I hadn’t formally planned a tour of the Texas State Capitol building when I visited Austin, but while wandering around the grounds, I considered popping my head inside to check on a tour and to steal at least a few minutes of air conditioning on a baking hot afternoon. That air conditioning was needed because I first explored the grounds outside what is a truly beautiful building.
I have a confession to make. Nearing the end of a week in Texas spent sampling some really good craft beer and eating almost solely at barbecue and taco joints, I thought about ordering a salad. Luckily, I didn’t follow through on that crazy idea until I got back home.
On my first day in Houston, after taking in an exciting Astros game, a short walk got me to Jackson Street BBQ. It was almost next door to the ballpark, and even if I tried to get lost, my nose would have been able to follow the smell of smoky meat right to their front door. My first Texas barbecue experience was delicious as I tried the sampler plate with sausage, ribs and brisket, a side of beans, and an Oktoberfest ale from Saint Arnold Brewing:
My wife and I have been taking a decidedly “less is more” approach to museum visits on our last few trips. When our plans for Madrid started to come together, it was pretty clear there were two can’t miss museums for us – the Museo del Prado (no photography allowed inside, so I won’t write here about it other than to say it was a remarkable experience to roam through it on a rainy fall day) and the museum of 20th century art, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.
I generally favour more modern art, so the Reina Sofía was actually higher on my list than the Prado. There were a number of pieces I was very excited to see inside the museum, but on entry, I was surprised (really, it was only a lack of advance reading/research) to find some great modern pieces in an outside courtyard by some of my favourite artists. First, “Carmen” by Alexander Calder caught my attention and brought me back to a childhood experience of seeing a Calder piece in Montreal as well as seeing some of his other installations in Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, and outside Copenhagen.
Favourite 2015 travel photos. Seville, Spain. October 2015
Aside from the baking hot temperatures and the smell of barbeque wafting around what seemed like every corner, I didn’t feel like I was deep in the heart of Texas during my Austin stay. The city felt beautifully out of place compared with all of my preconceived notions of “Texas-ness”. In exploring a few parts of the city on foot, the vibrant and plentiful public art reinforced the “Keep Austin Weird” vibe that I fell for within an hour of first arriving.
Right across the street from my motel on South Congress Avenue was the “I love you so much” mural on the wall of Jo’s Coffee (a place I would later laze away a few hours with a book). The simple mural by Amy Cook was a scrawled love letter to her partner Liz (the owner of Jo’s Coffee). Simple and profound, I felt the love directed to me each time I walked past.
I’ve been to Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. To Soldier Field. To the Air Canada Centre in Toronto – the homes of some of the most storied North American sports teams. Although the league schedule for Spain’s top soccer league didn’t line up for me getting to see Real Madrid play, I did make sure to visit their historic ground, the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
Real Madrid offers a truly remarkable tour of their stadium. You buy a ticket, walk inside, then get to guide yourself through the tour with no one shuffling you along quicker than you want. Stop one on the tour is way up in the cheap seats for a panoramic view, or as I would call it, the view that my limited funds would likely procure if I bought a ticket. Wow.
One week in Texas, split between Houston and Austin, gave me plenty of opportunities to sample a number of craft beers from the state. The refreshment of the beverages (and the air conditioning in the bars) was much needed as the temperatures were pushing into the 30s the entire trip. Here are a few of the beers I got to try and a couple of the craft beer bars I visited in Houston and Austin:
Mongoose Versus Cobra – Houston
On the way back from a Sunday afternoon Houston Texans game, I got off the train a couple of stops early so I could pop into Mongoose Versus Cobra. This was my kind of bar – very laid back and mellow. Here I tried two Texas beers – on the left, an Uncle Billy’s Lazy Day Lager, and on the right, a Buffalo Bayou 1836. I liked the 1836 the best with its malty taste and dry finish. It was unique and reminded me of a cross between a British bitters ale and an American pale ale. I couldn’t resist perhaps the perfect beer snack of chicharrón with chile sauce, salt and lime.
Favourite 2015 travel photos. Seville, Spain. October 2015.
When I traveled to Houston back in late September, I spent most of my short visit attending sporting events and sampling local craft beers in a couple of nice bars. As my last day in Houston was dawning I realized that I hadn’t seen much of the city. Against a backdrop of ominous clouds, I took the train out to Hermann Park with exploration on my mind.
Off the train and just inside Hermann park, I came upon the Mary Gibbs and Jesse H Jones Reflection Pool, the most prominent feature in the 450 acre park:
When Sunday morning rolled around in Houston and I pulled myself out of bed, I realized I was heading to my third sporting event in the city in just a touch under twenty four hours. My plan was to spend the morning tailgating outside the stadium, but I had to put that idea aside as I was shaking off some sort of bug that I had picked up the previous day. Luckily, I was feeling human enough to make it out to the stadium for a little bit of pregame poking around, if not for hours of beers and barbecue (still a little bit sad about that).
On a quick walk around the stadium, I noticed that people really take their tailgating seriously. Most had a full smoker of some sort set up which made it easily the best smelling parking lot I’d ever been to. There were also a lot of neat games and booths set up by the team – you could measure your wingspan relative to JJ Watt and run an officially timed 40 metre dash.
Bluenose Traveler 