Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
February 2008 : Austin
Despite having made a two-week road trip through Texas in 1994 and several subsequent, shorter visits, I'd still never been to Austin, the Lone Star State's capital city. I nearly made it in Spring 2007, but the trip had to be rearranged at the last minute. I'd heard lots of good reports, including suggestions that the city was a kind of oasis of fun-loving liberalism in the deeply conservative Bible Belt of America. Anyway, I finally made it and enjoyed the experience, although there was a price to be paid for visiting so far out of season, and I did think the central business district was a little boring. (Where are the shops? Silly me - in out-of-town malls, of course!)
The undoubted highlight for me was the State Capitol which, almost unbelievably, you can just wander into and through. I was even able to admit myself to a live committee session in the Senate and take photos, subject only to the minor restriction of no flash! The underground extension has been extremely well conceived and executed, including a kind of 'negative rotunda' cut into the ground, contrasting with the dome of the main building.
State Capitol
Away from the Capitol
The centre of attention
The end of my visit to Austin coincided with the arrival in town of the two hottest names in US politics at the time, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, contenders for the Democratic nomination for the next US Presidential election.
Base : InterContinental Stephen F Austin
Linked reports from same trip :-