Austin - part 3 - Sun 28th Oct & Mon 29th Oct

Sunday 29th October - got out of bed about 10am, did some heel callus cleanup on my feet, had a shower & got dressed ready to head out into Austin with Shelli again.  As it was nearly 12pm we decided to have something to eat first before walking around, so we went to a cafe Shelli likes (Magnolia Cafe) and OMG the people!!  It was a repeat of Pappadeaux the night before! We put our names on the list & were told it would be about a 40 minute wait so we went next door to a little knick-knack shop to look around while we waited.  Shelli decided to buy a couple of things, and just as she got to the counter they called her name to say our table was ready, so I headed over & got our table so we didn't miss out.  Then it was OMG while looking at the menu, there was so much to choose from.  Shelli said this was the only place where she would eat the pancakes so I had to have at least one of those, and then I saw bison on the menu so of course I had to have some of that as well.  I ended up having a bacon cheese burger with bison meat patty and a buttermilk pancake with strawberries & blackberries.  I asked the waitress for a menu coz I couldn't remember the name of a drink I wanted to try and her comment was "Oh, you have so much food coming you don't want anymore."  She smiled when I said all I wanted was a drink.  But of course she was right.  I didn't get as full as last night, but I was very pleasantly full.  The bison burger tasted like . . . . chicken.  HAHAHAHAHAHA  No, really, it tasted just like beef.  I didn't eat many of the "home fries" that came with it, partly coz they had been tossed in a pepper & paprika seasoning, but mainly coz I was too full after eating my pancake.  Which when it came out surprised me a bit as when I ordered I thought the fruit would come as a side but it was actually cooked into the pancake, and it was delicious!!  After lunch we headed off to check out some of the shops in the area, starting with a boot place coz I want some boots, but once inside I saw they were all 'cowboy' style boots & that wasn't what I was after, and even more so after seeing the price of them.  So we left there and had a look at a couple more knick-knack shops.  We then headed to a Wal-mart so I could get a few supplies, but once we got there it wasn't there, so we started heading to a HEB store when we saw the Wal-mart - they had moved it, the sneaky buggars.  So we headed in, got my supplies, and of course a few other things.  When we got back to the car we debated whether or not to head to 6th Street for a wander, but since it was already 5.15pm, and Shelli still had a 1.5hr drive home we decided to pass on that and headed back to the hotel.  We sat & chatted & looked at some of my trip photos, and then Shelli headed off home. I checked facebook & emails and thought about going to Pappadeaux for dinner again but I didn't think my stomach could handle it. Then a short while later I realised Shelli had left her bread pudding behind - OH NO!!  I then sorted & renamed the few photos I had taken that day, updated my blog & watched tv while I ate mine & Shelli's leftover bread pudding.

Some of the houses in the area were painted very bright colours.

My bison burger with cheese & bacon and home fries.

The State Capitol Building in the distance - taken from the car while on Congress Drive.

A really cool looking building in Austin - taken from the car.

Monday 29th October - woke up about midday as I had stayed up until 5am watching tv, had a shower, got dressed & then got a taxi to the post office. I did think about walking there, according to google maps about a 22min walk, but my bag of stuff to post was rather heavy so I took the easy way.  Packed & posted yet another box of stuff to my friend in LA and then decided to walk back to the hotel since my bag was much lighter - 22lbs to be exact, that is how heavy the parcel was.  I should have arrived back at the hotel about 2pm, but on the way I passed a Burlington Coat Factory so I popped in for a looksie, and 4 hours later I came out with yet more stuff.  I might need my own shipping container if I keep going at this rate.  And no matter how sternly I tell myself not to buy anything, I always disobey myself, so I am now just going to allow myself to buy whatever I want.  LOL  I got back to the hotel, dumped my bag on the bed & collapsed on the couch.  My back was killing me, why I do not know.  I took a couple of pills & then started to do a sort out & initial repack.  After finishing that I checked emails & facebook and updated my blog.  I did think about going to Pappadeaux for dinner but my back was too sore & I was a bit tired, also I wasn't overly hungry.  One Pappadeaux meal + one Magnolia Cafe meal = enough food to tide one over for a week.  LOL

I am doing the typing part of my blog each night as I tend to forget what I have done & remembering takes a lot of time & some effort.  Had an early night as had to be up & packed & at the bus station by 10am for my bus to San Antonio the next day.

