Austin, Texas

We took a flight from Vegas to Austin the next day and were greeted at the airport by a live band – so far the self-proclaimed music capitol of the world was living up to its reputation.  We checked into a Travelodge and spent the next couple of days soaking in the atmosphere of this young, lively and pretty city. 

Not being ones to miss out on a bit of history, we spent one sunny afternoon visiting the capitol building, where we tagged along to a school trip tour learning all about the history of the lone star state. Being the ignoramus that I am, I hadn’t realised that Texas was once under Spanish rule and then part of Mexico. The main thrust of our school-trip tour, therefore, centred on the two most significant battles in the Texans’ fight for independence, The Alamo and San Jacinto. The former saw just two Texans survive the battle against the Mexicans, whilst the latter, just a couple of weeks later, finally ensured them their freedom.  It was really interesting hearing a Texan’s account of the history, especially as the guide referred to the battles as some of the most significant in world history….and there I was thinking Alamo was just a car-hire company!

The city of Austin gave me the impression of being very ‘alive’ (for want of a better word).  There were heaps of trendy bars with live music constantly flowing throughout the streets.  Restaurants, bars and clubs, alike, all offered something a bit different and there was a nice, friendly vibe about the place.  One noteworthy evening was spent at a lovely restaurant called ‘Moonshine’, where Ash had the best steak of the trip (yes, even better than Buenos Aires).  Another evening we head out on the famous 6^th street to get a slice of the nightlife that we heard so many positive things about.   We certainly weren’t disappointed as we ended up seeing the guy who taught Carlos Santana how to play the guitar for just $5 each.  Despite having well and truly left South America behind, we were suddenly plunged into a world of Spanish speakers with Ash and I being the only non-hispanics in the whole place.  It just goes to show how culturally diverse the state is and how Mexico and Texas still hold a strong connection, although the power-balance has probably shifted somewhat since the days of The Alamo battle.

Austin is also a famous university city and the leafy grounds provided a perfect spot for an afternoon’s walk.  Unfortunately we visited during Easter holidays and so were unable to go and watch a football match (or even gate-crash a frat-party), which would have been cool to do.  Nonetheless, we were able to see the student areas and there were still some students milling around, meaning that we could get a bit of a feel for student life there. 

Just to make sure we had got our fill of live music, the final evening in Texas’ capital was spent at a reggae festival (just going to show it’s not all cowboy boots and ‘yee-has’) where we got to see some bands and enjoy the festival atmosphere.  The night turned a bit sour, unfortunately, as we ended up getting lost on the bus on the way home, having to travel all the way to the terminus just to come back again. Luckily the bus driver was kind and let us stay on the bus for the return journey and we eventually made it back in one piece. 

We were a bit gutted about inadvertently getting a late one that evening, as the next morning we were to travel to the airport to pick up our first, very own hire car.  To say that I was anxious about driving in the States would be an understatement and I was more than jittery for the first day or so. I made it a personal mission to get fewer than 5 beeps across the whole trip, and the first and only 3 were achieved that first day.   We had decided to drive back into the centre of Austin (kind of equivalent to driving through London) after we picked up the car so that we could visit a park that someone had recommended to us.  It was definitely worth the effort – the park was positioned near to the river and you could walk along the waterside watching people kayaking, with great views of the city.  There was also a piano that had been placed overlooking the water that Ash and I had a good tinkle on.  If that wasn’t enough, the park was also home to a fresh water spring so we were able to have a dip to cool down from the strong Texan sun.  p.s. We also got the hire care stuck in a ditch, which was fun and quite embarrassing!

After enjoying this other face of Austin, we eventually set off again to our next destination in Texas - San Antonio, the site of The Alamo, for our next dose of history!

Vegas and the road trip begins..

And so to Sin City for 3 days of indulgence and inappropriate amounts of spending.  Just to continue the theme of great accommodation, we were pleasantly surprised to hear we had been upgraded to a suite in our first hotel, Bally’s.  Although a little tired with decor reminiscent of the 80s or early 90s, the room we were given’s size made up for any such misgivings - no joke, it must have had a square footage to rival our own house back in Nottingham.  We had a bar, 2 living areas, a dining table, a sunken bath, his and her’s bathroom areas and a humungous double bed all placed in two separate spacious rooms.  The view over the ‘Eiffel Tower’ wasn’t half bad either.

 

So much space, so little time!

