We went to another walk in Budapest, and this time as we strolled the streets our bellies filled up as well. Budapest Urban Adventures is a business with small-group sightseeing tours, primarily for foreigners. Even though it's part of a franchise system, we shouldn't jump into negative associations. The Bites and Sights walk is personal, direct, relaxed and an exciting gastro-adventure even for people from Budapest. The guarantee is the selection of Lívia Szívós and Enikő Gaskó.
Educational butcher
The Great Market Hall is must-see sight for foreigners, but if we look at the function as well, it couldn't be a more ideal origo for Budapest Urban Adventures' Bights and sights tour. The visual illustrations are behind glass counters, there are plenty of samples, and instead of mood painting we can learn about the goodies' historical background.
What does a crescent moon have in common with aubergine cream? How does pasta become tészta? What is Unicum made of, and what makes foie gras so delicious? We discussed questions like these.
Fish that have never seen the sea
Lívia has many guests who think fish is something that comes from the sea or the ocean and arrives on their plates after being prepared in a variety of ways. They are worth showing what we can do with freshwater fish, and so the tasting continued in Halkakas.
The password is, let's say, a triple: curio, hungaricum, delicious! In this spirit, we got dessert in Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé and washed down everything with a fröccs in Táskarádió. Usually even Lívia isn't willing to undertake the task of teaching the foreigners each fröccs type's name, but a good-hearted "Egészségedre!" ("Cheers!") is basic knowledge we shares every time. After we sent the wine down, we proceeded to the Jewish quarter.
Foods, feelings
Bites and sights - and not just in name. During the walk we felt that the sights we got to see were in perfect harmony with the food we tasted. So it was obvious that after wandering in streets of synagogues, we'd taste something with, for example, matzah dumplings in it. In Kőleves we got a chance to discuss the tour some more.
We had our last opportunity for this with a glass of wine at the Bazilika - we discussed impressions of Hungarian gastronomy or even of the cobblestone streets of Budapest. At the end, everyone bid Lívia farewell with a fuller stomach and head.
