On my last trip to Austin I hadn’t been able to venture downtown too much and I’d heard so many great things about the daytime/active scene as well as the night time/social scene that included live music and fun trouble to get into! I was really excited to plan another trip back with the hubs & with 5 days ahead of us, I made sure we had a packed itinerary of Austin-ness!On our first day we walked around downtown to get a lay of the land, after mowing down at Whole Foods ATX. We found so many little hidden trails down below and I’ve already mentioned the crazy amount of food trucks everywhere!
Adventures in downtown ATX: We found a hidden trail, lots of food trucks, and Dia de los Muertos decor galore!
On Congress Avenue, we found tons of shops that offered their own flair of Austin. From Day of the dead decor to antiques, there was so much to look at that we definitely wouldn’t find at home!
Artsy fartsy, that’s us! Local art adorms the buildings on Congress Avenue
One of my favorite shops is Uncommon Objects. Home of “24 purveyors of curious goods”, this antique shop has a ton of finds ranging from apothecary jars to unclaimed black and white photos to taxodermed lamp animals! Keeping Austin Weird is easy to do here 😉
My cousin’s gf and I eat…and eat…and smile!
Most unique shop: Uncommon Objects!
At night, we made it a goal to hang out in the Sixth Street District scene. Being in the capital of live music, we knew we were bound to find a slew of happenin’ places we could get jiggy with it at. At Darwin’s pub we found a local blues band headed by a girl with awesome pipes – it was a great break from the usual live music scene we have at home … or lack thereof 😉
Gotta love tons of live music and libations! Blues music at Darwin’s pub while we figure out the Lone Star beer anagrams 😉
Between the months of March and October, you can head over to the Congress Avenue bridge right at dusk to catch the bats [who live under the bridge during this season] take flight around the city of Austin! No joke! My cousin thought I was making it up when I suggested we go see the bats. One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen! Just abide by the signs: don’t touch grounded bats – they have rabies. Word.
The Congress Ave bat scene and pre-race we see an awesome comedy show at Esther’s Follies!
My cousin suggested, the night before the race, that we see a comedy show at Esther’s Follies. I wasn’t sure what we were in for, but it was a pleasantly hilarious surprise! Esther’s Follies has been around for decades in the heart of Austin, giving the gift of live theatre and music with a kick of sarcasm and comedy. From the inside of the theatre we enjoyed melodies, skits, and magic – with surprise acts coming from the big picture window facing 6th Street! Bystanders had no idea they were in for a show – or would be IN the show – themselves. I’d definitely recommend seeing a show here (approximately $25) when looking for things to do in Austin!
After the race Saturday, we headed about an hour away to San Antonio to visit the Alamo and see the Riverwalk. Hubs wanted to make the trek and I figured I’d be able to nap in the car after a 430am wake-up call!
THEE Alamo
I’d never seen it in person and marvelled at how beautiful the Riverwalk was! There were tons of restaurants and bars lining this ‘hidden’ pathway below downtown San Antonio. We were even able to enjoy lunch on the river – it was like being in the middle of Italy while being in Texas…get it? lol.
Another San Antonio hidden treasure: The Riverwalk
We walked around as much as I could muster – my knees and IT on the right leg wanted to be horizontal immediately – and then made the trip back to Austin.
As with the food, this is just a tiny list of things we were able to do in Austin! My local friends told me of many other bars and lounges we could have gone to if only we had a bit more time!
Here’s my other Austin Racecation posts:
Do you prefer seeing cities on foot or on wheels?
Is there a basement in the Alamo?
My giveaway ends tonight, winner announced tomorrow – did you enter??
I”ve never been to Austin but I’ve heard great things! Looks like fun!
So much fun!
You and the hubs are flipping adorable!! Annnnnnnnnnnd now I want to go to Austin. Thanks, Kat….
Aw thanks G 😉 You totally should! I’ll go back! or move there!
On feet on feet! SuperFit and I love exploring with our own two feet 🙂
yes yes!
This makes me want to go to Austin. I’m trying to talk Tim into it for our one year Anniversary this summer. We’re looking for something less expensive and not beachy, so this might be perfect.
It’s totally inexpensive – I can even give you our hotel info ($70 a night 10 minutes from downtown) and there’s SO much to do! Wait till I do my food post tomorrow 😉
Love your photos. It is obvious you had a wonderful racecation! Look forward to reading more about your weekend!
Thanks ladies!
By foot!! You get to see so much more detail than by car 🙂 looks like you had a great time! I have been to the Alamo when I was in high school, and it was okay. Not much to see inside everything was empty. I honestly cannot remember if there’s a basement or not!
I agree! lol, it’s a joke…there’s no basement in the Alamo (peewees big adventure)
It looks like you had an absolute blast! I LOVE visiting new places and being a tourist! I even like being a tourist in my own town lol!
I love to explore too!
I love San Antonio, the Riverwalk is so nice. I’ve lived in San Antonio and Houston, and have been to Austin, so this post was a nice little trip down memory lane. Sounds like you had a great time! I think it’s more fun to explore on foot and it’s great exercise.
We loved it, def wanna move to Austin down the road
Ok, my next trip is gonna have to be Austin. I loves it there. Did you drink a bottled Coke? They are amazeballs over there for some reason. Lol!
I only had beer out of a bottle…and kombucha 😉 Can I COME?!
I’ve never been to Austin but it looks like a fun place!
I prefer to venture on foot.
You’d love it, tons of stuff for the kids to do too – hello, bats! 😉
what a great trip! wish i could have been there but so glad you will be coming back. teehee
It was! Tomorrow’s post – FOOD! AKK!! 😉 Yes, girl, we’re doing research already!
Austin is on my bucket list of cities to visit. That bat thing is so cool!
It really is!
I went to Austin for a basketball tournament in college, but we didn’t do anything fun–mostly just played hoops, lol. That’s awesome you two had lots of time to explore! PS – The bats freak me out! 😉
It’s super cool though your dig it 😉
What a fun trip! I love Texas, such a fun state! We were in Houston & Galveston last year. I would love to go back, but visit both Austin & San Antonio.
Hoping to move there in a year or so, you guys could come hang with us 😉 tomorrow: food mmmmm
Very cool. Wifey was there and she said it is very nice… i prefer seeing things by foot… especially while running.
You’d love it! Tomorrows food rundown will seal the deal!
How fun I have never been to Austin, but have heard it is amazing. You know that all the runners are gonna say ON FOOT! I don’t even want to move my car once I park it in Nashville:)
I love finding things on foot anywhere too!
DEFINITELY LOVE TO EXPLORE BY FOOT… However, when I was in Turkey, we couldn’t exactly walk down the entire coast of the country by foot. LOL… Well, we could but it would have taken a lot longer than 10 days! LOL!
Thanks for the TX recap, by the way!! It brings me back to my senior (or maybe junior) year of high school when my mom and I did a crazy road trip through the state, looking at colleges… Definitely stopped in Austin and wanted to go to the Whole Foods there so badly, but we got so lost and we were so tired, that we wound up at an Albertsons… Uh, yeah, no. Ah ha ha ha!
Lol whole foods vs albertons! Battle! I want to go back already…like now
I love walking around a new city, but one of my favorite things to do is bike to explore! I went to Italy for spring break and we went on a bike tour and then rented them another day just to ride around and although it was still quite a workout, I liked it more than just walking! Austin looks great, I’m happy you had a good time!
I can’t wait to go to Europe one day, NEVER been!