Hotel recommendations for a visiting Brit!

[mzoo]

Originally Posted by tredders

Yes - definitely on the agenda. Is there anything in the area near to the statue? Maybe somewhere for lunch or at least a coffee?

Hey Mark,

The statue is down by the Lake, closer to the 1st street bridge, one block(West)from S.Congress and Congress Ave. bridge. Not too many places to eat right around there as the Lake downtown isn't too built up(one of its charms)and people mainly jog the hike and bike trail, etc.

If you are on Congress or S.1st and head away from downtown(South) there are some good Mexican options:
Habanero or Curra's , on W. and E. Oltorf,respectively, are both good. Curra's has yummy Avocado margarita's. The bar at Hotel San Jose on S. Congress has a good Michelada. There is a cluster of food trucks halfway up S. Congress and also two others on S. 1st.
Bouldin Creek Cafe on S.1st has good vegetarian/vegan breakfast.

If you want something a little fancier in the way of Mexican try Fonda San Miguel(north of the university) or La Condessa on 2nd just over the S.1st Street bridge(downtown side).

Also as the poster above and myself previously stated the Rainey St. District is pretty neat. Street of old houses turned into different themed bars or pubs as you may have it
In the backyard of Clive Bar is a tiny little place called Bar Illegal which sells only mescal(a little strong for me on its own but good in a cocktail).

Hope this helps!

[tredders]

Originally Posted by mzoo

Hey Mark,

The statue is down by the Lake, closer to the 1st street bridge, one block(West)from S.Congress and Congress Ave. bridge. Not too many places to eat right around there as the Lake downtown isn't too built up(one of its charms)and people mainly jog the hike and bike trail, etc.

If you are on Congress or S.1st and head away from downtown(South) there are some good Mexican options:
Habanero or Curra's , on W. and E. Oltorf,respectively, are both good. Curra's has yummy Avocado margarita's. The bar at Hotel San Jose on S. Congress has a good Michelada. There is a cluster of food trucks halfway up S. Congress and also two others on S. 1st.
Bouldin Creek Cafe on S.1st has good vegetarian/vegan breakfast.

If you want something a little fancier in the way of Mexican try Fonda San Miguel(north of the university) or La Condessa on 2nd just over the S.1st Street bridge(downtown side).

Also as the poster above and myself previously stated the Rainey St. District is pretty neat. Street of old houses turned into different themed bars or pubs as you may have it
In the backyard of Clive Bar is a tiny little place called Bar Illegal which sells only mescal(a little strong for me on its own but good in a cocktail).

Hope this helps!

Thanks for that - some great information there. Mescal brings back bad memories - I worked in Barcelona for a year in my younger days, and still have flashbacks about the mescal bar there

So, my agenda for Saturday now has breakfast downtown, SRV statue, then Mexican lunch, a bit more site seeing, and the second hockey game in the evening. I like how this is starting to look!

Thanks again for the info.

Mark.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by tredders

So, my agenda for Saturday now has breakfast downtown, SRV statue, then Mexican lunch, a bit more site seeing, and the second hockey game in the evening. I like how this is starting to look!

Before I forget, again, do you have any real time Sunday, or are you off to the airport early?

OK, to help you navigate, open Google Maps and do a search on: SRV Statue, Austin, TX. That will place a tack where it can be found, on the riverfront in the park called "Auditorium Shores," with W Riverside running along side, between S. Lamar Blvd and S. 1st St.

Got that? Now look just above, on the other side of the water (Ladybird Lake), where you'll see W. Cesar Chavez St. Got it? Now trace it west, to your left on the map, to Loop 1 - S. Mopac Expressway. The Marriott at the Arboretum is just off N. Mopac Expressway, so once you get on Mopac Southbound, you can stay on there until you get to the well-marked turn for W. Cesar Chavez St... to S. Lamar, and beyond.

Now, look just south of Riverside, and the next cross street is Barton Springs Road, and there are lots of places to eat both east and west of S. Lamar on Barton Springs Rd. Threadgill's, which I recommended for Sunday brunch if you're available, and where all the classic rock memorabilia is displayed, does an outstanding Southern Homecooked style breakfast, and it is located at the point where Riverside and Barton Creek cross. A couple of blocks east is S. Congress.

Now change your search terms to: W Hotel, Austin, TX. As a photographer I think you will really want to catch the new Willy Nelson Statue there, at the corner of 2nd and Lavaca, in front of the Austin City Limits/Moody Theater where ACL Live is recorded. It's not as well known yet as the SRV statute, but it's a great shot. That modern looking building across the street is the Austin City Hall. A couple of blocks east is S Congress.

Since you won't be visiting the E. 6th Street club district at night I honestly don't know how interesting it will be to you, since it's mostly bars, and a few tacky souvenir shops, and a lot of tacky tourists.

S. Congress is far more interesting in the daytime because it has many unique and interesting shops that actually "Keep Austin Weird." The San Jose Hotel shows up on the Google map, and it's near the north end of the section of interest. Allens Boots, with the big cowboy boot sign out front is several blocks south, and there's a collection of food carts just past it on the other side of the street. In between are several signature Austin SoCo shops, including Lucy in Disguise, a huge costume shop; Uncommon Objects, an amazing flea market shop; and many others.

Honestly, if you'll be going back up to Cedar Park to shoot a game Saturday night, maybe you should just stay at The Marriott up there both nights. Don't forget to factor in possible jet lag. It always kicks my butt on long distance trips like that.

And depending on your schedule Sunday you could always shoot down Mopac to the downtown area for a second round for whatever time you have left. On Sunday the traffic should be light. Then getting to the airport from there... if that's where you're going... will be fairly simple and easy.