This month there was an important holiday in the United States. Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September. It commemorates the efforts of workers to establish fair labor practices and promote social stability during the mid-19th century in the U.S.I chose to spend the long weekend of this holiday in Austin, Texas. After some time exploring California and the West Coast, I thought I’d travel to the South Central landscape of the U.S. this time. Austin is a vibrant city, home to beautiful weather, friendly people, and many options for activities. As it is usually so hot, one of the best ways to enjoy the city is by spending a day by the water. I went with a group of friends, we rented a boat and spent a whole day in Lake Austin – which is actually not a lake, but a water reservoir on the Colorado River. It’s also possible to enjoy the river by renting kayaks or getting floaties. One of my favorite aspects of this trip was the food. We had the best barbecue and amazing Tex-Mex feasts. I still can’t comprehend how they measure their individual portions in Texas. I wish I had 4 stomachs.
The city is surprisingly (to me) very walkable. Exploring downtown on foot was quite a pleasurable experience. Even though there is a lot of new construction and infrastructure in the city, many of the historical brick and wood buildings have been nicely and respectfully renovated and preserved. So although the city consists of a busy and dense urban setting, there is still a lot of character from its regional roots. One of the main nightlife destinations is 6th St, which is exclusive to pedestrians at night on the weekends and gets so crowded and happy that it almost seems like a small town. In addition to serving as the state’s capital, Austin is also home to The University of Texas at Austin. While I was there, I found out their Architecture school has one of the coolest materials lab with a beautifully organized online catalog of almost thirty thousand samples. A dream.
