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Thursday
30th March
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Arrival
in Budapest
 Despite
an hour's delay at Gatwick and a lorry getting stuck under a bridge
on the road into Budapest, everyone arrived safe and happy at
the Poli...
... but
without Alaric's bag, which Easyjet forgot to put on board. They
have promised its safe arrival on Friday afternoon, so fingers
crossed
After a
few words and a few Hungarian snacks in the school, the partners
went home together for dinner (including a trip to the supermarket
on the way...) and to get to know one another
The Elliott
jazz band are set to play three times, so a rehearsal was quickly
arranged for Friday afternoon...
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Friday
31st March
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School
day
A couple
of English lessons with shy Hungarian kids to start the day - at
least the English teachers got some practice!
The morning
visit to the Castle District included a trip to a sweet shop, tempting
one Elliott partner to consume lots of chocolate and some energy
drinks, turning him into a one-man singing-dancing-hugging machine
Back at school,
an impromptu footie match outside was followed by a kickabout inside,
which left Andreas bleeding and everyone sweating - must have been
the 'dry heat' of Hungary or the altitude or something...
But no rehearsal!
We couldn't get permission to use the bass amp, so the guys are
bit nervous about their performances... |
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Saturday
1st April
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Afternoon
visit to Szentendre
Due to the very high level of the Danube, we had to change our
plans, going to Szentendre instead of Visegrad
Szentendre
is a cute little town just north of Budapest, so we jumped on
a bus and then on a local train to get there, seeing the 60s-built
flats and rolling Buda hills along the way
Our trip
to the Marzipan Museum included a rush to the loo and some laughing
at the edible Michael Jackson, followed by an ice-cream outside...
... followed
by more ice-creams at regular intervals during the 2 hours of
free time by the river and in the cobbled streets
A quiet,
relaxing afternoon, from which nobody will forget their first
taste of 'langos' (greasy cheese-covered deep-fried bread)
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Sunday
2nd April
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Day
with families
Cale fishing
on Lake Balaton - followed by spicy Hungarian fish soup...
Thomas and
Wilfred visiting a folk festival
Anibal and
Alfie making it to Visegrad |
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Monday
3rd April
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Parliament
and 'Afternoon Tea' festival
The
longest sightseeing so far, with a school escort to Heroes' Square
and a private quided tour of the Parliament, followed by a search
for Gul Baba
Back to
school for the long-awaited band rehearsal and another kick-about
Then upstairs
for 'Afternoon Tea', a special English festival, which kicked
off with a 15-minute speech by the headmaster
Some excellent
Irish dancing by a student and her partner was followed by some
hip hop dance by four Poli girls
During
the tea break, the jazz boys enthralled their captive audience
In the
second half, an English/Hungarian pronunciation competition saw
Thomas and Wilfred excelling with their new language, helping
Elliott win by 106 to 103.5
Karaoke
was the last official program...
... but some more jazz finished off a fun and friendly afternoon
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Tuesday
4th April
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Trip
to Szekesfehervar
Fun and
games getting everyone on board...
The best
ice cream on the trip
A very, very
popular concert by the jazz band, including lots of Hungarian students
jamming along
Even more
girls falling in love... |
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Wednesday
5th April
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Sports
and TMT music festival
A trip
up Budapest's most famous shopping street, Vaci utca, with the
ever-popular Gabor, where some lovely 'Communist' lighters were
purchased
An all-round
performance with bat and ball saw England beat Hungary by 8 wickets
in a 10-over cricket match, with Dominic smashing 4s and 6s everywhere
Hungary
got their revenge in the football, though, with the local beefcakes
turning on the style to win 3-1
Another
exceedingly popular concert by the jazz band, as part of the school's
annual music day, which also featured Andy's rock band and a nu-metal
band
Lots of
requests for email addresses...
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Thursday
6th April
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Pancakes
and home
As
a treat for their good behaviour, Sir and Miss treated the boys
to breakfast pancakes, followed by some free shopping time
The last
Hungarian school lunch was followed by a farewell get-together,
before all 20 partners went by metro and bus to the airport
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