Howdy from Austin, TX! I recently visited my sister in the Lone Star State and had the absolute best time ever. I thought the best way to share my vacation adventures was to do a series of diary-style posts recapping our activities and sharing a miniature guide from the highlights. So, if you want to see more of my travels or get a feel for the greater Austin area, grab a cup of something cozy and read on!

austin

The first few days were spent exploring my sister’s backyard in Austin, TX. We did our preliminary grocery haul at the new H.E.B grocery store and after loading up on goodies had a chill first afternoon of getting manicures and relaxing by her apartment pool. The first thing I noticed about landing in Austin was how HOT and HUMID it was! I expected it to be a lot drier, but the humidity meant rain was coming to stay on top of the pollen and heat, so that is a good thing.

South and east austin

The next day we drove around (south?) Austin and did some window shopping while munching on gourmet doughnuts from The Salty doughnut shop. I absolutely loved the vibe of the streets with all the murals and colorful buildings. After shopping a bit, we came back to the apartment and rested up a bit before grabbing dinner at Intero (an Italian restaurant in East Austin). Dinner was UNBELIEVABLE and we scarfed it down literally within minutes. After dinner and dessert, we decided to let our food digest by walking along some bar/coffee shops on the the East side of Austin. We hit up Lazarus Brewing Co. and Whistler’s and I sipped on a delicious mint tea to digest my food.

The nightlife scene was just enchanting with all the twinkling lights and music everywhere. One thing I really love about Austin is the amount of outdoor cafe and bar space there is…nearly every cafe has gorgeous outdoor seating available and the option to get food and drinks as well. I loved how people were there in the evening getting drinks with friends OR doing some work by themselves with a cappucino in hand. Talk about inspiring vibes!

north austin

The next day we made our way over to The Domain shopping center for some serious retail therapy. I was BLOWN AWAY with the volume of unique and luxe shops available. Melanie and I ended up treating ourself to matching diamond pave rings from Mejuri. We both love jewelry and the idea of having something to remember the trip that will last forever! After a long day of shopping and seeing more of the local scenery, we came back and relaxed for a bit before going out to Cidercade, a bar and video arcade for adults, for some fun and games with her friends. The best part about Cidercade is the view of the river and Austin skyline from their back deck!

san antonio

The day and a half we explored San Antonio! I had always been curious about San Antonio….mainly from Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette (lol). I thought it would be great to see a different part of Texas and fortunately it was about an hour drive from Melanie’s apartment. Our first afternoon was steadily raining, so we kept to indoor shopping around the Pearl area where we got a delicious lunch and explored the Emma hotel. We checked into our AirBNB to rest and freshen up before going out to dinner at La Fonda on Main, one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in San Antonio! We gorged ourselves on enchiladas and churros and of course a margarita to top it off!

the riverwalk

The next day gave us MUCH better weather and made it perfect for exploring the oh so classic riverwalk. I heard a lot of people say the riverwalk was overrated and overhyped, but I happened to really enjoy it. The paths along the canal were beautifully maintained and very peaceful. After hitting some more shops along the riverwalk, Melanie kept her promise to take me to the one and only, Rainforest Cafe. There used to be a Rainforest Cafe near me when I was pretty young and we would always go at the end of a school year to celebrate summer. Now there are no locations near me at all and I knew San Antonio housed one of the few remaining establishments. We had the most magical time splitting a flatbread and getting our drinks in a special to-go mug.

gruene

After spending the early chunk of the day exploring San Antonio, we took some STUNNING backroads back to Austin that allowed us to visit a few charming towns along the way. Gruene was my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE TOWN we saw and I immediately fell in love with the organic Texan charm and incredible boutiques. Gruene is a pretty historic town with a lot of German influence that holds the oldest original dance hall in the state! When we popped in there was no live dancing or music, but you can almost ALWAYS find some there.

After caffeinating ourselves at Gruene Coffee Haus, where I had one of the BEST cookie butter iced lattes of my life, we continued exploring the charming town. As someone who deeply adores small towns, I really appreciated the greenery, murals and variety of shopping options. There were so many charming antique shops, a general store, coffee shops, interior design stores and MANY charming boutiques. I am not exaggerating when I say that EVERY single store was a temptation. The shops lack no amount of colorful, vivid, sparkling and stylish clothes and accessories that absolutely SCREAMED my name. I got a few keychains to add some Texas bling to my purse and matching Texas bangles for Melanie and I. These shops were also fantastic spots for souvenirs and inexpensive postcards for family and friends .

If you are at all curious to see what the style is like in these Texan boutiques, check out some of these places to browse their collections: Simply Detailed Boutique, Gruene With Envy and Pookie Jane’s Boutique. And while you are looking up boutiques, you MUST check out the brand Consuela if you have never heard of it before. This is a Mexican-based luxury purse line with THE MOST STUNNING bags I have ever seen before. There was a headquarter shop in Austin, but nearly all of these smaller boutiques were stocked with a good supply of colorful Consuela bags of all shapes and sizes. (I may be slightly obsessed…)

Wimberley

After exploring Gruene for a bit, we got back on the road and made our way to the town of Wimberley. We did not have as much time (or energy) to explore Wimberley the way we did Gruene, but we saw a few cute shops and got to relax for a little while at Blue Hole Regional Park. Blue Hole Regional Park is a very lovely creekside park that doubles as a swimming hole during the warmer months. The trees were sprawling and there were interesting carvings on certain trunks throughout. I could TOTALLY see myself spending a lot of time here if I lived nearby. :)

that’s it for now

Well, I think I am going to save the rest of the trip for another blog post because there is just too much to share! I must say, of these first few days in Texas, my favorite part was driving back from San Antonio on those Texas backroads and seeing those dramatic ashe juniper, live oak and bald cypress trees canopy the hills in the most magical covering. I had NO idea central Texas was so green and stunning. It was also neat seeing all of the local ranch homes and their fancy gates on our drive. While Austin and San Antonio have much to boast about, my heart is with these smaller towns. Gruene is one hundred percent somewhere I could see myself living IF it was not for the intense heat.

Stay tuned for the next post where I will share the rest of our Texas adventures and some favorite places along the way!

what about you?

I would love to know your thoughts on this travel diary. If you have explored or are familiar with the Austin and San Antonio areas, what are some places you would add to this list? Or if you are hoping to visit the area someday, what is someplace here you would be interested in exploring?