It's All A Bit Of A Blur Really

Anyone who has dabbled with the idea of going to the opera, but has been put off by UK prices, ought to put Budapest near the top of their 'to travel to' dream list.

Not being much of an opera buff, but always keen to try new things, I dropped into the Hungarian State Opera House to try and do one of those guided tours of the building. The thinking was that maybe I could feed my enthusiasm for some other time, but that for the time being a little architectural hit would be enough.

But following one of those awkward - Christ I wish I could speak the language - exchanges with the ticket office clerk, I found out that a couple of Madam (Madame, Madama - I never know) Butterfly tickets were going begging following a cancellation, minutes ago.

I been here before I thought, the ticket dregs - even cancellations - are normally for those seats conveniently placed just behind the ornate pillar where you normally leave the theatre with an in depth knowledge of column design, an aching neck, and an unhealthy hatred of just about everybody else there who had a better view. Which would have been everybody.

But no. Two tickets for seats right in the front of a well positioned box seat. For the miserly sum of £28 quid each. All that remained was a French Connection style burn back to the hotel utilising multiple modes of transport, and throwing on half decent clobber worthy of the event. Then an error strewn trip back of comical proportions involving late trams, wrong side metro trains and nearly getting ourselves run over twice somehow bringing us, decadently, tippy toeing past the already ensconced side sitters in the box feeling the almost palpable hush as the orchestra struck up it's curtain opening intro.

A few whispered scuses later, the top plush seats so glaringly left empty were occupied. By us.