Budapest.....Swedish boys, dancing, stolen wallet and 19 year olds...

Manage to squeeze myself in to a packed little carriage bound for Budapest. It only seats 6 - there is me, an old Hungarian man and 4 Swedish schoolboys, who look utterly petrified by me and can barely look me in the face. Though I do make the best of efforts with them (not sure if offering them alcohol from my stash is the way forward though....) they are all shy boys. Oh well...

Nonetheless, me, the Hungarian professor and the Swedes manage minimal conversation on the ENDLESS journey, and the professor warns me about thieving gypsies in Budapest, and insists that he will make sure I get to my hostel ok. Reminiscent of Dumbledore and totally adorable. We eventually arrive and the professor puts me on a bus in the right direction, and I find my hostel, Tiger Tims.

Immediately feel really welcome when I arrive; It's really friendly and homely, and the staff, Tim, Meg and Daniel are really lovely. Everyone is heading out later on, so definitely getting involved in that :-)

Shower, cup-a-soup (mmm, nutritious) and drinking games (ie jenga) ensue, and a whole bunch of us head out to an outdoor bar/club called Cha Cha Cha. Having a brilliant night chatting to people, when suddenly DISASTER. Daft, careless wino Charlotte has reared her ugly head yet again, and after having abandoned my handbag, suddenly realises that the purse (credit cards, ID, money et al) has gone. Oh dear.

Not one to let a minor incident such as this mar a perfectly good bev session, we keep on partying, though as the night progresses, I am acutely aware that I am not getting my purse back. Problem.

Back at Tiger Tim's, I fall asleep in usual style (on top the the bedsheets, fully clothed), pretty much oblivious to my stupidity. It's only the few hours worth of telephone calls the next day that makes me realise the gravitas of the situation....

Eventually manage to get a Western Union money transfer (thanks Dad!) and all order is restored. I shall party again, and my glass shall runneth over once more. So, with money once more, me Jaii and Amanda, two ace American girls staying at my hostel, head out for the day, to the Museum of Ethnography (basically the gypsy museum!) It's really good, and I am more than a bit jealous of the fashions on display. After, we head for some falafels, before going back to the hostel for a power nap, then more drinking/partying.

We all head back out that night, and the drinks are flowing far too easily....wine, palinka, beer, hookahs....whatever! And this can be the only rational explanation for what happened next.....

With all sense of dignity and self respect trailing about behind me somewhere (along with my liver), I hook up with a 19 year old. Yes. 19. Usually I would try to justify this by saying he doesn't look 19, so it doesn't really count. And he doesn't actually look 19....I would say more like 16. 17 at a push. This could be a new low, even for me.

And the best is yet to come.....