Day 32: Central Market Hall, Gellert Baths, and Budapest by sunset

Our last day in Budapest began with another visit to the Central Market Hall, where I had a wonderful salad and beef goulash soup for lunch in a restaurant inside.

We spent the next hour or so walking around, exploring all the souvenirs from the stalls of spices, snacks, and wine.

After lunch and a violet and lavender chocolate ice cream from Lavendula, Julie headed to the WWII memorial to do some research on the controversy of Hungary's victim narrative for her essay, while I took a break and wrote.

At around 4, we went over to the Gellért Baths on the other side of the river. Very different from the older Rudas Baths in style, it made for an equally fun and relaxing afternoon.

One of the largest and most popular baths in Budapest, Gellért is known for its Art Nouveau design and Zsnolnay ceramic decor. It was one of the most beautiful buildings I'd ever been in.

We started out in the outdoor section, with the large wave pool, where kids and adults were equally enthusiastic in throwing themselves against the extraordinarily strong machine-created waves.

During the in-between periods when the waves subsided, we would go inside to enjoy the thermal baths and sauna.

We stayed in the pool right until closing time at 8, when someone came to make us leave. It was just around sunset then, when we crossed the river on the Liberty bridge.

The sky was bathed in a light rosy glow that spread as we took the Tram 2 along the banks of the Danube to dinner. It was one of the most beautiful sights I'd ever seen.