so, seeing it all with own eyes, was truly amazing! I don't even know how to describe the mixture of feelings... It made me realize, more intense that any picture, the immense value of his unique work, the grandeur of his masterpieces. Those kinds of "things" that never fade away in time, that are yet as lively, as appealing and as impressive, as in the day of their creation...
                                       

Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo and others, Palau Guell, each of them has a special story to tell... A vibrant story about shapes, about how a genius mind can imagine and put together shapes and concepts inspired by nature, by animals, in order to create a very natural and friendly environment.

From impressive, to strong, to warm, each building seems to be alive and project these feelings, depending on its nature.
Inside Casa Batllo I found the warmth of a loving home, that seems to breath along with you and the protection of the dragon or dinosaur on the roof. Up to that point, I never had the feeling of a home that it, itself, loves and protects you!

The feelings that the environment projects feelings, comes back stronger inside Palau Guell. This building is massive, impressive and protective, yet warm and graceful... whispering in your ears the sound of comfort and security combined.

Disneyland, the return to childhood...

"Yes! I do! :-) but only if you dare to waltz with me, here, in the crowd :-D !"
And so, I waltzed with my soul-mate (now husband :-)) in the crowd, in front of the beautiful show of light display and fireworks, projected on the Disney Castle, right after sundown and before closing time.

It was beautiful... the perfect ending of a pretty magical day...

Of course I'm aware of the strong contradiction between the idea of a "return to childhood" and "a wedding proposal", but that's just it! :-) Even as an adult, I did not loose touch with my inner child..
It's like a psychological bridge... when you go back to your childhood and then, at the end of the day, you have that strong feeling that now it's time to grow up! :-)  I sometimes believe that part of my soul never grew up and never will, thus loves to play board games, loves stories, loves to visit amusement parks and aqua themed parks and so much more...

This is why, he found the perfect place for us: Paris, one of the most romantic cities, still not a 'cliche'-place, but Disneyland - to show how well he knows me :-)

So, what is Disneyland all about? Kids would dress up as princesses, pirates, cartoons and would run around feeling part of the story :-)
Us adults must keep the "tourist" approach and avoid getting carried away by our childhood memories and dreams...

Still, we can get carried away... enjoy the mini-trains-rides that take you on a different journey for each story... feel like flying around in Neverland like Peter Pan; or find out Pinocchio's story from the paintings on the walls during another mini-train ride...

Then, after wondering on the magical streets of the park, you finally get to Alice's wonder land :-)

or take a crazy spin, in the Mad Hatter's Tea cups... if that's not suffice, you can take another crazy spin :D ... but have in mind that you have an entire park to see and you cannot do that when taking the same ride too many times!

When you are "sick and tired" of this dreamy and colorful display of fairy-tale (yeah, like that could ever happen!) take the road to Adventure Island... :-) and enjoy the boat trip

or - if you dare - just let the roller coaster take you for a spin, around Big Thunder Mountain!

Every corner of the park will surprise you with something new, something "Disney-authentic", every sight and every image of the park will trigger and will awake one or several childhood long-forgotten memories. 

Or, just to get you out of the comfort of your safe zone, make sure that the Haunted Manor is part of your Disney Park route :-)
Every gift shop, store, restaurant or fast-food is different... In Pirate's Cove you can enjoy an "in-door" restaurant, on the river-bank and see the river-trains scaring the tourists on the river falls :) or you can be on the other side, enjoying the Pirate's ride!

We chose a saloon for a coffee pit-stop, just because it sounds and looks fancy and glamorous ;;)

It's good to catch your breath from time to time :-) and fill your batteries... whenever there's enough energy left in your batteries, take a tour of the next-door park, Walt Disney Studios! Basically, this means jumping from the fairy-tale land to animated movies land :-) it's like jumping from one childhood dream into another!

Don't miss the opportunity to see the screaming tourists in the Tower of terror (the high tower in the picture above, seen from one side), or be one of them, if you dare! I basically turned around just before reaching the elevator and after I saw the whole picture from the outside, I kept telling myself that I had made the right choice :D

There are so many activities, games, short-movies, that will keep you busy for the entire day... what am saying, this will keep you busy for an entire week or even more! :-)

After we took a big big breath of Disney Park and a smaller breath of Walt Disney Studios (normally one day will only suffice if you run around from corner to corner :P) we came back to Disney fairy tale world, for the closing show...

