My time in Texas' 'fruit loop city' has been completely different to Houston, as expected, due to the fact that the state capital is full of, well, fruit loops (not necessarily in a bad way thought). We were staying on the infamous 6th street, which had been recommended to us by several people, who said we would have the best time there. And I did...
On the Saturday we arrived, we set out to explore 6th street and see what was on offer at the bars and music venues. It was similar to what I expected, in that nearly everywhere is offering you cheap beer, air conditioning, and some kind of live music. We grabbed some food, and decided to duck into a few bars to listen to some bands, all of which were pretty impressive. I'd been talking to a few people from the hostel earlier in the day, who said that the adjoining bar/lounge was really well-regarded, so I head there to listen to a country/blues five-piece.
That's where I met the circus folk...
Jack had gone to bed, feeling a little under the weather, so it was just me at this point, sitting at the bar with a beer and watching the band. Next to me was a stocky American guy with the most insane handle-bar moustache I've ever seen (it even had massive curls at the end, obviously styled with some kind of wax and a comb). Anyway we got to talking and it turned out that Hamilton was from New York, but had moved to Texas to fulfil his childhood dream of being in the circus - he was the strongman. I kind of assumed travelling circuses didn't really exist any more, but he assured me that he and his circus-mates were in town for a performance, and asked if I wanted to have a drink with them..
So I agreed to, and spent the next few hours in the company of two knife-throwers from his circus troupe, and Hamilton'd girlfriend. They were really funny (and generous with beer...) though it did dawn on me at one point that I was really quite drunk and didn't know where I was. So I parted company with them and eventually managed to find my way home...
The next day we took our guidebook like the tourists we were are, and went to check out the state Capitol building, a local art gallery and the University of Texas at Austin campus. The Capitol building was really awesome, as it had been around since Texas had been its own republic, and its lush grounds were filled with sculptures and structures paying tribute to confederate soldiers from the civil war. It's quite an amusing balance they have between being American and being Texan, though you can really tell the latter is equally as important (if not more so) as the former.
Inside the building was a huge rotunda and dome , the walls of which are adorned with portraits of the previous Texan governors (including a certain G.W. Bush). They also love Lyndon B. Johnson there, and in the senate and representative houses there are (not quite) life-sized portraits of the only Texas born and bred President of the US. We also saw inside the Texas Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, whilst wondering how many people had been sentenced to execution in those rooms over the years...
That evening followed a similar pattern to the previous, minus the inclusion of my friends from the circus, and we again saw some interesting music acts and tasted some locally brewed ale. Austin for me has been one of the most varied places we've been to, and it feels like nothing here is forced. There are some 'unusual' people on the streets, but this happens in every city, and most of the people we've come across here have been equally as inviting as in the rest of the places we've visited, even more so than some.
Unfortunately our time in Texas is now at an end, and I'm genuinely regretful that we didn't plan to spend more time here. It's been the most surprising of our destinations I think, due to the fact I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy being in a place that many people perceive as being dangerous or bigoted. My experience has been completely the opposite.
Anyway, next stop Las Vegas...
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