Last week we were Mon-Sun out of town for work but were lucky enough to squeeze 1.5 days in over the weekend for some fun too. We headed to the Lone Star State to check out Austin and to get us some Texas BBQ (corn) and it did not disappoint! It was a constant 40* but it was a dry heat and had a gorgeous breeze that swept through the city to cool us down, so it was much more manageable than the heat & humidity combination in NYC.
As soon as the plane hit the ground we were out on our adventure. Coming out of a 60+ hour week we were both pretty wrecked but happy & excited to be exploring our 18th state. We landed 5:30pm on Friday afternoon, dropped our bags off, had a (quick nap) + a cocktail on the hotel rooftop and hit it. We got Uber scooters and drove them around downtown Austin all the way to the Barton Springs which is a gorgeous natural spring, super close to the city where everyone kayaks, paddle boards and swims.
After that we rode the scooters all the way back up to the Bat Bridge where we were prepared to see 1.5million little bats fly out of their sleeping spots to get some tucker. It was around 9pm when we’d wrapped up with the little creatures, and we were en route for a nice big Texas BBQ. However when we started looking for dinner spots it was apparent that everything closed at 9pm! Luckily, the #1 best spot (in the city) for BBQ was still serving, so we tucked into the brisket, ribs, steak, baked potatoes, corn & pickles for our first Texas BBQ and it did not disappoint. After tucker we bar hopped down 6th Street, with Darwins Pub (piano duels) & the Elephant (underground jazz bar) being our favourites for the night.
We started Saturday fresh with smashed avo, berries and a couple of delicious oat milk lattes and were feeling good. We walked the city some more, checking out the Capital Building, Rainy Street & SoCo. The vibe in Austin is young and boppy, (mostly being a college town) with some neat nicknack shops scattered around. We hopped into Allen’s Shoes (cowboy boots for days) and discovered Amy’s Ice-Cream (cold rock style). Saturday night wrapped with a stunning sunset and some more bar hopping before totally crashing into bed after a non-stop week.
Closes at 9pm! Sounds like Auckland!
My favourite part: “…so we tucked into the brisket, ribs, steak, baked potatoes, corn & pickles…”
hehehe ? best part!