There, in that 30 minutes show, with cartoons projected on the Disney Castle, fireworks and true shows of light, it was there where I really really found myself in the middle of a fairy tale love story... as I already confessed ;;) in the beginning. In my mind and soul, I felt like a Princess, like a modern Cinderella (that lost her sneaker :P), like a modern Snow White (dressed in jacket and jeans), but outfit did not matter, because what truly mattered was that, there, in Disneyland, I was enjoying that very special moment, with my Prince Charming :-) (also wearing jeans and a backpack :P)

Though we're nor prince nor princess... we can still think of ourselves that way ;;) because imagination has no boundaries... Imagination is what keeps us going and stories teach us to use our imagination and to know no limits... ;;) Leaving the Disney world magic... but still holding on to the magical world of fantasy and child hood fairy tales... below some pictures from our wedding dances...
The wedding was in real-land... but our souls where somewhere far far away, in a fantasy land where dreams sometimes come true...

Ballroom dancing, a "look back" in time...

Whenever I get the chance to watch a ballroom dance-competition, I admire the dancers, their great talent, appearance, the graceful yet very energy-full movements.
But, on the same level, what catches my eye, is the dancers' glamorous appearance, with the long and complex designed dresses; men wearing the elegant tail suits; outfits combined with the dancers' perfect looks: hair, makeup, great shape!

The ball gowns, with their very rich history during the 18th and 19th centuries have been re-edited in today's ballroom dancing dresses, used in shows and competitions. I'm sure the dress designers have a very interesting job, of combining the materials into shapes, the corset-like tops, with the rich multi-layered skirts, adding of course the modern touch to create true "pieces of art"...

It is then, in the middle of the Waltz, that my imagination flies away... far away... in a land of Fairy tail; where a ball takes place... and the pairs are floating on the dance-floor so peaceful, graceful.

Slow waltz originates from Germany and was refined by the English school. Wienner waltz was originally an austrian folk dance. Only in the 1900s it became known and danced by the upper class, gaining it's well-deserved position next to the slow waltz [more info here].

It's a pity people don't dance any more, in a real meaning of the dance... Less and less people are interested in learning the "classical dances". Some, just try to make an impression and rehearse or learn for their Big wedding day something that tries to resemble a waltz but looks more like a fake moment they managed to "pull off" ... I admire that intention also, but I'm so sorry that we've all 'missed' the times when people used to dance... as a culture, as a social act, a high-class social act...

Let's now enjoy some fragments of the past eras...

Special delivery from Argentina: Tango!

Did you also notice that Argentine Tango has spread all around Europe!?!
That' great because Dancing makes people better, on so many levels... from the top of my head: more beautiful, more open-minded, less stressed, less introverted, more communicative, more assertive, more sociable, thus, so much happier!

In my location, the first School of Tango opened in 2010. Now, there are at least 5 schools and I deeply believe the number will continue to grow.
All the people that met and fell in love with <tango>, have grown into a very numerous and classy community of "tangueros" (tango dancers). Being a social (saloon) dance, people easily interact with each-other, not only during the tango-classes or seminars but also during the Milongas (the Parties focused on Argentine Tango music).

The dance is pretty much based on improvisation, based on the on-the-spot inspiration of the music.
Unlike Dancesport for example, where you rehearse the same choreography over and over, with the same partner, in order to achieve a high technical and musical performance (for competitions), in social dancing the goal is not to be technical and sportive, but to have a nice time, to interact with other people, to be able to dance "with everyone at the party".

However, improvisation does not mean that you don't need to know anything, just listen to the music. During the tango classes, people learn the musicality of the dance, various tango figures and rules on the tango dance-floor (e.g. moving direction, to avoid collision with other couples :)) - if you ever practiced any ballroom dance, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about!).