Austin - part 2 - Saturday 27th October

Woke up about 9am & went to turn on tablet only to find the battery was completely dead.  Put tablet on charge, had a shower & got ready for a day of sight-seeing with a friend.  After about an hour I was able to turn my tablet on, so I checked emails, checked facebook and updated my blog.  My friend arrived about 12pm and we headed out.  First stop was Jack in the Box to get something for lunch (I love that place!) then we went to the Bob Bullock The Story of Texas Museum (aka Texas State History Museum).  I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't allowed to take photos in the museum, but it's not the first museum I've been told that.  It is a 3 storey museum and by the time we got about a third of the way around the 3rd floor a security guard came & told us it was 10 minutes until closing time.  What??  I looked at my watch and sure enough it was 5.50pm.  OMG!!  I didn't know we had been there that long.  We quickly rushed around the rest of the 3rd floor then made our way out.  After that we stopped by the State Capitol Building, which is a really ornate & gorgeous building, but couldn't go inside as they had closed, so we walked around the grounds which is like a big park, and guess what I saw - that's right a squirrel!  And not just one but two. And then as we walked around more I saw more squirrels.  They really are just such cute critters.  Anyway, we made our way back to the car and headed to dinner at Pappadeaux's Seafood Restaurant - a place my flatmate had raved about after his visit here - and I have to say I was a little disappointed as I only had an appetiser (entree to us) and was very full, there was NO WAY I could have an entree (main to us) as well, so I settled on having to come back the next night and just had a dessert, of which I only ate about a quarter, and took the rest to go.  Oh, I did have a drink & a cocktail as well.  When we felt our stomachs settle just a bit we got up & headed back to the hotel with the thought of maybe heading into Austin's 6th Street for a bit of partying, but once we got back to the hotel & sat down there was no moving either of us.  So we settled in for the night.  Shelli got into bed & was fast asleep by 11pm, I stayed up a bit later, sorted & renamed photos, checked facebook & updated my blog and headed to bed about midnight.

The center of the outside of the museum.

A bit further back to get the huge star in the picture.  The 'Lone Star' is emblazoned everywhere in Texas.

At the grounds of the State Capitol Building - the Texas Peace Officers Memorial.

One side of the State Capitol Building.  

The original gates built for the State Capitol Building.  Note the stars.  There is also a fence that goes a part way round the grounds as well.  It used to go all the way around but some parts have been removed as the grounds have been redeveloped.

Ulrich sitting on the lawn outside the State Capitol Building.

Part of the grounds of the State Capitol Building - very park like, very serene, very nice, full of memorials.

Squirrel!!  The tail is smaller than other squirrels I have seen.  So, everything is not bigger in Texas.  LOL

The Alamo Memorial.

A Memorial to Volunteer Firemen.

The State Library & Archives Building across the road from the State Capitol Building.

Door to the Library.

Heading in for dinner!!

A cocktail called "Swamp Thing" it comes in 2 sizes - regular & large - I had the large - I didn't have any more drinks after I finished it.

My entree (appetiser) shrimp & crawfish foundeux - as it turned out this was my dinner as well.

Shelli with her entrees (appetisers) steamed mussels and breaded alligator strips.  I did try a small bit of the alligator strips, with most of the breading removed as Shelli said it was a bit spicy, and all I can tell you is that the alligator tasted like spices.  LOL

I did have a dessert - Praline Bread Pudding with vanilla ice cream & Bourbon cream.  I only managed to eat about a quarter of it.  Shelli managed to eat about a third of hers.  We brought them back to the hotel to finish later.

