Out and About : One Day in Austin

If I had to summarize my life right now in one word – it would be chaos. Lately, my work has been really busy like 12 hours 7 days a week busy and sadly it’s the same time my parents are visiting. This Sunday however I was able to take a short day trip down to Austin with them. Even though I live so close to Austin, this was my very first time here and I absolutely loved this city – I can’t wait to be back.

Our first stop was Radha Madhav Dham, 200 acres of scenic land in the Hill Country south of Austin; it has a very serene atmosphere, breathtaking architecture of the Hindu temple and shrines with lots of greeneries and wildflowers.

I am really not familiar with the religious teachings here but overall it was very peaceful and charming.

After that we drove through Austin downtown and took a quick tour of Texas Capitol Building, designed by architect Elijah E. Myers who also designed Michigan and Colorado Capitols. The construction began in 1882 and was completed in 1888.

The rotunda and dome inside the building is extraordinarily made. The star seen in the center of the dome is eight feet across and is approximately 218 feet above the floor at the base level of the rotunda.

There are various offices, statues, and viewing areas with so many small details which I absolutely adored.

Next stop was food but we only got to eat at one place in Austin (another reason why I need to be back here soon).  Not too long ago, I tried Torchy’s Tacos in Dallas and now I am a fan. So naturally I had to visit their original location in Austin.

We tried trailer park (everyone’s favorite), fried avocado, the independent, and brushfire. My parent’s thought it was a little messy to eat and wished they didn’t overload the tacos but we finished everything. Make sure you have plenty of napkins nearby.

If you are into food truck, South Austin Trailer Park & Eatery is the place to be. They have several food trucks here, an area to sit and enjoy the food. We grabbed desserts from Holy Cacao – I had frozen hot chocolate (I want to recreate it soon), rabbit cake balls, and brownies.

Since it was so hot that day, we simply drove around

UT Austin,

6th street

, and eventually spent sometime

around lake Travis

 before driving back. There are many parks in Travis county and one can choose to visit any park depending upon the activities. Since we didn’t have any plans, we parked at

Cypress Creek

; you can do boating, picnicking, fishing, and even swimming here if you don’t care too much about the water.

It was pretty relaxing to be by the water, watching people, and above all the breeze kept us cool. Even though it was a very short trip, I was pleased with the city and the little things I got to enjoy with my parents.

Next stop : Hello New York!

Have you guys been to Austin?

Where should I eat while I am there next?

Trips from the past:

Atlanta

San Francisco

New York

Boston

Kathmandu, Nepal (

I

,

II

,

III

)