10 reasons to visit Austin ASAP!

Hey ya'll... I can say that because I just visited Austin, Texas! Can you believe I had never, ever set foot in Texas before? The city was full of hip bars and restaurants and culture. It seemed like everywhere I looked there was another chic coffee shop, tap room or juice bar. Everything had a very hipster vibe and a lot of the city seemed to have an artsy feel. I was only there for two nights so I didn't have time to do everything but here's some musts...

1. Visit now (April) because the weather was great! Sunny days and a nice breeze but not too hot. We hear that once June hits it will be a nightmare so go now!

2. Hip restaurants! A couple we tried were The Launderette near Lady Bird Lake and Sawyer and Co. Both had a cool, hip retro feel and the food was good. We also went to Shady Grove which had more of a relaxed country feel but had a lovely big patio and the bathroom was a converted Airstream!

3. Texas Barbecue.  When in Texas... we heard that Franklins was super popular but the wait is about an hour and a half so we opted for Terry Blacks (locally recommended) which by the way is also a top rated BBQ place and we walked right in. This place was really cool inside and the BBQ was really good. I'd never had Texas BBQ so I wasn't sure what to expect. We tried the sausage and brisket along with many sides. Our eyes were definitely bigger than our tummies! 

4. Bars and Tap rooms! Boy do they like to drink in Texas. Go big or go home, right? So many cool bars on 6th and 7th street downtown plus all over the city in little niche neighborhoods. Also, I noticed a lot of games at all the bars which was fun. HUGE adult size connect four, beer pong and more. Also, pretty much every bar we went to had a stage so a lot of cool live music. My favorite was Austin, Eastciders because I don't like beer and LOVE cider so this was perfect for me!

5. Improv! We only got to hit up 2 improv theaters when there but a definite must if you want to laugh. First we went to Coldtowne and this was a small venue but friendly folks and laughs to be had. The second night we went to the Fallout Theater and this show was excellent! Both have bars so you can enjoy a drink while watching and laughing.

6. Nate's in Buda.  This is further South from the actual Austin city limits but we found a really nice place called Nate's.  Very cool hip bar with a sprawling patio with plush seating where you can sit in the breeze and let your city-troubles wash away. 

7. Crawfish! Truth be told I didn't actually order any Crawfish but a nice local couldn't finish his and offered his leftovers to me.  Usually I don't go around eating stranger's leftovers but when in Texas try Crawfish! The nice local taught me how to open the thing up and it was pretty tasty... only thing missing in my opinion was some melted butter. Yum, yum!

8. Bikes and scooters. All over the city you would see abandoned electric razor-type scooters and you'd see people zooming around on them all over. They seemed like they could get around really easily and I guess you can leave them and they'll get picked up? We are still wondering about that part...

9. Downtown, Austin. Fun to walk around and see all the offerings the city has to offer.

10. The people! I didn't come in contact with one person who was mean, negative or nasty albeit I'm sure they exist but everyone was super friendly and eager to give us their recommendations! 

Thanks, Austin... we will see you next time!