To finish up my US trip, I spent a few days in our Austin office. This was the first time I'd been to Austin, so I was excited to check it out. Plus, after San Francisco, I was looking forward to some sunshine and warm weather!
I was there for three days of meetings, but I managed to fit in a little fun on Sunday afternoon when I arrived. Coincidentally, I was staying right across from the flagship Whole Foods, and several people had tipped me off that I should check it out. I thought it was a little weird that it was on peoples' tourism list of Austin, but it turned out to be pretty cool! It was huge, for starters, and it was really set up to be a whole shopping experience. There is a bar inside, so it seemed like a lot of people would go in, grab a drink and then enjoy it as they walk around shopping.
The store itself was like every other Whole Foods, just a little bigger and over the top in every way. Whether this is because it's in Texas or because it's the flagship store, it's hard to say!
One of the best things was "Taco Alley." You could walk up, put in your taco/burrito/nachos order on the tablet, and then the cook behind the counter made it for you. There was no need to talk and you could customize the food exactly how you wanted it. Super fun!
On top of the store, there's a huge park & eating area. So you can get your takeaway food and then go hang out on the roof to eat. Apparently in the wintertime, there is a skating rink there. Too fun!
Even aside from the Whole Foods, Austin was a really fun little city! It was a pretty big change of pace from San Francisco (and even Sydney): the downtown was very quiet and life moved at a slower pace for sure. It was also striking how little public transport there is: everyone drives everywhere!
The Colorado River winds alongside the downtown, so in that way, it reminded me a lot of home. There are miles of walkway alongside the river, and it was a 5 minute stroll from my apartment, so I went walking every evening I could.
Even though it's a very car-friendly city, the pedestrian paths alongside the water were really nice. And there is a pedestrian bridge that connects two parks. People seemed to come hang out on the bridge in the evenings: every time I went there were people out busking or just hanging out with friends for the night.
Even though the city isn't the most walkable ever, I managed to get around well enough. There were several cute little areas with shops and restaurants. They mostly seemed designed to take advantage of the warm & dry weather, so it seems like a really fun place to visit in the summer!
Austin definitely has a hipster-cool flavor to it, more so than you might expect for a Texas town. There are lots of food trucks. And not just food trucks, but really all kinds of trucks: bike rental trucks, phone repair trucks, and whatever this one is.
Aside from the walks along the water, my other favorite thing about Austin was the food! Mexican food is at the top of my list of things I miss living in Sydney, so you can be sure that I took every chance I got to eat all the Mexican food I could fit.
The office also gave me plenty of opportunity to fill up on the food I miss. Every day there's a hot lunch option, as well as a salad bar. I just so happened to be there on a day when fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese were on the menu. Lucky lucky me!
Speaking of the office, it was a really fun place to do some work. It's right in the downtown, on a few floors in one of the high rises. The best part was the outdoor balcony: you can take your computer outside and sit in the warm Texas breeze while getting some work done!
Inside, the office is really nice too: it's a smaller office than in Sydney, so it has a more tight-knit feel.
You can tell the demographic slants toward a younger workforce...
All in all, I really liked my short stay in Austin! I wish I could have been there a bit longer, and maybe in the summer to check out some of the water activities around the town. Maybe next trip!