Austin - part 1 - Tues 23rd Oct-Fri 26th Oct

Tuesday 23rd October - Slept in as I had nothing planned for this day except doing some research, sorting out the next stage of my holiday & doing some washing.  This was a good thing as when I went to have a shower I found that the water wasn't working so rang the front desk to report it and they moved me to a new room (and I have to say the new room was nicer than the 1st room).  Checked the water was working and all was good.  Got myself settled, checked emails & facebook, had a shower, dressed and then went to explore the shopping center next to the hotel.  Well, in it's heyday it was probably a very good place to shop, not so much now.  At least half of the shops/spaces were closed/empty, it was rather depressing in a way.  On a good note I did find a nutrition shop & was finally able to buy some more charcoal tablets.  There was also a Claire's where I spent about an hour and bought yet more stuff for Madison, and a couple of things for my sisters, Christine & Michelle, as well.  Walked out a different way to see if I could find the Wendy's which was nearby, according to google maps.  Didn't find the Wendy's but found a Jack in the Box so had a bite there & I have to say it is very good, I prefer it to McDonald's.  I then made my way back to the hotel and what do I spy with my little eye on the way?? Something beginning with 's'.  Yip, a squirrel!  I hadn't seen any squirrels while in New Orleans and had missed the cute little critters.  And then a bit further on and across the road, what is that I spy with my little eye - a Wendy's! Yes, what had started out not a good day had done a turnaround and was now a good day.  I made it back to the hotel, sorted out a couple of things then decided to read my book for a bit rather than sit at the computer or watch tv.  Of course, not long after I started reading I fell asleep, so I turned off the lights and went back to sleep.


Wednesday 24th October - Got up about mid-morning and made the mistake of checking facebook before having a shower.  An hour or so later I made it to the shower, dressed and then prepared to do some research on the next stage of my trip.  After getting excited & happy that I had found a couple of good tours of Monument Valley I was then deflated when I found out there is no public transport that goes nearby the towns nearest to Monument Valley.  So much for that plan.  I decided to go and console myself by having Wendy's for lunch, so headed out into a somewhat sunny, but rather warm, day.  I walked the shorter than I thought distance to Wendy's had a nice late lunch/early dinner (lunner??), bought a couple of burgers for later (microwave & fridge in hotel room) and then headed back.  I stopped at the Greyhound station on the way back and bought my bus ticket for San Antonio.  Got back to the hotel & decided I better book a hotel in San Antonio.  I also thought I might do a ranch stay as well, since I wouldn't be going to Monument Valley, but then when I checked the calendar I found that doing a ranch stay would conflict with my Grand Canyon south rim tour, so flagged the ranch stay.  I then sorted the last of my New Orleans photos and updated my blog.  Decided to head to bed about 10pm and read my book for a bit until I fell asleep.


Thursday 25th October - I did plan to give myself some retail therapy but I didn't wake up until lunchtime so that put the kobosh on that idea.  After I got up I checked facebook & emails then started sorting out the timeline for the last 3 weeks of my trip.  Got hungry so got dressed & walked to Jack in the Box (I can have Wendy's at home), had lunch and then walked back which used up about an hour & a half.  I then got into booking my Grand Canyon South Rim tour (booked it for 6th November - Mum's birthday) then sorted out bus tickets & hotels.  Finally got everything sorted & booked about 7.30pm and felt so tired I closed my tablet & watched tv to relax.


Friday 26th October - got up mid-morning, showered & dressed and was then on my way for a day of retail therapy.  Went to Barton Creek Mall and spent just over 6 hours shopping.  It is a huge place, and had a souvenir shop so got my magnets and a couple of other things.  There was also a Sears & a Macy's there so finally got to visit those stores.  All I can say is it is lucky my niece isn't here coz there is SO MUCH cute & lovely & pretty & cool girls stuff I would buy.  There's not really a lot of stuff for boys tho, and all the t-shirts a long-sleeve & I wan't short-sleeve, but I did manage to find a cute t-shirt for my nephew, and it has a digger on it!  Got back to the hotel about 7pm, looked into getting something delivered for dinner but got pissed off at the pizza places websites - you don't need my address to show me a menu!!!  So I ended up eating my Godiva Chocolates for dinner.  Sorted out the stuff I had bought & packed most of it up to be sent back to my friend in LA for safekeeping until I get back there.  Watched some stuff on youtube, watched some tv, then finally went to sleep about 1am.

