Austin, TX

So when my brother-in-law learnt that we were about to get to Austin, TX, he got excited on our behalf.  So much music!  In seconds he identified two must-see concerts in the upcoming days:  Herbie Hancock and Tyler Childers.  Well, the first was sold-out, and after a quick visit to YouTube we discovered that the second was unlikely to be to our taste.   So, what to do?  A quick google revealed an overwhelming amount and number of concerts at an overwhelming variety of venues ranging from large formal concert halls to bars and coffee shops.  In the end we attended a single concert, by a Texas Swing Band at the cafe attached to a high-end grocery store in one of Austin's many sprawling suburbs.  

Apparently this band plays the cafe every second Friday, and as you can see, there is a group of regulars who attend to dance the early evening away.   It wasn't the best music I've ever heard, but it was charming that a random supermarket cafe features live bands, and that pickup bands like this one go on for dozens of years having fun playing local gigs for appreciative audiences.  I guess that's Austin.

The other really charming thing we found in Austin was also something we discovered by chance.  In an attempt to find a nice inexpensive meal, we decided to try a high-end Italian food truck.  When we arrived, we realized that instead we'd found ourselves an experience.  A local independent theatre company has kitted out the treed courtyard of their building with picnic tables and a food truck, and serve the masses great food and fancy drinks outdoors in the warm dry evenings.  You line up for food, you line up for drinks, but the atmosphere is pleasant and relaxing, and it all made for a very nice evening out.

Despite the expression on these people's faces, the atmosphere was really pleasant!

But other than these two things, I'm afraid we didn't find a lot to like about Austin, sadly.  It didn't help that we got caught in a hail storm almost as soon as we arrived.  And when I say hail storm, I mean we were pelted by golf-ball sized chunks of ice on an expressway.

Photo taken after we'd reached safety, about half-an-hour after the storm ended. The hailstones have melted some and are smaller than the ones that hit our car.

We were too stressed to get a video of the largest hailstones.

Our car was damaged. 

The storm was not necessarily Austin's fault, admittedly, but it definitely set the tone.  As did our visitor's impression of the city.  

Yes, our windshield definitely needs replacing.  We have an appointment booked.

Going anywhere at all involves getting on a freeway and travelling 20-40 minutes in heavy traffic through the most intricate assortment of exits, entrances, merges, flyovers, and highway splits that I can readily imagine.  How do people live like this?  Why would they want to?  Getting places was complicated and stressful. I can't imagine living here.