December 28, 2012 – January 1, 2013: Michael and I booked, on December 16th, a last minute trip to Austin, Texas for New Years Eve.
We did a similar last-minute booking last year – to Savannah, Georgia – and had a great time so we figured we’d go for another round of New Years Eve debauchery in another warmer climate. Instead of booking a swank last-minute hotel deal, we opted for an Airbnb apartment that was centrally located in downtown Austin.
Austin is the capital of the state of Texas; is known as The Live Music Capital of the World, and for its slogan Keep Austin Weird. We were intrigued by the hipster, Texan, and proponent of small businesses reputation.
Similar to last year, we focused on celebrating my birthday and New Years with good food, celebratory drinks, and lots of walking to work off the calories. Some highlights included:
- Walking everywhere from the central location of our downtown Airbnb.
- Enjoying the outdoors with a long walk around Zilker Park on the Lady Bird Hike.
- Exploring the funky stores and neighborhoods on foot.
- Looking for the Mexican Free-tailed Bats on the Congress Avenue Bridge (we didn’t see them; they emerge nightly from March to September).
- Packing on the pounds by gorging ourselves on an amazing dinner at Haddingtons, many drinks, and on over-the-top food truck delicacies such as these donuts.
- Experiencing live music at a random dive bar.
- Watching Office Space for the first time at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Yes, the first time. Clearly I’ve lived under a rock (or under my corporate America desk). It was great.
All in all, we had a great few days and we could have spent more time exploring Austin. Also, I want to see the Cathedral of Junk. We’ll be back.
Accommodation:
- Airbnb apartment on Lavaca Street, Austin, Texas, United States (use this link to make a booking and receive a $20 Airbnb credit)
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