Durant, OK to Austin, TX and then San Antonio, TX.
We have hundreds of pictures taken during the entire trip, and I haven't had time to resize them yet. Will have to post them up tomorrow. For now, let me just give a preview of what's to come in my next post. :)
*****
It's a 5-hour drive to Austin, and another hour from Austin to San Antonio.
Austin is the capital of Texas state. It is mostly famous for its university, and its clubbing and music scene. ( Evidence: the music that the radio stations played got better as we got closer to Austin. )
We arrived in the evening, and headed for the State Capitol. Everywhere else looked dark and quiet. After all, it was Thanksgiving, and shops were closed. Locals must have been home enjoying their turkey dinners, and only tourists were left lingering in the streets and alleys. We got out of downtown to look for somewhere that was open for dinner. Nearly ended up at Denny's, but thankfully we came across Shilla Restaurant -- Korean food. * i was so happy. I love Korean food. *
The next day was a fully-packed one. It was the day after Thanksgiving, aka Sale Day at the outlet malls. But of course, that was not after we had a look-see at the University of Texas- Austin. The university is okay. I still think Yale and Harvard look much more beautiful, esp Yale.
The next couple of hours was a madrush at the outlet mall. We were hard-pressed for time, cos we wanted to go see Natural Bridges Cavern. We were at the mall for about 2 hours, but I bought lots of stuff-- a Bath n Body Works body lotion for my mum, a top at Bebe, 2 tops at Guess, and another top at A/X. All these could not have been possible if I were not a fast shopper. Having Yifan as my shopper-cum-adviser helped too. He picked out the clothes, I tried them on.
Natural Bridge Caverns are limestone caves that were discovered just some 50 years ago. Fairly recent, I must add. ( we ate at a mexican restaurant that has been around since 1941 !!! )
It was off to San Antonio after that. My god ! San Antonio is the most fun place I've been to in a long while ( ever since I left NY) Given its proximity to Mexico ( see map above), there were lots of mexicans and LOTS of cheap and authentic mexican food ( that i love). The place reminded me of Manhattan -- lively,and bustling with excitement and activities. The night we were there, there was a river parade.
Fredericksburg was our last leg of the trip. It's a " german" town cos its initial inhabitants were mostly germans. Needless to say, the buildings and stores were Europe-ish, and restaurants serve german food ( which I also like ). Sadly, we didn't manage to eat any pork knuckles. But at least there was sauerkraut. I overheard the owner of a store telling some tourists that he was sick of eating german food all day everyday. Hmm. I actually think Fredericksburg is not german enough. For one, restaurants serve mostly american food, and only have a few german items on their menus. The town was bustling with tourists on that day. Apparently, everyone wanted to visit the so-called German town. The town is actually pretty small, okay for a one-day visit. They had the typical European Bed- and - Breakfasts, which looked very pretty, going by the pictures I saw.
Had to leave by noon, cos we had a long drive ahead of us, and there was still The Salt Lick Restaurant that Yifan wanted to go check out along the way. More of that in my next post. And finally, one last trip to the mall to finish up whatever we had missed out on 2 days before. :)
NOW 1 day later and back in Durant, though slightly poorer, but we are very very much happier and satisfied.
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