Surprise Trip Success: Discovering Austin’s Best Spots
My first time visiting Texas came as a surprise, literally. I went to Austin on a Pack-Up + Go trip. Click here to see how these surprise trips work.
When I first got off the plane, I got to have an experience that is rare nowadays - greeting someone at their plane gate. I went to Austin with two friends, one of which was flying from a different city. My flight landed first, so we went over to greet her as she stepped off the plane.
We walked to the Texas Statehouse. It is the largest state capitol building in the US, to no ones surprise. This kicked off my informal list of state capitol buildings I’ve visited.
Instead of the self-guided tour we hopped on the free docent led tour. Its interesting to see what architectural elements are the same basing it on the US capitol and how it differs from other statehouses.
Travel Tip - Statehouses are a great way to glean the history and culture of states
We stayed at Aloft Austin downtown. Aloft hotels are part of the Marriot group and this one is conveniently located. Easy to walk to several items on our itinerary and when we needed a rideshare, it didn’t take long. Since we were on a higher level we could see the Texas Longhorn stadium from our room.
Room at Aloft Austin
My favorite place we ate was somewhere I probably wouldn’t have picked myself. We told Pack Up + Go we were celebrating our birthdays and they made a reservation for us. The restaurant is called Hestia. Named for the goddess of the hearth, all of the food is in someway touched by the fire in their 20ft hearth. I had the halibut, which I loved. It was very succulent. We split the for dessert. It was a nice light dessert to finish off the meal. The atmosphere is upscale, but not pretentious.
When the three of us are together we seem to end up at botanical gardens. Austin’s is just outside the city. it was a nice space to be outside, talk and appreciate the beauty and the quiet.
Pack Up + Go recommended we check out Jo’s Coffee. They are known not only for coffee, but also for their breakfast tacos. So I got tea and oatmeal. :) Which were very good. Others had the tacos and attested to their deliciousness.
Speaking of breakfast tacos, we took a food tour with Secret Food Tours as part of what Pack Up + Go booked for us. Each tour has about 6-7 stops, including a secret stop at the end. It’s a fun way to eat a meal and see the city. We had breakfast tacos, Texas brisket, dessert pizza, stopped at Velvet Taco, and more. You don’t get huge portions, but altogether it makes a meal. Despite not enjoying eggs, and to my friend’s surprise, I ate and enjoyed the breakfast taco on the food tour. Probably because I do enjoy cheese.
One of the stops on the food tour was Velvet Taco. They have tacos for all kinds of type of cuisine, such as fish & chips, curry, chicken & waffles, and Korean fried rice. It’s fun to see what they have come up with. And they have restaurants elsewhere in Texas and a few other states, so if you see one elsewhere, stop in.
As you can tell, Austin is a great place to spend a long weekend. Good food, a variety of things to see and do, and fairly walkable. Just plan enough time for airport security when you leave.
