Austin in One Day
last saturday, we went to austin, texas for one day! we do these one day trips every once in a while. they’re quick but it’s always exciting to see a city in just one day! we try to see the best the city has to offer and as we were researching austin, it was clear that it was all about food and street art! so, we took a red eye and slept for three hours on the plane and one more in the car when we landed. yep, super glamorous!
we went to breakfast at elizabeth street cafe. it has an interesting menu which is what drew me in, but the super cute design and decor is what made me really want to eat there! we got there right when it opened and it got busy really quickly, so you should think about getting there at opening. i would have ordered multiple things on the menu, but we wanted to save most of our appetite for bbq later! also, i didn’t get good photos so you have to check out their website to see how cute it is! riley ordered the delicious blueberry french toast and i got one of the breakfast banh mi sandwiches. both super yummy! we ended up splitting with each other because we wanted some of both dishes :)
being in the capitol of texas, we figured we should visit the capitol building! it was a gorgeous building and i learned a lot about texas just by being there! like why they have 6 flags and that they were their own country at one point! we even saw the former presidents’ portraits! it was a really cloudy day (we bring them with us everywhere if you didn’t already know) but up to this point, it was still warm outside so i was grateful for that. unfortunately, a cold front came through a couple hours later and it was frigid!
^^^this boot store was awesome! i wish i could bottle up the smell of leather! i would love to get a pair someday but dang they are expensive!!
we did a little tour of some of austin’s street art. i mostly followed this blog post to know where to go, however if you’re driving or walking around austin, you’re bound to run into most of these plus lots more! when we were shopping on congress, almost every corner building had a mural, so there’s lots to see! i mostly wanted to see the lovey dovey ones since we were coming up on valentine’s day :) something i loved about austin was the attention to design almost everywhere we went! every restaurant looked really cute (and yummy) and there was a retro feel everywhere we turned. they love their vintage neon signs there! the only shopping we did was on north and south congress. i recommend this street for some unique and fun shops as well as some hoppin’ restaurants! seriously, the food game is strong in austin!
our last stop was salt lick for some good ol texas bbq! it was about a thirty minute drive from the city and located on a farm. sounds quaint right?! no, we drove up and the parking lot looked like a carnival!! i was like oh my goodness, this is going to take hours! but, they have it all figured out. first, it’s an entire compound so there’s a few buildings and several dining rooms in each building. unlike normal bbq joints, you’re also seated and waited on, which actually made it go much faster. we got our food in no time. we split the sampler platter and it ended up being plenty for both of us. then it ain’t bbq without pecan pie or cobbler, so we got both! it was such a fun and delicious experience! we can’t wait to go back :)
another texas city to add to my checklist. i love texas!! i can’t wait to explore even more texas cities and go back to the ones we’ve already been to. i’m hoping to go back to waco soon to show riley and to check out the new magnolia table restaurant! follow this link to see our past travels to texas!