After Houston, I took the quick 2.5 hour drive West to Austin, Texas.

Austin has got to be one of my absolute favorite U.S. cities by far. It was my first time visiting this Texas town and it won’t be my last. Although I did not get to spend that much time there (I was there about 24 hours in total), I did a ton. 

Food:

1. Ramen Tatsu-Ya: My friend Michael told me that this was likely the best ramen I could find in the country, so I decided to go there for lunch. I ordered a ramen with chicken broth, bamboo, ramen noodles, a spiced egg, and some pork tenderloin. If it doesn’t sound like the most amazing dish to you, something is wrong and below is a picture to show how awesome it was. I highly recommend checking out this spot if you’re ever in Austin. It was a counter order spot with an amazing atmosphere. http://ramen-tatsuya.com/
2. Gibson Bar/Lukes Inside Out – It is very common in Austin for bars to only serve drinks. So they pair with a food truck so that you can still get a full meal or snack at your favorite spot. I went to Gibson Bar, had a tastey moscow mule (love those) and got food at Luke’s. Words cannot describe how amazing my sandwich (named The Rabbit) was. It was Korean BBQ heaven, and my mouth waters thinking about it. (http://www.lukesinsideout.com/)
3. Tacodeli – This counter order spot is a small chain within Austin. It has an wide variety of tacos, salsas, and sodas. Busy lunch spot, but worth the small wait in line and the short wait on the food. Absolutely delicious! (www.tacodeli.com)
   
   

Takeaway: The food in Austin is AMAZING and inexpensive. Probably some of the best dining experiences I’ve had in a while. Lamar Boulevard seems to be where all the great food is, so if you’re passing through, be sure to hit up that area!

Activities: 

• When I first got to Austin, I decided I wanted to be outside since it was a pretty nice day. I googled “things to do in Austin” to get a quick feel for the area. I quickly found Zilker Park and decided to check it out because it looked like it had great views of the city skyline. As soon as I got there, I quickly found a rental bike station and decided to bike around. IT WAS PERFECT. The biking and walking trails were beautifully kept, had great views of the city and touched the Colorado River. SO MANY PEOPLE WERE OUTSIDE AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE WEATHER! There were tons of people biking, walking, running, paddle boarding and kayaking. It was awesome to see so many people active and on the water all at once. 
• I decided to check out another park, called McKinney Falls. McKinney is a park that allows for some hiking and also has some natural springs running through it. A lot of people were there enjoying the outdoors, and there were areas to camp there also.
• After biking around for a while, I had dinner and went with my friend Michael to see Toro y Moi (check him out!) at a venue called Emo’s. The venue capacity is about 1700, and its set up really nicely. The sound was great and the show was too (even though we got there a bit late). 
• The next day, I had initially planned to check out the Hamilton Pool just outside of Austin on my way out of the city, but due to rain/flooding it was closed. So instead I went and checked out Krause Springs. Krause is a property in Spicewood, Texas. It has a garden, several waterfalls, and camping areas. The property was stunning and is best known for its main waterfall. The waterfall has natural spring water flowing around 70 degrees. Its 115 acres and is privately owned. In the summers, it gets super busy with visitors looking to sun bathe around the main waterfall, swim, float on a tube or swing from the rope next to the waterfall and into the water. I would love to go back and lounge there the entire day.

Takeaway: Austin has a ton of things to do, no matter the day of the week. I was shocked to discover the amount of outdoor activities and scenic outdoor areas in this gorgeous city.

I can definitely see why people are so captivated by this city. I am dying to go back to check out other outdoor landmarks like the Hamilton Pool and Greenbelt. I would also love to see the city transform during Austin City Limits in October or South by Southwest in March. The city was young, vibrant, and very hip. It seems to be expanding a lot as well, as there was quite a bit of construction going on downtown. Austin is an absolute must visit for anyone looking to check out a cool new city.

After Austin, I began the long 14 hour drive to Scottsdale for Memorial Day weekend. Posts to come later on that.

Feel free to leave any questions or comments about Austin below! Thanks for reading.

<3 Steph