Day 34 – May 11^th.

Going to be another hot day.

We are off to the Alamo this morning. Dowie and Cara had a look at this old historical Spanish Mission yesterday.

I am so impressed with the Alamo and how it has been preserved. Free entry as well. Beautiful gardens/re-enactments, history film and museum of Spanish/Texas artefacts. I spent a few dollars in the gift shop. Not sure Kate would have enjoyed the gardens as the squirrels are very brave. I know that most readers will have some knowledge of the significance of what happened here and how that event shaped Texas and the United States we know today. One might even say like our own Galipolli. Check it all out here http://www.thealamo.org/

After a few hours we decided that lunch was necessary. We headed to the old Pearl Brewery site which is now high-priced apartments and restaurants as well as nice public-space. Pearl is also the site of the Culinary Institute of America. We found a nice Bakery that offered freshly made sandwiches. http://atpearl.com/about

I am a sucker for a good bookshop and there is one next door to the bakery. Got a copy of ‘101 Chillies to Try Before You Die’. I am sure that if you sampled some of the chillies that are listed as Super-Hot your death would be somewhat hurried. Listed at 101 is the Carolina Reaper. The author writes that he tasted the pod. ‘I have eaten a few superhot chillies and some amazingly hot sauces over the years, but I was in over my head with this one – it nearly killed me. A few chews and the rest of my taste was a blur followed by a lot of milk and ice cream,’ – David Floyd.

At 2PM we are on the road for the one-and-a-half-hour drive to Austin. The proclaimed capital of the music world. The slogan of ‘Keep Austin Weird’, will give you an idea that Austin is a hip city.

The drive over was uneventful apart from when a motorbike rider went past with a death wish.

We are staying on South Congress Avenue and arrived around 3:45. I can already feel the great vibe out on the street.

After a bit of a rest, we headed to 6^th Street where there are many bars with live music. We called into the San Jac saloon where a guy was up singing in the Americana style. The barman was cool, we got a box of popcorn given to us which has been sprinkled with some hot spice. Good marketing as it made you drink your beer fast. One thing I noted on walking around that there are parking spots designated specifically for musicians to load in and bump out. Between sets, the barman played some Johnny Cash and some music by an unknown (to me) singer. I had to ask who it was. The barman took me behind the bar to show me his Spotify playlist. The singer is Tim Barry and I am going to have to get some of his stuff. http://www.timbarryrva.com/

Next, we bar-hopped to the Jackalope Bar. The whole area is now buzzing with young punters. I had some Buffalo Wings (Honey and Jalapeno). Gave my lips a nice burn. By the way, if you don’t know what a Jackalope is then have a look here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope

Off we went again this time to the Mug Shot bar. Easy to see why so named as the walls are covered with Polaroid shots of the punters over the years. A lot of which are young women with breasts exposed, not that I was looking. I asked the bartender what his favourite beer was. He told me to try the ‘Willie’ named for Willie Nelson. Very spookily that when my beer arrived a Willie Nelson song started up on the Jukebox. I had a few Willies and the girls finished with a Fireball. I like Austin already.