preface; i have taken all of the photos posted here but they have been edited and stylized to give them an appearance resembling works of art. the reason for this is revealed in the text

When at home we are not among the most avid cafe patrons but recently we travelled to Budapest for a week and one of the first places we visited was the illustrious New York Cafe, which claims to be the most beautiful cafe in the world. now beauty is in the eye of the beholder and i have not been to enough cafes around the world to judge the validity of that claim but i do know it is certainly the most beautiful cafe either of us have ever been to.

even from the entrance the extravagance is striking. the high ceiling replete with art, the high and wide arches, the ornate carvings, the spiralled marble columns, the furnishing all bring us off the streets of modern Budapest straight into the Italian Renaissance, though we are early on a weekday the place is packed so there was about a 15 minute wait to get seated. no problem at all, on the contrary it gave us time to take it all in and get adjusted. we don't have anything like this back home and we we not alone snapping shots with our phones as we stood in line.

there was so much going on with the decor that it took a while to focus on any particular scene but at least while standing the paintings on the ceilings are perhaps the most out of the ordinary. since it opened in 1894 it has always been a stamping ground for artists and authors and the management has been a patron of the arts and especially literature for 130 years and still going strong. once the eyes grew accustomed to the grandeur a closer look revealed that the features were somewhat tarnished. instead of reducing the overall feel of the place it added a dimension of history.

we were escorted to our table and who knows which cultural celebrities have sat at this very table through the years. as i mentioned the place was full so the service was not fast, and again that is not a complaint. in fact it suited us just fine because we were here for the experience, not just a cup of coffee and we in no hurry to be anywhere else.

long before the menu came we knew this was going to be pricey so it was no shock to see a 24 carat gold cappuccino for 12 euros. that's not even twice the price of an above average coffee in a paper cup at an international airport. being the gold bugs we are it was an obvious choice we ordered the house's special chocolate cake to share.

while we waited i walked over to the musicians playing 'hits' of classical composers. i couldn't name any of the composers of the pieces they played but at least i recognized some.

they were a string quartet accompanied by an instrument i have never seen before. it was like a cross between a clavichord and a hammered dulcimer. anyway the music fit the scene perfectly and made the wait for the coffee to be served relaxed and pleasant.

when the cappuccino arrived it met our high expectations and more with shiny flakes of gold topping the NY logo. i don't know how anyone could top this whole experience.

a spoonful of luxury and we enjoyed every minute.