{"id":43799,"date":"2017-11-14T00:00:11","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T14:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/?p=43799"},"modified":"2018-05-14T04:40:46","modified_gmt":"2018-05-13T18:40:46","slug":"why-i-love-austin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/why-i-love-austin\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin, Texas, is your new favourite city. Here\u2019s why."},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin<\/a>, Texas, is your new favourite city. It\u2019s the coolest place you\u2019ve ever been. \u201cBut, Cassie, I\u2019ve never been to Austin,\u201d you say. Doesn\u2019t matter. By the end of this post, you\u2019ll agree that it\u2019s the best. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

1. It\u2019s weird. <\/strong>And that\u2019s how Austinites like it. In fact, \u201cKeep Austin Weird\u201d is the city\u2019s not-quite-official-but-wholeheartedly-embraced slogan and you\u2019ll see it everywhere.<\/p>\n

2. Texas BBQ. <\/strong>Spoiler alert: It\u2019s pretty different to what we have in Oz. While Aussie barbecue tends to besticky and saucy, Texas barbecue is smoky and sauce-free. Until you add your own, that is, which you\u2019re gonna want to do because\u2026 WOW. My tastebuds (but probably not my arteries) strongly recommend Salt Lick BBQ\u2019s Family Style buffet – an Austin classic.<\/p>\n

Hear that? It\u2019s the sound of my arteries crying.<\/p><\/div>\n

3. Amazing shopping. <\/strong>OK, this isn\u2019t really a surprise. You\u2019re in the States \u2013 of course the shopping\u2019s great. But Austin\u2019s unique mix of luxe labels, indie stores, and awesome outlet malls will do serious damage to your credit card. Check out the 2nd<\/sup> Street District for cool cafes and boutiques (including a ModCloth store and Toy Joy, the best toy shop EVER), the Domain for big-name brands all in the one place, Round Rock Premium Outlet for mega bargains, and South Congress for alternative treasures.<\/p>\n

Toy Joy<\/p><\/div>\n

ModCloth<\/p><\/div>\n

4. South Congress. <\/strong>SoCo is so cool it needs its own bullet point. It\u2019s home to some of Austin\u2019s most unique stores, including Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds (a vintage and costume shop so fabulous it\u2019s actually overwhelming) and Uncommon Objects (an antiques store with treasures like vintage cameras, strait jackets, and all the taxidermy). It also has some awesome bars and cafes, like the chilled-out South Congress Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds<\/p><\/div>\n

Uncommon Objects<\/p><\/div>\n

5. Dancing in the street. <\/strong>Head to 6th<\/sup> Street on a Saturday night and there\u2019s a pretty good chance you\u2019ll see some. And that\u2019s while everyone\u2019s still on their best behaviour (hey, they don\u2019t call it Dirty 6th<\/sup> for nothing). 6th<\/sup> Street is closed to traffic most Friday and Saturday nights, making it safe(r) for you to stumble from bar to bar. It\u2019s wild and you will have regrets\u2026 but you\u2019ve gotta do it.<\/p>\n

A quiet night on 6th Street<\/p><\/div>\n

6. Live music everywhere. <\/strong>Austin is the live music capital of the WORLD and there\u2019s no mistaking it. Most bars have a band, and not just cover ones. Stubb\u2019s Bar-B-Q on Red River Street has a full venue out the back, and if you sit at the bar you can listen to gigs for free. Foster the People are playing when I visit \u2013 a decent soundtrack for my beer and buffalo wings \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Lurking around Stubbs\u2019s Bar-B-Q<\/p><\/div>\n

7. Party at Grandma\u2019s house. <\/strong>OK, not literally (unless your Grandma lives in Austin, in which case she\u2019s awesome<\/strong>). But a night on Rainey Street comes pretty close. It\u2019s full of cute old houses that have been converted into super cool bars and clubs. It\u2019s where the grown-ups play once they\u2019re over 6th<\/sup> Street.<\/p>\n

