My Trip to Austin, Texas

I'm finally getting a chance to blog again! My life has been so crazy ever since school started that I've been slacking a little, but I'm back :) Anyway, I wanted to share with you guys details about my short but beautiful trip to Austin, Texas over the summer. I rarely get to go on vacation so this was definitely a treat for me. I had been dying to make a trip to Texas again for the longest time because the last time I was there was when I lived there for a few months in 2008. So, I was definitely excited the we decided to make the trip.

Getting There

We departed out of JFK on a Thursday evening. I was feeling a little anxious because it had also been a few years since I had been on a plane and I am kind of terrified of them. However, the whole time I just went with the thought that it would only be for a few hours and then I would finally be in Austin. The whole plane trip lasted about 4 and half hours including a layover in Atlanta. That layover was hell to be honest. Our first plane was delayed because of weather issues so we barely made our connecting flight! Luckily everything turned out fine in the end and we made it onto the plane with a few minutes to spare. The airline we flew on was Delta and I quite liked it. The plane had seats with individual TVs as well a USB plug to charge my phone which was nice. They had a pretty good selection of movies which were a great distraction and made the flight go a little faster. 

New York --->> Atlanta

Atlanta --->> Austin

The first movie I watched was The Boss ,which was hilarious, followed by Zootopia which I cried
while watching because it was so cute!

       

Round of applause to Delta for having great soundtracks ;) #Hamilton #FunHome

Day One
Because we flew in the evening, we didn't get to Austin until midnight on Thursday, so we began our adventures the next day. On our first full day there, we went on a gorgeous hike up Mount Bonnell. When we got to the top we got a really nice view of Lake Austin and all the nice mansions of the rich people that live there. It was honestly crazy how big and fancy these houses were. They were literally house goals. While following the hiking trail, I came across these beautiful sunflowers which I got so excited about because they are my absolute favorite :) Naturally, I took many pictures of them. 

Showing off my favorite DIY Selena shirt 

Pretty Sunflowers!

After Mount Bonnell, we drove to Hope Outdoor Gallery, which is basically a place with many murals filled with incredible graffiti art. The first thing that struck me was the amount of color and life in these murals. We took a look around and even took a somewhat of risky hike to the top to see as much as art as we could. We found a lot of unique illustrations and quotes which can be seen in the pictures below. 

"You see, freedom has a way of destroying things.

Two artists at work.

"Don't Fuck with Me" 

"It is in our nature to destroy what we create"

After seeing the graffiti art, we headed to South Congress, which is where a lot of the shops are. We came across some really unique shops that we fell in love with. The first one was Allens Boots. This store has authentic leather cowboy boots in every style, color, and size you could ever imagine. I can't begin to tell you how badly I wanted a pair because they were just perfection. Unfortunately, they were a little expensive for my current budget but you better believe I'm saving up to get me a pair because I am officially obsessed. Along the same street, there was this store called uncommonOBJECTS, which is basically what the store was. It is this mini gallery of the most random vintage objects you could ever think of. There was everything from vintage cameras, jewelry, war weapons, dolls, pictures, etc. It was super cool. Finally, we tumbled upon this huge costume shop called Lucy in Disguise. This shop literally had every costume you could ever dream off. I really wish we had one here in New York!

After so much sight seeing, we began to get hungry so we went to this BBQ place called Terry Black's Barbecue. This place was so "Texas," I felt like I walked into a ranch and was waiting for the rodeo to start. There were even some men in cowboy attire and I loved everything about it. The people were friendly and the food was absolutely amazing.

The food was definite 10/10!

Day Two

The first place we went to on day two of our adventures was Zilker Park. There, we got to see Barton Springs which is a natural swimming pool. By that I mean that it is a pool filled entirely with water from nearby springs. Unfortunately the week we went was not the best because it had been raining so the water wasn't clean. It was still very cool to see it though. We also came across this little railroad with a cute train that took you around the park. We didn't get on it this time, but I remember I went on it when I lived there and it was a nice little ride. 

After the park we to Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum. This was a nice little outside museum with some really amazing bronze sculptures by the artist Charles Umlauf. I loved the idea of it being an outside museum because it was nice to be surrounded by nature and it was a creative way to display the sculptures. 

For the second day's lunch, I was determined to finally get my hands on an In-n-Out burger! I was honestly so excited when I found out they had it in Texas because in New York we always rave about Shake Shack, but I had also heard amazing things about this place. First off, I was so surprised by how cheap it actually was. I think I paid just a little over $5.00 for a burger and fries. Second, it definitely lived up to its hype. It was absolutely delicious. Personally, I still prefer the Shake Shack fries better but the burger was amazing.

The promised land!

In the evening, we drove about 30 minutes up this hill to get to a restaurant called The Oasis. This restaurant is famous not only for its great food and live music but also for its amazing view of Lake Austin/Colorado River. It is also an amazing place to watch the sunset since everything is an open space. 

I totally forgot what my drink was called, but I remember it tasted really good.

Day Three

Day three was a pretty chill day. My mom's friend came to see us and they cooked and hung out most of the day. I decided to finally go to the pool for a nice swim and to relax. 

Day Four

Day four was our last full day in Austin. We spent most of the morning going souvenir shopping and got some really cute gifts for my friends. For lunch, we went to this restaurant called The Park where I had the best chicken carbonara I had ever had in my entire life! 

After lunch, we went back to South Congress to do more last minute shopping and we came across this famous wall with the phrase "i love you so much" on it. Literally everyone that comes to Austin takes a picture here so of course I had to follow the trend ;) Apparently, there is another wall with the phrase "i hate you so much"on it but I didn't get a chance to see it so if anyone sees it, tweet me a picture! 

It was so ironic that the last day we were there, the sun finally decided to come out and it was the hottest day. We decided to stop for some ice cream at this place called Amy's. It was definitely refreshing and much needed!

In the evening of our last day, we had a chill evening with family, friends, good food and of course great drinks! 

I was so sad to leave Austin as I absolutely love it there. Everyone is so nice and friendly and I love that the atmosphere is so young and hipster. I love the uniqueness of it all! I certainly hope to be back very soon. But for now, I hope you enjoyed reading about my trip and I hope you get a chance to visit these spots too! Until next time :) 

xoxo, Diana