I Love You So Much, Austin
Living a Texas-virgin for most of my life, I traveled to Houston, Austin and Dallas within a two year period. Austin was, by far, the best and she greatly outshined her Lone Start State sisters. Perhaps it’s because my Austin trip was with friends and Houston and Dallas were work-related, but more likely it was because the eating, shopping, music, and weather in Austin couldn’t be beat.
Stay
We stayed at an Airbnb in Hyde Park, a northern suburb. While it was nice to have some extra space, rather than crowd three of us into a hotel room, next time I’d opt to stay somewhere more central with more in walking distance.
Play
While I couldn’t convince my friends to do a walking tour of the city — one of my favorite activities when visiting somewhere new — we did do a free guided tour of the Capitol building.
Under the rotunda
One of the coolest, and perhaps nerve-racking, things I’ve ever experienced was waiting for dusk on the Congress Avenue Bridge. We got a good spot as people started to gather and, channeling my inner Katie Holmes, tried to enjoy the million+ bats flying overhead.
Another unique Austin treasure is the Graffiti Park at Castle Hills. Ever dream of spray painting your tag on city property? Well, here’s your chance. Can you spot my art?
We found some great shopping along South Congress (SOCO), known for its funky stores and boutiques and “i love you so much” mural.
Shopping break photo op
Like Nashville, Austin is known for its live music and my friends decided that we’d either go big or go home, so we bought tickets to Austin City Limits. I’m not the biggest fan of music festivals, I tend to get claustrophobic and tired of standing, but it was awesome to see VIPs like Matthew McConaughey on stage, and legends like Willie Nelson and current big names like Mumford and Sons perform, all in one night.
Lots of walking at ACL
Matthew McConaughey
Willie Nelson
Eat
My favorite meal is Austin was brunch at Elizabeth Street Cafe. If you like Vietnamese food and French baked goods, it’s a win-win. It’s a cute, trendy spot and easy to pair with SOCO shopping.
For a mid-day sweet-tooth pick-me-up, check out Gourdough’s donuts. You can never go wrong with a donut.
I usually try to avoid chain restaurants, but after a long wait for a table at Snooze and my plate-size breakfast burrito didn’t disappoint.
And, after feeling a bit of BBQ FOMO, I grabbed some Salt Lick at the airport on my way home.