Southern Hospitality without Southern Humidity
Last week from Wednesday-Friday, my mom and I traveled to Austin, Texas to go visit UT, see the city of Austin, and eat some delicious food. We spent two and a half full days in Austin, which gave us enough time to get a general feel of the city and the university. I learned a ton this week about UT, what it takes to get into the school, and Austin as a whole.Wednesday: In Denver, it was snowing. Badly. Mom and I left with plenty of time to get where we needed to go. However, when we got there, all of the parking at DIA was taken (or so it seemed; we finally found a spot, but it took a while). Time was ticking away as we made it to the gate just in time for our flight.
After a sigh of relief and landing in Austin, it was time to get to our hotel. We picked up our rental car and headed toward the main city. The first thing we saw from the UT campus? The football stadium! (It's massive!) As we approached the university, everything turned burnt orange - even the street signs!
We ate dinner at Freedmen's Barbecue to get a feel for the Southern food Austin is famous for before hitting Gordough's (a donut bar), an Austin-ite favorite. Both meals were amazing, and I highly recommend them to visitors. Before hitting the sack, we also drove through Austin's famous districts (6th street and SoCo). Both were quiet, likely because SXSW finished less than a week ago.
Thursday: We spent the day taking tours and learning about UT. But before that, we had a quality breakfast at Austin Java. I had a breakfast quesadilla and my mom had an eggs benedict. Everything we had was delicious (5 stars for you!)
On our tour of UT Austin, we started at the Undergraduate Admissions center and finished at the main tower. I enjoyed the campus, the weather, and the monuments around campus. We noticed that Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez (Civil Rights activists) have prominent presences in Austin, Texas. The main part of campus has a statue of Martin Luther King with excerpts from his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," a persuasive piece.
After our tour, we visited the University Co-Op, a massive store filled with burnt orange (keychains, t-shirts, mugs, pens, pencils, hats, dresses, jewelry... you name it!) and white. Mom and I got our gear and then enjoyed our brunch at Jamba Juice in West Campus. But the best part of our day (post-tour) was the football stadium. There was a track event going on, and after walking around the field, we found a way in. The stadium is massive, but I can imagine a bustling and crazy game day (which would be super cool to be a part of!)
Friday: On our final day, we got up and ate at Kerbey Lane Cafe. We had a great experience, with great service and delicious food. And, we visited the Texas capital before our Business School (and Business Honors Program) sessions. We also hit LadyBird Lake, an Austin must-do on our way out. Lastly, we tried the food trucks: Torchy's Tacos, where we enjoyed the Democrat and Republican tacos, and Holy Cacao, where we bought some cake balls for the road. Interesting, yet very delicious, experience.
 |
| Austin, Texas via LadyBird Lake |
 |
| The Texas state capital. Really, really neat building! |
 |
| Where we ate our dinner! |
QOTD: Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often, but if you take some risks, step up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up - if you do these things, the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today.
- Admiral William H. McRaven in his Commencement Address to the UT Class of 2014
Amy
Comments
Post a Comment