Nov
2009
I believe that this is my eigth visit to Austin. It’s been a while since I was last here, which was in January 2007. The city has changed quite a lot during this time with lots of new downtown appartment blocks appearing, with some such as the Austonian being uncharacteristicly tall for the city. Which in my view at least spoils the city a bit.
The weather was a pleasant 75F to 80F so I spent my freetime on Sunday walking around the city, along 6th street and up to the Capital Building before walking back down Congress Avenue to the park next to Town Lake.
I then took the rental car a Hybrid Ford SUV over to Central Market, a supermarket with character, and did some shopping – including my lunch, they make the best Chicken Salad sandwich! Then on to more shopping in Best Buy, Barton Creek Square Mall and another supermarket, Randels before heading over to Zilker Park Botanical Gardens which is my favorite place in Austin to wander around and relax in or to just find a quiet spot and sit and chill out or think things through.
A short drive later and I was back at the hotel where I crossed the street to the O’Henry house and museum which tells the story of Austin’s famous writer. Then another walk over to the State Capital where I watched the locals and visitors enjoy the surrounding park as the sun started to set, bathing the Capital in a warm golden light.
I didn’t have much free time by myself in the evenings as I was traveling with a colleague but I did manage to visit both the old site of the Gingerman, now called the Ghost Room (apt considering we visited on Halloween) as well as the new Gingerman. Also had a pleasant meal in the the historic Driskill Hotel.
On Tuesday evening I walked over to Speakeasy which has changed a lot and now has the entrance on Congress Avenue. The bar is still very nice and similar to the old one, but it’s just not the same. Still I enjoyed watching the Salsa dancing and the live band whilst consuming a couple of Dos Equis.
Wednesday evening was by far the highlight of the trip, an evening at the Broken Spoke listening to Dale Watson sing to a crowded dance floor in this ledgendary Texas dance hall. Thanks to some really nice folks that I met I even got up and danced the Cotton Eyed Joe and the two step. Having only danced the two step once before, during my last visit, my dancing skills were not great but improved as the evening went on.
This visit still didn’t reawaken my old desire to move to the city. That phase of my life is definately over and these days my hopes and goals are considerably different. However my visit to the Broken Spoke did leave me wondering about how things would have been different if i had moved to Austin when i was younger. I will therefore be glad to get back home on Friday. Besides I have plans for the weekend that I’m looking forward to that outway anything Austin could offer.
Jun
2007
June 2007, Nashville. This was my 4th trip to the CMA Music Festival and my 5th visit to Nashville, TN. Once again the festival fell on my Birthday so I had to spend my birthday alone… but listening to great Country Music! Read more
Jun
2007
The Holiday Inn Select Downtown offers a reasonably priced hotel with a very good location, directly opposite the famous Peabody Hotel. Over at the Peabody hotel, the Peabody’s famous ducks walk from the elevator to the fountain in the lobby every morning and return to the elevator for their ride to their sleeping quarters on the roof of the hotel, watched by crowds of tourists and hotel guests Read more
Feb
2007
I’ve been very lucky in that my job has enabled me to visit Austin on many occasions since June 2001. This includes a couple of two month stays in 2002 and 2003 and a vacation. Austin is a great town, surrounded by some wonderful countryside, the people are great and there’s lots of live music every night of the week. Oh, and I can’t forget the barbecue at the County Line, Rudy’s & the Salt Lick. Read more
Dec
2006
This was my second trip to New York City, the first being in December 1999 during a business trip to Connecticut – when I took the train into New York for the weekend. This time I was travelling with my parents and my sister and we stayed in a hotel in NY. Read more
Jun
2006
I’ve visited my employer’s offices in Naperville, just outside Chicago many times over the years however I’ve never been able to get much free time to visit Chicago itself (besides a quick visit to the Sears tower in February 2000 and seeing the Cubs play at Wrigley Field in 2001). This time I had a whole weekend in Chicago! Read more
Jun
2006
My trip to Tennessee was primarily to see the CMA Music Festival in Nashville for the 3rd year in a row. However as was my 4th visit to Nashville I’d seen all of the Tourist attractions that the city and surrounding area had to offer, so went further a field before driving up to Nashville for the festival. Pigeon Forge is located at the edge of the Smoky Mountains but is more famous for being home to Dolly Parton’s theme park, Dollywood, and outlet shopping malls. Read more
Nov
2005
I was fortunate enough to visit LA (followed by Chicago) on business in November 2005. “Fortunate” because I was able to fly from the UK on Saturday giving me the whole of Sunday free for sightseeing. My hotel was located in Pasadena which is a reasonable drive from LAX and most of the things in LA that I wanted to see, but close to the office! Read more
Mar
2004
Having started to learn to ride horses in the spring of 2003 whilst on a two month business trip to Austin, Texas I decided that I would go to Texas in the spring of 2004 to spend a week?s vacation being a cowboy at the Lazy F Ranch in Smiley, Texas… Read more