New Orleans to Austin (Monday 22nd October)

Got up far too early and got a taxi to the bus station.  This is the part I am starting to dislike about my travels - you have to be at the bus station 1 hour before the scheduled departure time of the bus, so you get there, check your bag and then wait for an hour, or as has become the norm lately, more than an hour as the bus arrives late.  Anyway, finally got onboard the bus and headed on my way to Austin, Texas.  Now one thing that has me confused/flustered is how do you know when you cross a State line?  As far as I have been able to see there are no markers or signs or anything telling you that you are leaving one state & entering another.  Anyway, made a few stops then arrived at Houston for transfer to a different bus for the rest of my journey to Austin.  Bus was scheduled to leave at 5.35pm, we actually left at 5.50pm and since I hadn't slept much before now as it was day I decided to get some sleep now, but alas I was unable to do so due to a couple of people on the bus who decided that a bus ride is a social event and talked nearly the whole way, and at a loud volume because the whole bus needed to hear their conversation.  It did not help that at 9pm when the bus was scheduled to arrive in Austin we were still on the road & I found out, thanks to the loud persons, that we were about another 30-40 minutes from Austin.  WTF!!??!!!  I put this down partially to the fact that we had a new driver, and I believe she was a new American citizen as well from her accent.  Anyway . . . finally got to Austin about 9.35pm, got off the bus and to my surprise, and happiness, I saw the sign for the hotel and found out that it was about 500m down the road so I proceeded to walk to sanctuary.  By the time I checked in & got to my room it was about 10pm and I was rather tired, but as one does I checked emails & facebook and messaged my friend to let her know I was here and then spent an couple of hours chatting to her and my flatmate.  About midnight I was nearly falling asleep at the desk so I said my goodnights and went to bed.

No photos taken this day.  There were a few things I saw that I thought I should photograph but by the time I got my camera out & ready we had gone past so I decided to flag the whole picture idea.  Also, I have found that people get antsy when you point a camera in their direction as the thing you want to photograph is out their window.

New Orleans - part 3 - Sunday 21st October

Woke up early, showered & dressed and left the hotel by 8.15am to get to the river for my Cemetery & Voodoo Tour leaving at 9am.  Got on the little bus taking us to the cemetery & met our tour guide, Mary - an elderly but sprite lady who had a good sense of humour and who gave us a gris-gris bag for protection.  We got to the cemetery - St Louis Cemetery Number One - and hopped off the bus and then started the walking part of the tour.  Mary gave us a brief history on cemeteries in the New Orleans area, showed us a couple of graves and then took us to the 'highlight' of the tour - the tomb of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen. Mary gave us a brief history of Marie and then gave us instructions on how to 'ask' for a favour, which most of us did.  We then carried on our walk through the cemetery, saw some graves of influential & noted New Orleans folk, heard stories, had a few laughs and then about 1.5 hours later we got back on the bus & went to the nearby Basin St Station Visitor Center, an old train station which has been 'recycled' for souvenir buying & getting information on what to do in New Orleans.  We then got back on the bus & were taken back to the river.  All in all it was a very interesting tour, although she didn't tell us much about voodoo, but she did say that the practice of voodoo differed from area to area and 'family' to 'family' so I suppose it would have been difficult to tell us much.

We are now entering Saint Louis Cemetery Number One.

The tomb of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau.  Rather unassuming really, I thought it would be more fancy.

Plaque on the tomb.

Some of the other tombs.  It really was quite a fascinating & interesting place.

The 2 statues you can see sit atop 2 separate large tombs called Society tombs - these are tombs that society's (eg. Italian Society, Woodworkers Society, etc) would buy & allow members who couldn't afford their own tomb, or who had no family left, to be 'buried'.  Some of these tombs have been around for close to 300 years, so you can imagine how many 'people' are in there.

This is a new & empty tomb.  According to Mary it is Nicholas Cage's tomb - and the only piece of real estate he owns since he was 'done' by the IRS for tax evasion. 

One of the older tombs without a faceplate.  

The Italian Society tomb.

It is up to the families to maintain the tombs, no family=no upkeep.  In some of the cemeteries you can pay a yearly 'fee' and the city will maintain the tomb for you.

More old tombs.

The Protestant section of the cemetery.  When it was first opened St Louis Cemetery No. 1 was a Catholic cemetery and only those of the Catholic faith could be buried here.  Due to demand they made a section for non Catholics at the back of the cemetery grounds.

When the city was being redeveloped they needed some of the cemetery grounds so they  put out a notice advising of this & for you to come & claim your loved ones remains to be buried at one of the newer cemeteries.  Those that weren't claimed were dug up & put into a mass grave & then their headstones set in the concrete top of the grave.

More old tombs.