Being that we were in Vegas we thought it best to not fall in the trap of spending too much time in our room, and so ventured out that evening (still with the family in tow) to paint the town red.  We started off sipping cocktails, before moving on to a bit of ‘cheap and cheerful’ casino nearby for Karaoke.  Having practised the routine in Cusco, I opted for a repeat performance of ‘These boots are made for walking’, while Katie took to the stage for a rendition of ‘I love rock and roll’.  Lots of fun was had by all and we spent time sipping on 2 dollar daiquiris and soaking up the unique atmosphere.  After having been in the Californian ‘bubble’ for the past few weeks, it seemed as though Vegas was the perfect stage for introducing us to a more representative view of America.  There was a real mix of people from all the different states enjoying the evening entertainment and I felt I was getting more of an insight into the diversity of this huge country, something that I was keen to get my head around. People were, once again, hugely friendly and we met some real characters that evening, including a women who was telling me all about her belief in aliens (!).  I tried to get her to do Nirvana with me on karaoke but she unfortunately had to leave (or so she said!).   

After our singing jaunt, we headed off to the Encore nightclub for a spot of drinking and dancing.  As one of the premier nightspots in Vegas, clubbing here came at a cost and we all winced at the prices as we pay for our drinks.  Nonetheless, the club, that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the film ‘Save the Last Dance’, provided a fun night of dancing and another insight into another face of the Vegas scene. 

Party time:

The next day we headed to the more upmarket casino, The Bellagio, which came in at $300 a night, a ridiculous amount to spend on a backpacker’s budget.  We soon realised that the price tag was justifiable as we ambled into the beautifully decadent foyer and looked on the swanky bars, multiple indoor gardens and the quaint butterfly house.  The Bellagio is also famed for its incredible fountains, that we were lucky enough to look out on from our room.  To make matters even better, we discovered that we had been upgraded AGAIN to a twin suite on the exclusive 29^th floor, only accessible by the private lifts. If we thought we had lucked out at Bally’s, we felt as though we were living in a dream when we entered our Bellagio room.

My favourite part of The Bellagio - the flower-filled foyer:

 And our fabulous suite, with the perfect Vegas view:

Aside from gawping at our amazing room, the 2nd day in Vegas was also spent enjoying the Bellagio's famous all-you-can-eat buffet (never seen so many different cuisines under one roof), discovering the other hotel/ casinos on the strip (visiting Venice, Paris and ancient Rome along the way) and finishing it all off with a trip to see The Lion King stage show.  Now, we all know that the Disney film was a bit of a tearjerker (especially during Musafa's death), but would you have guessed that the show had me and my sister's waterworks going from the opening bars of 'Circle of Life'?  It must have been something to do with all the amazing animal puppets jumping around, or the stirring vocals from the lady playing Rafiki.... whatever it was, something managed to get us started!  We soon cheered up, though, and continued to enjoy this spectacle of a show. 

The 3rd day was initially a rather sad one as we would have to say goodbye to my family.  We had been traveling together for getting on for 3 weeks now and now was the time to bid farewell for another 2 months before our arrival back home. After a few more tears shed (I still blame The Lion King) Ash and I prepared to move to the slightly less upmarket hotel, 'Circus Circus', where we were to stay for the 3rd night.  

Having been used to the grandiose of The Bellagio, we decided to escape 'Circus Circus' for the evening and head to 'Winn', apparently the most expensive casino on the block.  Here we enjoyed a gorgeous Japanese meal and continued our new found obsession with slot machines, figuring that if we played for 1 cent each time we could sit and drink for free for hours on end!  We actually managed to do quite well on the slots on the 3rd day and think we completed our session up on money (probably a first for Vegas!).  The thrill of starting  with a dollar and coming out with 40 was brilliant and we could see how these things could get addictive.  However, being the sensible people we are we managed to pull ourselves away before we could lose our earnings (or save them to go towards our poker game that evening).

Upon returning to Circus Circus, Ash and I finally plucked up the courage to get involved in a game of poker, something that we had been really apprehensive about doing.  I was scared that everyone would be really good and that there would be bullyish and aggressive play, but it turned out that the players were friendly, just wanting to have a good time, like ourselves.  Ash and I committed ourselves to the minimum $60 buy-in, eventually doubling our money before checking out.  I think we both won a couple of hands -  one of mine being particularly sweet, beating 2 guys with royal pairs with my triple 4s.  I was 'all-in' at this point so was glad to be able to continue playing. 

After our successful night of poker, we retired to our less than glamorous hotel room (not worthy of  a photo!) and prepared to our next venture to Austin, Texas, where we would pick up our first hire car and 'hit the road'.