Last weekend my family and I ventured off for an adults only trip to Austin, TX for a short but fun filled 48 hours. After a canceled flight on the way out [really cool, fog] we got in late on Friday night and departed Monday afternoon which meant one thing – we had 8 meals to work with. Tell me I’m not the only who travels with one thing on their mind – food. Fortunately, Austin knows how to deliver on the food front [fun fact: they have over 2,000 food trucks which just so happens to be the greatest thing EVER]. I never knew my life was so incomplete of food trucks until I visited Austin. Now they are all I fantasize about – I legit found myself daydreaming about donuts and tacos during the middle of the day recently. Maybe don’t go there if you’re on a diet.
ANYHOW. Because I had a lot of questions on where to eat, where to stay, what to do and all of that jazz [yup, you can do that too – music joints are all over the place] I thought I’d put together a blog post to highlight some of my favorite joints. As in places we visited, not what we smoked. Disclosure: no illegal/legal/whatever it is depending on where you lived substances were put into our bodies. Now that we got that cleared up, let’s dive in.
For starters, where we stayed. We shacked up at the Hotel Van Zandt which is right next to Rainey St [also known as the street where EVERY college kid who enjoys a drink or seventy-two like to hang out]. I promise nothing will make you feel more like you are in your 30’s than when you walk into a bar full of college students. Remind me to never do that again. However, there are a ton of fun spots to check out on Rainey St from my beloved food trucks to fun bars, live music spots and great restaurants so it is a fun location to be near! The hotel itself is super chic and fun! I loved it and would totally stay there again! The daily happy hour with complimentary cocktails and appetizers isn’t all that bad either. We ate breakfast at the restaurant inside the hotel, Geraldine’s and if you like a burger for breakfast, absolutely go.
On Saturday we started our day at the Driskill Hotel for breakfast at the 1886 Cafe which was absolutely fantastic. Their breakfast cocktails weren’t so bad either. It’s the oldest historic hotel in Austin and gorgeous to walk around and explore. In the afternoon we opted to play the role of a true tourist and went on an Austin Detours tour which took us to the capital building, the graffiti wall, a food truck stop and all over the city!
Cardigan [40% off, size down, wearing in XS] // striped tee [true to size, wearing in small] // jeans [true to size] // crossbody purse // booties [love these! true to size, wearing in dusty rose] VERY IMPORTANT PSA THAT YOU MUST READ AND ACT ON – GO TO TORCHY’S TACOS AND GET THEIR QUESO AND ALLLLL OF THE TACOS. I feel a little passionate about this. Okay, continue on.
That evening we ate at Moonshine for dinner and listen up macaroni and cheese fanatics [that better be every one of you], order the green chili mac and cheese. Your stomach may expand by a few inches, but you know what they say, #worthit.
Being big live music lovers in my family, we ventured off to The Continental Club that evening [and the following evening] to enjoy some of Austin’s talented musicians. Austin reminds me a lot of Nashville in the sense that they both have great live music spots. Definitely recommend checking out The Continental Club or Saxon Pub if you want to enjoy some live tunes.
The next day we found our way to Whole Foods [the original store is located in Austin], West Elm and some other stores that had some awesome things like hats and such… Later in the afternoon, we went down to South Congress St which has a ton of unique stores and delicious places to eat, including Guero’s Taco Bar for Mexican food which was SPOT ON.
sweater [size down, wearing in XS] // jacket [true to size, wearing in XS] // jeans [true to size] // handbag [love!] // booties [true to size]
On our last and final morning, we headed off to Snooze for breakfast [highly recommend] and then hung out at the hotel pool bar until it was time to catch our flight. There’s just something one Moscow Mule can do for your spirit before boarding a plane.
cardigan [true to size, wearing in XS] // tank [true to size] // jeans [true to size] // booties [true to size] // travel bag
And that concludes today’s trip to Austin, TX. Hope you had fun on your visit y’all [sorry, I had to throw it in somewhere].
Disclosure: Thank you to Sole Society for outfitting in me some great travel pieces for this vacation!