Been to a few places in Texas and Oklahoma but not Austin. The natives are mainly very friendly but they find an SE London accent difficult to understand. There's plenty to see if you're interested in cowboy and indian type stuff, we went to Fort Sill where the grave of Geronimo is. A word of warning though. Don't stare at young blokes with one trouser leg rolled up and the toilets in some of the malls don't doors on to stop drug dealing.
I played the SXSW festival there a couple of years ago. I absolutely loved it, but my guess is with pretty much all the bars and restaurants turning into venues I can't give a good account of what it is like at any other time of year.
I played the SXSW festival there a couple of years ago. I absolutely loved it, but my guess is with pretty much all the bars and restaurants turning into venues I can't give a good account of what it is like at any other time of year.
My friends are playing this years one! Whats the name of your band Planty?
Have been there a couple of times - it's a very pleasant medium-sized city that is usually near the top of any 'quality of life' ranking for the US.
The University of Texas plays a dominant role and helps explain the lively nightlife, especially for live music.
In the greater scheme of things it's not the most exciting place in the world, but unlike many fast-growing American cities (eg. Houston, Phoenix) it manages to strike a balance between character/culture and the inevitable sprawl and reliance on a car.
am hitting Austin Psych Fest while I am there - not as big as SXSW but some great bands playing including the Brian Jonestown Massacre who I've always wanted to see live...
am hitting Austin Psych Fest while I am there - not as big as SXSW but some great bands playing including the Brian Jonestown Massacre who I've always wanted to see live...
you lucky bastard. BJM is a great band. black angels and woodenshjips as well. ah man, also i see the black lips are playing. good line up.
am hitting Austin Psych Fest while I am there - not as big as SXSW but some great bands playing including the Brian Jonestown Massacre who I've always wanted to see live...
you lucky bastard. BJM is a great band. black angels and woodenshjips as well. ah man, also i see the black lips are playing. good line up.
incredible line up - Telescopes, Moon Duo/Wooden Shjips, Woods, Dead Meadow - a couple of weeks before hand we have a neat little festival in Calgary with Galaxie 500. Sonic Boom & Can !! It's 1992 all over again :-)
am hitting Austin Psych Fest while I am there - not as big as SXSW but some great bands playing including the Brian Jonestown Massacre who I've always wanted to see live...
you lucky bastard. BJM is a great band. black angels and woodenshjips as well. ah man, also i see the black lips are playing. good line up.
incredible line up - Telescopes, Moon Duo/Wooden Shjips, Woods, Dead Meadow - a couple of weeks before hand we have a neat little festival in Calgary with Galaxie 500. Sonic Boom & Can !! It's 1992 all over again :-)
damn that sounds good. i should hopefully be going to ATP festivals around the same time over here. but i think the ones your going to might just edge it on quality.
Can are still going? does sonic boom do any of spacemen 3 songs live do you know? or does he keep with he's own solo stuff?
There's a very good BBQ restaurant that I can't recall the name of now...maybe the Ironworks...we went to the County Line and it was rubbish, as well as shutting early, 9pm, during the week, crazy.
Lots of bars didn't have any toilet doors so not ideal to have a crap if required!
Dress sense is warped. Don't bother going out looking smart cos everybody seems to be in flip flops/clumpy trainers, cargo/denim shorts and Texas A&M t shirts etc....although the Warehouse district is more upmarket.
Drinks were dirt cheap, 8 vodka red bulls & 2 Millers for $10. Ok it was a cheap brand vodka & not really red bull, but it did the trick.
Tecate (i think) is a decent mexican beer they just sell in cans.
Get to Hudson Bend to Just For Fun for speedboat/jetski rentals then eat the fried fish etc in the big bar after.
We went out on 3 nights there over their bank holiday and whereas over here the Sunday night is mental, it was dead there. Thursday & Saturday nights were decent enough.
Stay central as getting cabs start to rack up the price.
Be prepared for them not to understand a word you say and when you do, to think your australian.
I’m heading to Austin beginning of January to watch my son play rugby. Never been to Texas so interested to know if anyone has any recommendations of things to do music/restaurants? Also will be taking a long road trip north to take him back to college in Iowa and will stop in Dallas area. Any thoughts on where to stay in Dallas? Is it better to stay in Fort Worth? We’ll be staying overnight in Oklahoma and Kansas City on the drive too, know nothing about those places either.