Some of the tombs were well looked after & had fancy fences around them.

The 'vaults' - this is where your loved one goes if you can't afford a tomb.  Someone went to a lot of trouble to make their loved ones final resting place stand out.

The entrance to the Basin St Station, now a visitor center.

They kept the inside just like it was in it's heyday as a train station.

And they had models of different parts of New Orleans - this is of the French Quarter.

After the tour I made my way back to the hotel and did some packing then had a restful afternoon.  About 7pm I headed out to find something to eat, went for a wander down Bourbon Street, got annoyed at the drunken people, actually got annoyed at some non-drunken people too.  I headed back to the hotel about 9pm and finished packing as I had to be at the bus station by 7.50am to catch the bus to Austin.

New Orleans - part 2 - Saturday 20th October

Woke up when alarm went off & got out of bed.  Had a long shower, got dressed, did a quick check of facebook, had a couple of pop tarts for breakfast then headed out the door to get to the river by 11am for my steamboat tour.  Arrived at the dock a bit early, boarding started at 11am with departure at 11.30am, so I walked around for a bit and got in the boarding line at about 10.50am. Got onto the steamboat "Natchez" walked around & decided to stand at the back by the paddle wheel to watch it as we departed.  We finally departed about 11.40am & headed off down the Mississippi River.  There was a live jazz band onboard and a buffet lunch was included in the ticket price as well.  I had just a little bit of the lunch offered - red beans & rice, jambalya and okra & tomatoes - the red beans were a bit spicy but the rest was all good.  I then went down and saw the engine room as we stopped & turned around to make our way back up the river to the dock.  It was very relaxing and quite interesting.  The "Natchez" is apparently the "last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River".

Lovely day to be 'steaming' down the Mississippi River.

The paddles are turning but we weren't going anywhere.  Surprising that one rope was enough to keep the boat in place.

Now why can't there be more 'graffiti' like this?  Very nice thing to see.

Big boats on the Mississippi.  It is 2 boats side by side, not 1 huge boat as I first thought.

Look, it's Little Toot!!  And his Mum.  :-)

One of the banks of the ole Mississippi.

Part of the engine room.

And a diagram on how the engine works, just in case you're interested. 

Inside the upper deck dining room.  The live jazz band are at the very end in front of the big windows.

Ulrich keeping an eye on the paddle making sure it doesn't break.

After my trip on the steamboat it was back to more modern transport and on to the bus for the "Super City" tour which went around the French Quarter, the Garden District, the Warehouse District, past one of the cemeteries, out to the edge of Lake Pontchartrain and past some of the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.  It was a very interesting tour, the tour guide was very knowledgeable & rather funny which made it very enjoyable.  One of his more memorable quips was as we went thru the Garden District he pointed out the "unique trees here that grow mardi gras beads".  I didn't get off at the cemetery stop as I was going on a cemetery walking tour the next day.  Also, I had a window seat & didn't want to lose it, as had happened to me before.  The history of this place is amazing & wonderful.

One of the 'fancy' houses in the Garden District.  I think it is someone important or notable's house but I can't for the life of me remember who.

Another 'fancy' house.

At the edge of Lake Pontchartrain. In the distance you can see the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway which is the 2nd longest 'bridge' over a body of water in the world.

Another gorgeous building.

All ready for Halloween.

Even some of the trees are getting into the Halloween spirit.

One of the houses author Anne Rice lived in while in New Orleans.

Statue of Joan of Arc. Or as our tour guide put it Joany on the pony.

I got dropped off outside the French Market Flea Markets and wandered around looking at all the stuff on offer, and most of it was the same from stall to stall, which was rather disappointing.  After leaving the flea markets I slowly made my way back to the hotel & since it was nearly dinner time decided to have something to eat at the Popeye's I saw earlier.  Again, a bit disappointed, food was good but nothing to write home about.  I then stopped at one of the larger souvenir shops to  buy a bag to put all the stuff I had bought in for the trip to Austin, as I was not going to get to a post office to send it back to my friend in LA.  I found a very useful bag for a very good price, bought a couple more souvenirs then went back to the hotel.  Once back in my room I checked facebook, sorted & renamed photos and updated my blog.  It was early to bed (about 11pm) as I had to be back at the dock by 8.30am for my walking tour the next day.