Rainey Street<\/p><\/div>\n

8. Meals on wheels. <\/strong>Forget everything you think you know about food trucks. Austin has perfected them and you never need to eat indoors again. Keep an eye out for Evil Wiener for hot dogs with a twist, Garbo\u2019s Lobster Truck for delish lobster rolls, Baton Creole for creative Cajun (including deep-fried jambalaya on a stick), or Churro Co. if you\u2019ve got a sweet tooth.Track \u2018em down with RoamingHunger.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

9. Street (and backyard) art. <\/strong>Austin is pretty much just one big art space. It has murals in every street, giant guitars on the sidewalk, and parks full of art. Check out Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum (a lush oasis full of bronze sculptures) and the HOPE Outdoor Gallery (a community graffiti park set on the foundations of a failed condo project). But my personal fave is Vince Hanneman\u2019s Cathedral of Junk \u2013a 60-ton tower of brick-a-brackVince built in his own backyard. It\u2019s open to the public, but you need to call 512-299-7413 to make an appointment first.<\/p>\n

HOPE Outdoor Gallery<\/p><\/div>\n

The Cathedral of Junk<\/p><\/div>\n

10. Giant jackalopes.<\/strong> You know you want a photo with this sucker. Find him at JackalopeBar & Grill on 6th<\/sup>\u00a0Street.<\/p>\n

A drunk-eye\u2019s view of a night on 6th Street<\/p><\/div>\n

11. Free Willie. <\/strong>Willie Nelson is Austin\u2019s patron saint, and you\u2019ll spot him everywhere. He seems cool \u2013 I think we could hang.<\/p>\n

Me and Willie<\/p><\/div>\n

12. Epic festivals. <\/strong>South by Southwest, Austin City Limits, Levitation Music Festival, the Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival, Bat Fest\u2026 There\u2019s always something happening in Austin.<\/p>\n

Austin City Limits<\/p><\/div>\n

13. All the bats. <\/strong>Wait\u2026 Bat Fest? Yep, that\u2019s right. Austin is home to the world\u2019s largest urban bat colony. From March to October, 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats chill out under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. Every night, starting at 20 minutes to sundown, they go out to feed,while hundreds of people snap pics from the bridge. They\u2019re furry little celebs and we\u2019re their paps.<\/p>\n

14. A cupcake ATM. <\/strong>It\u2019s attached to a proper shop, but who wants to order cupcakes the old-fashioned way? Cupcake ATMs are the future, people!<\/p>\n

The future is delicious<\/p><\/div>\n

15. Mimosas and brunch.<\/strong> If there are two things Austin loves, it\u2019s mimosas and brunch. Which is great, cos those are two things I love as well. There are heaps of places to get your fix, but I\u2019ve got to give a (nother) shout-out to Stubb\u2019s Bar-B-Q for their Gospel Brunch (which you\u2019d better book ahead, cos it packs out fast). Also check out Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden on Rainey Street for the Manmosa \u2013 a beer stein filled with an entire bottle of champers and just a splash of orange juice. Hey, everything\u2019s bigger in Texas!<\/p>\n

16. Cool people.<\/strong> And that\u2019s really the only reason you need. Austinites are some of the best people in the world. Go meet some and find out for yourself \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Book your next trip to Austin<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Austin, Texas, is your new favourite city. It\u2019s the coolest place you\u2019ve ever been. \u201cBut, Cassie, I\u2019ve never been to..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":43811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"acf":{"credits":[{"name":"","label":"","full_url":""}],"enable_review_score":false,"score_breakdown":[{"label":"","score":"7"}],"placement":"before","note":"","enable_pros_cons_lists":false,"pros_list":[{"pros_note":""}],"cons_list":[{"cons_note":""}]},"posts_api_cpm_point":{"name":"","description":"","thumbnail":"","address":"Austin, TX, USA","latitude":"30.267153","longitude":"-97.74306079999997","icon":"\/images\/icons\/marker.png"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43799"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43810,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43799\/revisions\/43810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}