Yep, me and Jnr went to Austin 5 years ago and loved it. The Texas parliament is worth a visit. The Bats flying out for the night are worth watching. Food is more quantity over quality but we survived. We stayed at the Holidayinn on the lake which was fine and located well for walking along the river to Downtown. Oklahoma city i went to about 20 years ago and found it a bit strange, they don't get many English visitors and we had language problems 😁.
Worked near Dallas and then travelled around Texas in summer of '96. So long ago I don't remember much now except they were extremely friendly people, many of whom had no knowledge of world geography or much outside Texas frankly and there was still a strong undertone of racism I didn't notice as a young, white male until I was out for lunch with a black lady. I remember hitching in the middle of nowhere and being picked up by a man in an open backed truck which is where I sat, surrounded by about 10 guns! I will have to dig out the diary one day!
I enjoyed living in Dallas for a decade from 1999. It is however an unremarkable sprawling rather unspectacular conurbation, at that time best known for its shopping malls and proliferation of mostly very decent restaurant chains. It was consumerism 101.
You will need embrace the need for hugely oversized portions. Everything in the Lone Star state just has to bigger and better.
I found Fort Worth extremely disappointing but it wasn’t helped by seemingly endless road works at the time. There seemed scant regard for its history.
I visited Austin on a few occasions mainly on « in and out » business meetings. I liked the seemingly more subtle architecture and culture.
I also visited Oklahoma City. I regret it was a very bland experience. IIRC when travelling from the Airport to my hotel the taxi driver apologised for the slightly circuitous route travelling the apparently one mile square central city block. That he claimed was the primary city attraction. « You done seen the best of Oklahoma City »
Have been a few times with work, as my boss is based there.
Austin seems to pride itself on being a bit different from the typical Texan town or city. A lot more liberal and quirky. “Keep Austin weird” is the mantra you might see and hear around.
6th Street is where the nightlife, restaurants, bars etc are. You won’t struggle to find live music and a good time around that part.
Landmarks worth visiting are the Texas senate building and also the University of Texas campus, which is absolutely huge and has a 100,000 seater stadium for its college football team.
I’m based in the greater Austin area so happy to recommend a few things…
Definitely try to see the Capitol Building, if they’re doing the free tours it might be worth booking in for one. Or you can usually just walk the grounds and no-one will bother you (within reason lol).
The Bullock Museum is also worth a visit if you want to learn about the history of Texas and the original settlers etc etc.
For concerts, the most well known / mainstream venues are the Moody Center (Austin’s version of the O2, without all the restaurants and shops around it of course) (also not to be confused with the Moody Theatre which is much smaller but also very nice, would recommend) and the COTA amphitheater but that one is probably only worth travelling to if you really want to see a particular music artist or see the F1 track at the same time… Some other classic Austin music venues are Stubbs and Emos - a bit smaller and more intimate.
If you want to go out for a drink, 6th St is generally ok but I wouldn’t recommend staying out after dark in the area. Too much violence down there late at night in recent years. You’ll most likely be fine if you’re sensible but worth knowing to keep your wits about you.
Franklin’s BBQ is meant to be the best barbecue in the city but I’ve never been to try it - I think the wait to get inside when it opens might be more famous than the food itself at this point. It’s worth looking at alternatives like Terry Blacks or Stiles Switch in my opinion, just as good and you won’t have to wait…
Other must sees would probably include Barton Springs and Zilker Park / Lakebird Lake.
If you fancy some shopping then you can go to South Congress Ave where there’s all sorts going on. The west side of the street is still mostly as it was back in the day, with small independent shops to buy souvenirs etc. while the east side of the street has undergone massive regeneration in the last couple of years and for the most part has been gobbled up by the big brands like Hermes, Nike and Ray Bans.
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http://www.charltonlife.com/discussion/46339/los-angeles#Item_64
I stayed at Extended Stay Deluxe, which was really nice
San Antonio is one of the favorite cities!
A word of warning though. Don't stare at young blokes with one trouser leg rolled up and the toilets in some of the malls don't doors on to stop drug dealing.
Whats the name of your band Planty?
The University of Texas plays a dominant role and helps explain the lively nightlife, especially for live music.
In the greater scheme of things it's not the most exciting place in the world, but unlike many fast-growing American cities (eg. Houston, Phoenix) it manages to strike a balance between character/culture and the inevitable sprawl and reliance on a car.
