Lauren Tabbron shares her favourite things to do in Manchester
Jess Astbury regales tales of festivities in warmer climates.
Austin – Part II
If you’re staying around Sixth Street (where most hotels are), catch a cab to the South Congress District, a treat for lovers of vintage clothing, original home decorating – and cowboy boots! There’s great places to drop by for a bite to eat (try the delicious Amy’s Ice Cream!), but a 20-30 minute walk will get you to restaurant row on Barton Springs Road, with half-a-dozen themed restaurants offering different types of cuisine and surprisingly low prices for huge portions (Romeo’s is Italian cooking at its best).
If you want a taste of how locals experience Austin, take the Cosmic Cowboy Tour – they’ll feed you, sail you along Lake Austin at sunset with a live musician on board, and even take you to a real life saloon! Also, Austin’s Congress Bridge is famous for being home to enormous bat population, where you can witness them migrating at sunset. Quite a unique sight!
Austin’s a real delight, so don’t be afraid to walk around and explore a town that prides itself on preserving independent music shops (Waterloo Records is apparently one of the best in the US), book stores and restaurants.
Dallas
Accurate tourist information on Dallas is hard to come by, since bankrupted city developers caused a drain of the central city’s West End historic district, which many websites puff up. Nevertheless, there’s plenty worth making the trip for – the adorable Old Red Museum hosts an excellent historical account of the city with the Visitors’ Centre located conveniently in the same building. This is within walking distance of the Sixth Floor Museum, an outstanding documentation of President JFK’s life, death and legacy located at the precise place from where he was shot (allegedly?).
You can catch a free century-old ‘M-Line’ trolley to Uptown, the cultural boiling pot for theatre, art and food (more active on weekdays). If you want to venture a little further, grab the tram to Fair Park with numerous museums, an aquarium and the Cotton Bowl Stadium, among other attractions (activity depends on time of year and weather though – I went on a particularly quiet day!).
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Texas may seem huge and a little intimidating, but with its welcoming southern hospitality, you’ll honestly feel at home immediately. For travelling, renting a car is a great option on America’s huge freeways if you’re a confident driver, but Greyhound Buses are an easy express way to travel cheaply.
Have you visited somewhere in Texas worth going to not mentioned here? Share in the comments!
Greyhound buses are not for the faint of heart.
I went to Galveston, which has warm, sandy beaches (if you ignore how dirty they are). Really nice area; our neighbours had parties on the beach which they always, very kindly, invited us to.
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