Austin Delight: How to do Austin, TX in 3 days

I am a world traveler. I like calling myself that - it feels good! I've traveled to over 30 countries on 5 different continents, so getting on a plane is like a drug to me :) It had been a little over a year since my last international trip (to Aruba - stay tuned for that post!) and I was itching to go somewhere. Not to mention, I had been working at my new job for 6 months without even taking a day off! Talk about commitment. I love my job, but desperately needed a break.
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So what's a girl to do when the travel bug has bitten her, but an international trip is neither in the budget nor schedule?

​Well, because I knew I desperately needed a getaway, I went on Google Travel and randomly picked a city close enough that it was inexpensive to get to but would also be fun. I landed on Austin, TX. Hmm...I'd never been to the great country of Texas other than for a job interview almost 2 years ago when I didn't even leave the airport area. Austin should be interesting, I thought. And I can make anything fun for 3 days. YOLO, amirite? One thing you'll learn about me is that I'm thrifty. This sista likes to save a dollar! Hollar! (See what I did there? lol). To my delight, I had enough airline miles to purchase a ticket, and I was off to planning my trip.
So how did I spend my solo weekend getaway?? I'm about to divulge all the fun things I did, by day. And if you find yourself in Austin or thinking about going, check them out below!

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Saturday (Day 1):

Brunch at Moonshine Grill. Of course I arrived hungry. As soon as I got to my hotel, I threw my bags down and found the closest appetizing restaurant within walking distance. Brunch at Moonshine was pretty good. It was a casual yet sophisticated atmosphere. I was trying to be all southern and stuff, so I ordered the Chicken and Waffles. HUGE portion, but it was good. Plus the wait staff was friendly and helped give me recommendation on what to do in the city. (I had a loose agenda, but made sure to solicit the opinion of the locals for other things to do).

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Stroll along the Colorado River. I needed to walk off brunch so I decided to take a nice, long stroll along the river. I'm an island girl, so bodies of natural water get me excited, lol. Fun fact: local Austinites actually call the river "Lady bird lake." No idea why. Weird, right? Anyway... I continued with my walk along the river...err...lake or whatever.
I enjoyed the breeze and seeing so many people active (running, walking, biking etc.). It was a great way for me to clear my head. One thing I regret is not doing this later in the afternoon when it wasn't hotter than biscuits. Dang - Austin is HOT! Even in October. Luckily, there are little paths that take you back up to street level to the main street. When I couldn't bear the heat any longer, I found the closest froyo place and planted my behind until I cooled off.

I definitely tried to peep the bats under the bridge! LOL

Graffitti Park at Castle Hill. Next up was channeling my inner graffiti artist. There is this super cool spot called Graffiti Park, and I arrived in less than a 10 minute Lyft ride from the froyo place downtown. How do I describe this place? It's a series of walls and nooks where graffiti artists, professional and amateur alike, come to express themselves with a can of spray paint.  People literally arrive with can in hand, ready to make their mark. The coolest part of my experience there is seeing professional graffiti artists start or finish off a creative masterpiece. As if that wasn't intriguing enough, it's on a hill so if you climb to the top, you get a panoramic view of downtown Austin. I highly recommend it!

Doing my part to keep Austin weird :) View from top of Graffiti Park

Graffiti, graffiti

And more graffiti

My summertime cool outfit for the Lauren Hill & Nas

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Concert time. Being that Austin is music city, a concert is in order. I went to a Lauren Hill & Nas concert. And get this - I got tickets on sale for like $25! (Told ya I was thrifty! lol). It was a long 30 minute drive out to the concert venue, but it was worth it because they both put on an amazing, electric show that had me reminiscing of the gem that is 90s music.

Saturday (Day 2):
Rooftop pool at the Westin. I slept in, of course, because late night concert. But I was feeling frisky so I did a quick brunch at a local buffet, and decided to find me a rooftop pool. Luckily, the Westin in downtown Austin has a rooftop pool with a gorgeous view!
Aaand it's open to guests not staying at their hotel (within certain hours). Swimming on the 20th floor while looking across at other sky scrapers was the most bougie thing I've done in a while! I felt so #fancy.  I hung out there for most of the afternoon, drink in hand, Instagramming, and laying in the cabanas. That was one of the highlights of my trip. Woosahhh...

View from the 20th floor rooftop pool! Yasss...

Congress Street Bat Colony. I had heard so much about the bat colony that lives under the Congress Street bridge. With 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats, it's the largest bat colony in North America. I was told the bats emerge from under the bridge at sunset, so I showed up early to make sure I could get a spot. Sure enough, when I arrived, about 50-70 people were already there! We were all patiently waiting for 2 hours for these things to make an appearance! It would have been a chore if I hadn't made friends with a group of girls who were also visiting (from San Francisco). We were cracking jokes and speculating about how the bats all knew when it was time for them all to leave? Did they do roll call? Did they wait for everyone to line up before they made an exit? What if someone forgot their bat shoes? LOL. It was fun, HOWEVER, I have to say I was a bit disappointed in the bat show. When they finally emerged it was dark outside and you could barely see the bats. They were so tiny and flew low below the bridge, so it was hard to take pictures of them. Plus, I was expecting them to come out in sync in a large swarm, but instead they all came out sporadically flying in multiple directions. Needless to say, the fun we had waiting for them was better than actually seeing the bats fly out. Oh well. Maybe next time they'll put on a better show.

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Monday (Day 3):
Exploring Congress. I kept it chill on my last day. I decided to take a Lyft across the river to explore the south Congress neighborhood. First stop was the "Greetings from Austin, TX" mural on 1st street for a signature photo. Then I stopped for a giant, hot, fresh-out-the-oven donut at Gourdough's. They have THE biggest donuts in super unique flavors; I got Nutella and strawberries (which I scarfed down...and I don't even eat donuts). I ended my trip with a little shopping on South Congress Ave.
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Whew! I'm exhausted with just the recap. So what's the moral of the story? You can do a TON on a weekend getaway. Even though it was brief, I got a good feel for the city. But most importantly, I got some much-needed R&R. For me, exploring is actually relaxing and refreshing. Till the next travel adventure...
T.
What weekend trips have you been on lately that you would recommend?