BJM is a great band. black angels and woodenshjips as well.
ah man, also i see the black lips are playing. good line up.
damn that sounds good. i should hopefully be going to ATP festivals around the same time over here. but i think the ones your going to might just edge it on quality.
Can are still going?
does sonic boom do any of spacemen 3 songs live do you know? or does he keep with he's own solo stuff?
Lots of bars didn't have any toilet doors so not ideal to have a crap if required!
Dress sense is warped. Don't bother going out looking smart cos everybody seems to be in flip flops/clumpy trainers, cargo/denim shorts and Texas A&M t shirts etc....although the Warehouse district is more upmarket.
Drinks were dirt cheap, 8 vodka red bulls & 2 Millers for $10. Ok it was a cheap brand vodka & not really red bull, but it did the trick.
Tecate (i think) is a decent mexican beer they just sell in cans.
Get to Hudson Bend to Just For Fun for speedboat/jetski rentals then eat the fried fish etc in the big bar after.
We went out on 3 nights there over their bank holiday and whereas over here the Sunday night is mental, it was dead there. Thursday & Saturday nights were decent enough.
Stay central as getting cabs start to rack up the price.
Be prepared for them not to understand a word you say and when you do, to think your australian.
(I should have added that I live in Atlanta now so I'm already used to things like the odd dress sense.....and to being thought of as Australian!)
and 2 Millers for $10 is not cheap....here in GA I don't think I've ever paid more than $3.50!
Can't recall what club that was.
Food is more quantity over quality but we survived. We stayed at the Holidayinn on the lake which was fine and located well for walking along the river to Downtown.
Oklahoma city i went to about 20 years ago and found it a bit strange, they don't get many English visitors and we had language problems 😁.
I remember hitching in the middle of nowhere and being picked up by a man in an open backed truck which is where I sat, surrounded by about 10 guns!
I will have to dig out the diary one day!
You will need embrace the need for hugely oversized portions. Everything in the Lone Star state just has to bigger and better.
I found Fort Worth extremely disappointing but it wasn’t helped by seemingly endless road works at the time. There seemed scant regard for its history.
I visited Austin on a few occasions mainly on « in and out » business meetings. I liked the seemingly more subtle architecture and culture.
I also visited Oklahoma City. I regret it was a very bland experience. IIRC when travelling from the Airport to my hotel the taxi driver apologised for the slightly circuitous route travelling the apparently one mile square central city block. That he claimed was the primary city attraction. « You done seen the best of Oklahoma City »
Enjoy your trip.
6th Street is where the nightlife, restaurants, bars etc are. You won’t struggle to find live music and a good time around that part.
Landmarks worth visiting are the Texas senate building and also the University of Texas campus, which is absolutely huge and has a 100,000 seater stadium for its college football team.
@Tavern know....
Definitely try to see the Capitol Building, if they’re doing the free tours it might be worth booking in for one. Or you can usually just walk the grounds and no-one will bother you (within reason lol).
The Bullock Museum is also worth a visit if you want to learn about the history of Texas and the original settlers etc etc.
For concerts, the most well known / mainstream venues are the Moody Center (Austin’s version of the O2, without all the restaurants and shops around it of course) (also not to be confused with the Moody Theatre which is much smaller but also very nice, would recommend) and the COTA amphitheater but that one is probably only worth travelling to if you really want to see a particular music artist or see the F1 track at the same time…
Some other classic Austin music venues are Stubbs and Emos - a bit smaller and more intimate.
If you want to go out for a drink, 6th St is generally ok but I wouldn’t recommend staying out after dark in the area. Too much violence down there late at night in recent years. You’ll most likely be fine if you’re sensible but worth knowing to keep your wits about you.
Franklin’s BBQ is meant to be the best barbecue in the city but I’ve never been to try it - I think the wait to get inside when it opens might be more famous than the food itself at this point. It’s worth looking at alternatives like Terry Blacks or Stiles Switch in my opinion, just as good and you won’t have to wait…
Other must sees would probably include Barton Springs and Zilker Park / Lakebird Lake.
If you fancy some shopping then you can go to South Congress Ave where there’s all sorts going on. The west side of the street is still mostly as it was back in the day, with small independent shops to buy souvenirs etc. while the east side of the street has undergone massive regeneration in the last couple of years and for the most part has been gobbled up by the big brands like Hermes, Nike and Ray Bans.
Hopefully that gives you some things to go on…
Beige seats and unreliable.