A large part of my quarter-life-crisis had to do with this ever evolving sense of wanderlust. If you take a look at my Travel board on Pinterest you’ll see about a multitude and massive variety of places I’m dying to see with my own eyes. Most are inspired by trips abroad, but there are also a whole lot of places to see right here in the United States alone…
This year one of my best gals and I decided to jet off for a long weekend in Austin, Texas. we had a great time and I thought I’d share a few of our itineraries that made Austin walkable and helped us save some money on Fasten rides (they don’t have Uber or Lyft in Austin, but they have a ride share app called Fasten).
First thing’s first – where to stay? We chose AirBnb (this one) since the downtown hotel prices aren’t cheap and that’s the where we preferred to spend most of our time. The place was nestled in a quiet neighborhood below the Capitol and provided such a sense of home – we felt like actual residents of Austin!
I used an app called TripIt to plan out our itineraries. I liked it because I could divide activities by days and it provided a place to keep addresses, little notes and it also had an interactive map.
Day One:
An afternoon arrival gave us the chance to grab some dinner and go out on the town for the night…
Dinner at La Condesa – recommended on almost every guide I looked up. Great margaritas and you must try the “elotes” aka Mexican street corn!
Drinks on 6th Street – we stopped in Green Light Social, ask for their ‘Capri Sun’ cocktail.
Day Two:
Brunch at Josephine House – an absolutely beautiful restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. I ordered a Housemade ‘cherry vanilla’ soda and the Huevos Rancheros. Both were to die for!
(En route to the river we walked down Lynn Street through a nice neighborhood all the way to 6th and stopped at Outdoor Voices to see their permanent popup shop – it was just as gorgeous as anticipated.)
Walk along the trail at Lady Bird Lake – seems to be the spot everyone goes for a nice walk or run along the river on the weekend.
‘Chicken Shit Bingo’ at Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon – most people we asked about it had never been, but claimed it’s probably the most Texan experience we could have – it was.
Dinner at Lucy’s Fried Chicken – next door to the saloon so when we didn’t win bingo we went on over for a couple ‘Juicy Lucys’ and ‘fried chicken nachos’. (Tip: ask how big the dishes are) The nachos were so big we weren’t able to try anything else and I sure would have liked to dip my fork in their ‘fried chicken spaghetti’…
Day Three:
Tour of the Texas State Capitol – they offer a FREE tour every 30 minutes and I always find it fun to learn a little more history about places I visit. It’s a very interesting and impressive tour – there’s tons of detail from the door hinges to the chandeliers.
Congress Avenue – this was a big walking day for us, but it was fun to see Austin on foot. Our walk started at the Capitol on Congress Avenue and took us through downtown to their 2nd Street District with tons of boutiques.
Congress Avenue Bridge – We walked over this bridge to South Congress. Note: there are bats that live under this bridge and apparently it’s a thing to watch them fly away at dusk…
South Congress – It was quite a walk from the bridge so once we reached Jo’s Coffee we stopped for an iced tea and a photo at the “I love you so much” mural.
Torchy’s Tacos – hands down THE. BEST. MEAL. we had in Texas. Try the “trailer park taco” and get it “extra trashy” 😉 (you will also need to order a side of ‘Green Chile Queso’ and a bottle of the ‘Diablo Hot Sauce’ to go.)
Greetings from Austin Mural – do it for the ‘gram.
Dinner at Corner – We were eyeing their outdoor lounges earlier in the day on our walk down Congress and decided to stop by for drinks and dinner. PS. BEST mac n’ cheese I’ve ever tasted. Even the bartender claims so too!
Day 4:
Graffiti Wall at Castle Hill – (Also, know as the ‘Hope Outdoor Gallery’) It wasn’t too far from our AirBnb so we went for a little walk before brunch. This is a really cool park that the city maintains to let citizens express themselves. So many interesting images and a lot of opinion pieces.
Lunch at 2nd Bar & Kitchen – we had quite a lot of time before our afternoon flight and the people at 2nd were super nice to let us enjoy a leisurely lunch on the patio with our suitcases. I can confidently recommend the ‘Pimm’s Cup’ (or two..).
I’m hoping to go back to Austin for SXSW someday and I’m so happy we were able to get the lay of the land first! Overall a really great city with really nice people and delicious food.