The improvisation stands in the way the tango-figures are combined and lead by the leader (the man), according his inspiration and feeling of the music. The follower (the woman) knowing the "routines" is able to perform the figure that the leader expects, thus, creating an- every-time unique choreography.

This is the beauty of every social dance, the variety of people interaction and that's why it became very popular in a very short time. The tango society is not only local, but there's a strong connection between the tango schools and dancers, all around Europe. In almost all the weekends, you can find and least one Tango Event, somewhere in Europe.
Tango a like a natural communication language - anybody who attended tango-classes should be able to dance with other tango dancers even though he / she may have never even met before.

Two strangers that don't speak the same language, may dance together at a Milonga Party, because, they do speak the same language: Tango :)
If you ever attended of plan to attend Tango events, you know - or will find out - that anything connected to Tango Milongas is "language free" :-) I somehow find this very mysterious, but very attractive and exciting: the leader will invite the lady to dance - with a look - if she wants to dance, she will meet him on the dance floor; if she doesn't she will act like she didn't catch the look. During the dance itself, the tangueros don't make conversation, they just enjoy the dance and the music.

Even though we became familiar with Argentine Tango a few years ago, we did not attend so many tango classes and parties, because we were more focused on Sportdance and some other social dances. So I guess it's not fair to say that we are part of the local tango community, but what I can say for sure, is that I've truly enjoyed every Argentine Tango event, attended so far.
Below some picture we took, when we attended great tango show.

.

What I loved most and what I still remember with great pleasure, is a show dance that I like to call "a special delivery from Argentina". An Argentine Tango show, performed by a couple of genuine Argentine Dancers, that were invited, as part of an international Tango Festival.
Their performance was so incredibly intense, that even when I look at the pictures, I can still feel the passion and intense emotions that were floating in the air, while they were performing: the vibrant colors of their dance; the strong passion they were able to deliver; the mixture of feelings and the authenticity of spirit.
That was not only the "cherry on top" of that event - but, for me personally - that was the "cherry on top" for my entire idea of Tango Dancing :-)
Here are some pictures we took, but I must say it once more, there was so much more going on in the atmosphere :) much, much more than the pictures can show:

It doesn't matter why you dance, where you dance, what you dance and whom you dance it with,
as long as it makes you happy, keep dancing! Dance with passion! 

Friday Night Dance Fusion

Already a "tradition" in our local social-dancing community, organized once in a while and usually on Friday evenings, the so called Friday Night Dances, a party where attendees can enjoy the well known rhythms of ballrooms dances, such as Waltz, Quick Step, Tango, harmoniously mixed with the latin rhythms such as Cha-Cha, Jive, Samba, Rumba.

Due to the international dance festival organized this year, the organizers reinvented the idea of Friday Night Party and mixed together all the dances promoted by this year's festival: thus creating the very-original Friday Night Dance Fusion, a fusion of: Sport/social dance, Argentine Tango, Contemporary dance, Caribbean dances and street dance; with show-dances and special performances.

When we decided to attend this party, I didn't know I was going to love it so much!!!
As a connoisseur, I have raised my standards of a quality-social-dance party; :-) having a history of social-dance parties that I've attended in the past years (from New-Year's Social-Dance Parties, Halloween and so on) to the usual or classical Friday Night Dances (that we even helped organized, from time to time).

This party, the Friday Night Dance Fusion, had all the spice & pepper it needed: high quality location with great food and beverages plus the party specials: themed cocktails; a wooden dance-floor, the groups of music lovers gave the party a unique atmosphere; the musical variety, all topped with the surprising shows... all combined, turned this party into the best event of it's kind (that I've ever attended). Each of us came with a style or from a group but we ended up watching and even dancing, learning or practicing other dance styles.

As I didn't have my camera, I will use the existing photos, thus photo credits will be mentioned in the end of this post.

Perhaps Contemporary Dancing is not so easy to understand, if you're not familiar with it (as I was not), my impression, is that the style is more in the sphere of theatrical, calculated, but warm :-)
Anyways, what I can say for sure is that, the dance was delightful for the eyes, the ears, the heart!!!

