I promised Kumar to visit him at Austin during the Independence day long weekend. However due to exorbitant ticket prices ($500 for round trip to AUS from SNA), I took a flight to San Antonio for my onward journey, where Kumar joined me. In retrospect, it was a wise decision as I might not have visited this historical city otherwise.
La Alamo
After watching Colbert interview (read make fun of) the mayor of San Antonio, Julian Castro, during the week before my trip, I was eager to visit La Alamo which was the venue of a pivotal event in Texas Revolution, Battle of the Alamo. During this battle, a Mexican army of more than 2000 soldiers were defended by a Texian army of 200 soldiers for 13 days before the Texians capitulated. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texian army with aid from adventurers from United States defeated the Mexicans, thus ending the revolution. This monument tells the story of important personalities of this war. Artifacts such as the guns, swords, knives, letters and maps are still on display for the tourists. It is a must visit, particularly for a history buff.
River Walk
In one line, River Walk is an attempt to recreate Venice in downtown San Antonio. I need to visit Venice before deeming it successful or otherwise. Lined with pubs and restaurants on either side of the river, it is a very colorful and active place, thus an attraction in its own right. It is important not to miss out on the killer deals at the souvenir shops along the walk; I got a Texan Hat for $7! Since we were at the River walk at an unfavorable-for-a-meal time, we did not dine; but I could tell that the restaurants here offer good options for a date.
Tower of the Americas
Tower and observation deck are synonymous in the US according to me and I was not disproved by "Tower of the Americas". This 750 feet tall structure offers an incredible view of the entire city. Contrary to my belief that Texas is a desert, San Antonio looks to be filled with green lawns all over. The entry ticket includes a 4-D movie called "Skies over Texas", presenting the history of Texas. There is a restaurant located one floor right below the observation deck. Its USP is that it rotates slowly, offering its diners a 360 degree view of the landscape of San Antonio.
San Antonio being the second largest city in Texas and the seventh largest in the United States, certainly has much more to offer for a tourist. It is worth stopping here if you are riding on I-10 sometime.
Austin
Austin, I am told, is the only liberal city in an otherwise conservative state of Texas. Though irrelevant to this topic, I like adding that :-). It is the capital of Texas, fourth largest city in the lone-star state and fifteenth largest in the country. Austin was a part of my long weekend travel plan that included San Antonio. I reached Austin on the 3rd of July, late in the night and left on the 6th of July before daybreak.
Meeting with Anuranjan and Navin
Anuranjan Jha was my senior at CISL Lab, Columbia University who graduated just when I joined the lab. Anu (as he is fondly called) and me share a common interest - Running. We met for lunch (actually he picked me up from Kumar's house) at Trudy's, a Tex-Mex cuisine. We had some elaborate discussions on half marathon/ marathon training, music that inspires running, music in general, general fundaes on life, life, ... :-). To cut the long story short, we did a lot of catching up. After meeting Anu, I am now sure about buying Bose Companion 3 speakers when I return to NYC.
Navin is also a friend from Columbia University, a dude sometimes more American than an actual American. Don't ask me what I mean because you will have to interact with him to understand what I said. After picking me up from Texas Capitol, Navin and his girlfriend, Nita, took me to Mozart's Cafe. If you are an Austinite and haven't been to this place, I would urge you to try it asap; particularly try their Mocha Special.
Navin, Nita and me gossiped about our friends at Columbia University and Broadcom, sitting on the banks of Lake Austin watching the sun set. Later, we left to downtown Austin to witness the 4th of July Fireworks.
4th of July Fireworks
Kumar and Baradwaj (Bwaj) joined me after I reached downtown. Independence day fireworks is a very colourful event in the United States and a joy to capture on camera. Being an ardent fan of Trey Ratcliff (a Photographer from Austin), I wanted to emulate his fireworks pictures. Having messed up royally last year, I had to make the opportunity count this year. Bwaj and Kumar got me the best possible spot and the following was the result.
It was a joint work by Kumar and me. For more pictures, you should visit Kumar's and my flickr streams. Bwaj captured some amazing pictures with his point and shoot which can be viewed here. It was a very satisfying day for photography.
Jog on River Colorado
Siddhartha Bannerjee (known as Bofi to most of us) is a friend of mine from my undergrad. After coming to the US, we used to run together in Central Park when he interned at Alcatel Lucent, NJ in the summer of 2009. So we decided to do the catching up while doing something both of us relish - running. We ran the along R.Colorado on the Lady bird Lake trail, starting from Mopac Express-way, going till I-35 and back on the other bank of the river. Thanks Bofi, for taking me on this picturesque route and I still owe you a couple of runs more.
Long Drive
After it got relatively cooler in the afternoon, we (Bwaj, Kumar and me) decided to go on a long drive; just drive on with no real intention. We went to Mount Bonnell, a prominent tourist destination alongside Lake Austin. It offers a good view of the city of Austin. Owing to the oppressive weather, we got ourselves a few portrait pictures quickly and drove to Lake Travis. After spending sometime there, we hit the road again to stop at Pennybacker Bridge; to get this view (there were no fireworks when we went). After all the driving (actually being driven) around, I know what is missing in my NYC life. I promise myself driving classes and a license without much delay.
My weekend in Austin was less of a conventional tourist's trip and more of a localite's weekend-off. However, its the most enjoyable travel experience that I have had recently. I hope to visit this place again, hopefully for a week and live Austin - bike, kayak, dine at Hula Hut, catch some live music, help myself with Tex-Mex food, ...
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