Austin, Tacos and BBQ
Back in Austin this weekend before we pick up the van tomorrow.
Saturday, we headed to the The Contemporary Austin - Laguna Gloria in west Austin before lunch for a wander around. As chance would have it, we came across a piece we believe is part of a series that we also saw in Oslo back in July. "White Snow" by Paul McCarthy. Well worth a visit if you're in the Austin area.
We then headed to downtown to see the state capitol which, in true Texas style, was deliberately built to be just taller than the US capitol in Washington D.C. Some interesting history here and I'm a fan of the viewing galleries that allow the public to watch in on their representatives. It seems a good way to keep them accountable.
Next stop was a walk down North Congress and a stop for lunch at Velvet Taco. My first proper tacos. (I had a breakfast one as a snack in Fredericksburg, but it doesn't compare) What I want to know is why these haven't caught on in the UK yet?! the best we seem to get are Old El Paso soft shell taco boats!
A brisk after lunch walk down through the bars on "Dirty Sixth" ended up with a hasty retreat to grab a Guinness at the Irish bar at the nicer end before heading back for dinner.
Sunday, we drove down to Barton Springs for a swim in the river/pool area that has views out to downtown. It's strange, it seems like a city park with the skyline in the background. Yet, at the same time it feels completed disconnected from normal city life. Another must visit, and whilst the water was a bit cold at first, it was definitely worth it.
We drove to meet the rest of the family at a bar down the road before heading to a Taco Deli (More Tacos! 😁) for lunch. A brief hiatus for an afternoon nap (and some blog updates) we headed out to Desert Door Sotol distillery to try ... well Sotol... for the first time. Distilled from the Sotol Catus in a similar way to tequila from Agave. Nice flavour, and different. A good substitute for Tequila in many ways.
Finally, the part I've been waiting for all week, (Christmas not-withstanding)... Salt Lick BBQ at Driftwood! Like a Kid in a toy shop, I spent far too much money on merch and was beside myself when the staff waved us in to take a closer look/photo of the pit! The first of hopefully many BBQ's whilst we are here did not dissapoint.
Well, this probably won't go up for a few days as we are off to big Bend and will have minimal signal for most of this week. But stay tuned as the van adventure begins with the long push west and then south toward Big Bend National Park!