One of my favorite parts, the ballroom dancing show! This sport-dance moment was the one that I enjoyed the most! This young couple of Professional Dancers offered us a close-to-perfection interpretation of three dances that I very much like: slow waltz, tango and slow fox. A delight for the eyes and for the soul; awesome dancers, great costumes, wonderful poses and  posture, attitude, technique and musicality... 

As I mentioned previously, there was a Fusion of five styles: Contemporary Dances, Street Dance, Ballroom, Argentine Tango and Caribbean Dances. The well known salsa and bachata are part of this last mentioned group. We saw the dancers from the "Salsa school" perform on the rhythms all night long. They prepared a special, very passionate bachata show... heating up both the floor and the atmosphere! Watch them :-)

As another sign of a successful party, the dance floor was always full between the dance performances. People were enjoying themselves and dancing to their favorite rhythms, music, they were all "dance-stars" :-) 

Even though we didn't get the chance to learn so much Argentine Tango, I must say it's one of my soft sports, because it's very very unexpected. The tango orchestra turns rapidly from soft, to passionate and even to brutal noises. Music is the star of the dance floor, the dancers (leader and follower) seem like puppets, in the hands of music; they will surprise you with great poses and a lot of passion that's going on, on the dance floor.

I'm now looking forward for future Dance Parties, that will top this one!!! ;;)

[photo credits: Sebastian Gruia / Reflekt Image; follow the link for more pics]

Why do we dance?

Some years ago, I started to take dance classes, as a hobby, a way of combining sports with fun. I've never been an active person, thus there are few sports that I really enjoy. Mainly cycling and dancing :) ... plus some others that I practice rarely...

I enjoy bike riding, during the warm seasons, but it's more like a context-based activity (weather, trip ideas, group of friends and so), I don't do this on a regular basis. When I don't get the chance to bike ride for several months, I don't feel any regret, frustration or need, as I would if I'd skip dancing for some months.
I never enjoyed Aerobics and similar activities, as I find them both tiring and mostly boring. Even when I'm exhausted at the end of a dance-class, I still feed good about myself for having achieved more experience.

Social dancing has grown so much in my life, to the point where it became a way of living. For me, a way of self definition. :)
The sporadic Dance-Sport competitions (for adults), occasional shows, the Social Dance parties, the classes, the seminars; I enjoy and feel proud of being part of the local dance community.

So, knowing a lot of people who love dancing (like sport or social dance, tango argentino, ballet, contemporary dance and so many more... ) makes me wonder I've been thinking...
Why do we dance? Why does it make us happy? Why does dancing define who we are?
Why do we enjoy dancing, while other people in the community totally refuse to even try this?

Some may dance for personal achievement, attending the sport-dance competitions, putting all their effort, mind and body strength, artistic talent into the goal of climbing the sport-dance ladder and reaching the top.
The great artist enchant us with ballet and other rhythms, dancing on the great Theater or Opera stages, combining dancing with other beautiful arts..
Others may dance as a way of fun socializing... No matter the personal reasons, dancing provides you the way to let your mind and body out of the box, expressing you true nature, passion, feelings and energy on the dance floor.

I can't think of a more powerful tool or manner of expression, than dancing. It's the expression of the soul, the artist's state of mind, expressed by very complex body language.

Could dancing be the most powerful language of expression? More powerful than words, pictures, gesture.. because it is so complex, on so many levels, it can transcend word, images, sounds: this unique and subjective combination of movement, facial expressions, reactions, accents, rhythm; interpretation of rythm... musicality; feeling. Ten dance-couples executing the same figures will show you 10 different dances... as each dance is filtered by own personality, own feeling, own emotion... Dancers are able to express Passion, without saying the words, in so many different ways, that there wouldn't be enough words in the dictionary to describe these feelings.

The passionate people dwell in the latin hot rhythms. The more romantic, prefer the tenderness of a hug, during a slow dance... words are not even necessary...
I guess from time to time, we all enjoy an energy boost and "jump up, jump up!" :-D keep the energy pouring on the dance-floor!!!

Whether your dance-floor is a stage, a competition wooden floor, a saloon party, of just the living-room of your house, keep dancing, if dancing makes you happy!!! :-)