The Trip - Friday & Saturday

We arrived at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Friday evening and, after getting our luggage, we were greeted by temps in the 70s. We saw the Cap Metro bus and high tailed it to the door and paid our fare (50 cents each). 20 minutes later we were dropped off around 6th & Congress and walked the few blocks south to the Radisson.



Once we got checked in and settled we headed back out to Congress and made a left on 2nd street to see the new high-end district that's being built. The mixed-use 2nd Street District will soon be home to many expensive high-rise condos, lofts and apartments with fancy shops and restaurants at ground level. Some stuff is completed and we decided to eat at a new barbecue place called Lambert's.



The smell of the smoked meat was ridiculous and the food was fantastic. It was an excellent and, I think, relatively authentic first meal in Austin. I recommend the brisket and the cauliflower au gratin. After dinner we walked around a little bit and then called it a night.



Saturday morning we made the trek to 4th & Guadalupe to check out the Austin Farmer's Market. One of the things we really crave in a new town is the ability to shop at a farmer's market for fresh, local produce. The cool thing about this market is that, in order to sell an item, you have to be the one who made/grew it. The market had all kinds of meat, fresh bread, crafts, cheeses and even cooking demonstrations. We tried some organic prickly pear pink drink that was light and refreshing.



After the market we headed to the Whole Foods on 6th & Lamar. This really is an Austin must-see. The place is huuuuge and they even have an ice skating rink set up with skating Santas.



We headed south from there across the pedestrian bridge and made a right on Barton Springs Road. Though all the restaurants we walked by smelled great, we figured we had to try out Chuy's so, after a brief wait, we were sat and had a fine burrito and enchilada.



Next stop was up to the Barton Springs Pool. We passed many kayakers as we walked the path up the springs and saw lots of joggers and bicyclists. We both remarked that this town seems very, very active and made vows to join in on the craze if and when we get here. Not surprisingly for the time of year, the pool was empty but there was a puppy just north of the pool splashing around in the water.



After the pool we stayed on the path and looped back around along Town Lake (aka Lady Bird Lake, aka the Colorado River). We came to Auditorium Shores and were amazed at the number of dogs. I had read that Austin was very dog friendly and has many leash-free zones but to see one packed with dogs was quite a site. It was great to see all the dogs running around in and out of the water and just having a great time. You could actually see the smiles on their little dog faces.



Next stop was the South Congress shopping district known as Soco. This is where all the eclectic shops are and is ground zero for the 'Keep Austin Weird' motto. We browsed the shops and had an authentic soda-jerked Dr. Pepper from the old time candy store. There are definitely some cool shops, bars and coffee shops here and the whole area had a cool vibe. We decided to head back down at night for dinner at Magnolia Cafe with an ulterior motive of paying a visit to Amy's Ice Cream.