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.

My week in Mexico was spent at the Barcelo Maya Tropical Beach hotel, part of the huge Barcelo Maya Beach Resort, located just over an hour drive south from Cancun airport.  The Barcelo is an all inclusive hotel, which was a nice touch but I didn’t spend a sufficient amount of time at the hotel to take full advantage of this. Read more

Considering the large amount of travelling I have done over the years its perhaps surprising that I’ve not actually seen much of the United Kingdom.  My trip to the Lake District in March 2008 was primarily inspired by the scenery of the movie Miss Potter, which was filmed on location here (and other parts of the UK). Read more

As with many German towns and cities Hamburg is famous for it’s Christmas Markets.  Therefore, I decided to spend a long weekend in Hamburg at the beginning of December 2007.  In the hope of experiencing a taste of Germany and its history, as well as hopefully solving my Christmas present buying problems. Read more

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

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

I stayed in the huge Scandic Grand Marina hotel, a converted warehouse with rooms reminisant of a cruise liner, appropriate considering the hotel’s harbourside location.  The hotel was just a short walk to the Senete Square and other local attractions. Read more

My visit to Amsterdam was a very brief one, on route to Helsinki (Finland).  I spent two nights at the Dikker & Thijs Fenice hotel on Prinsengracht Canal, at the corner of Leidsestraat.  This was a very nice hotel in a good location with friendly staff.  The hotel was within walking distance of the main shopping street and some nice restaurants and cafes in the nearby square. Read more

It’s hard to think of Reykjavik as a city given its small size and the odd collection of small building. As a city it lacks much of the visible history that you would typically associate with most European cities. However what makes Reykjavik special and sets it apart from other capital cities is its wonderful location. Iceland is beyond a doubt one of the most beautiful and breathtaking countries I’ve ever visited. Read more

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