whirlwind tour of Austin, Texas

when Husband and I visited Texas this summer, our main purpose was to spend time with his sister, her husband, and our new nephew. along with our visit to inner space cavern and several trips to in-n-out burger... we did manage to squeeze in an afternoon in downtown Austin. I've heard such great things about this city. we were barely able to brush the surface of what Austin has to offer - but I wanted to share what we did.

we spent most of our time walking, though if we had known that Austin offers a bike program we probably could have saved some time. the first place we wanted to stop was a store called Toy Joy which specializes in weird and wacky collectibles. by the time we finished perusing, I was starving. we stumbled into a BBQ joint next door [Lamberts] and it turned out to be fantastic. you really can't go wrong with brisket in Texas.

our next stop was the state capital. I had seen it peeking down a street and wanted to at least get close enough to take a picture. by the time we made it all the way there, we decided to go in for a break in the a/c. politics aside, it really is a beautiful building. we opted not to take the official tour, but just wandered a bit on our own. I had fun finding all the stars throughout the building and grounds.

did I mention I'm actually a Texan? I was born in San Antonio and hadn't been to Austin since I was an infant, but I still have a lot of love for the Lone Star State. and being that my family is [very distantly] related to Stephen Austin for whom this city was named, it only seemed right that I at least stop in to see the capitol.

we drove back out to Round Rock, and ended up back at the highway to watch the bats fly out from the overpass at dusk. Austin is apparently known for its bats, and there is a boat tour you can take downtown to watch them fly out for the night. this was a little less intense, but still neat to see.

after our bat excursion, we headed to Torchy's Tacos for dinner. I think we had Torchy's 3 times while in Austin... when they say "damn good tacos" they mean it.

ok, now what do I have to be sure to do the next time I'm in Austin?

in search of dragons

two friends set out one blistering hot afternoon to explore the hidden temples of Hsinchu. we got over the "what are those white girls doing?" stares and poked our cameras [respectfully, of course] into some of the most beautiful places in the city.

we stumbled upon one large temple in search of another, and were waved in and given the "ok" to take pictures by some men painting. red lanterns galore greeted us, and a set of stairways leading up.

for an incredible 15 minutes, we had this temple space to ourselves. and I was able to click away on undoubtably my favorite subject in Taiwan. dragons. the upper level put us at the perfect hight for viewing the lower roofline's decorations. up close and in-your-face. I have never been so close to temple dragons, and probably never be will again.

every scale, every tooth and claw, every wire whisker was right there in front of me. set in beautiful contrast to the half-abandoned cement buildings surrounding the temple. I might have shed a tear I was so happy. or maybe that was just sweat dripping down my face? either way, it was magical.

flowers, birds and other strange creatures were all right there for the photo-taking. I could have stayed there, clicking and sweating, all afternoon. but mostly looking at the dragons.

discovering places like this makes me so grateful that I've had this opportunity to live in Taiwan. having a friend who is willing to come and sweat alongside me while exploring - even more so. spending an afternoon dragon hunting would have been beyond the realm of my comprehension five years ago, but now it's hard to imagine life any other way.

linking up with Bonnie, Camila, Jessi, and Amy for Travel Tuesday.