Photos by: Carly Stevens

I made a trip to Austin, Texas this weekend and it’s a big deal because, prior to this trip, I hadn’t been outside of California in almost three years. Late last year I talked to several friends on many different occasions, who strongly suggested that I needed to make time to travel and focus on self-care. After much encouragement from my loved ones, I finally decided that I really needed to make an effort in 2014 to get out of town and explore new places.

A trip to Austin was the perfect way to start off my year of travel because it also offered me an opportunity to reunite with my dear friend Carly, who had to suddenly relocate to Austin late last October for work. Although I was, and still am, very sad to have lost my weekly coffee date buddy and friend of 14 years to the State of Texas, I was happy to have such a wonderful and knowledgeable tour guide on my trip.

Carly had to work the first day that I was in Austin, so I saw it as the perfect opportunity to explore the city on my own. For some odd reason, I decided that walking was the best mode of transportation for me, even though there are stations where you can rent bikes all around the city. On my first day there I was committed to seeing as much of the city as I possibly could, and I explored Lady Bird Lake and several areas of Downtown Austin. Thanks to my determination, by the end of the day I had walked more than 8 miles. As tired as I was from walking, I would do it all over again because it was such a great way to experience Austin and really get a feel of the landscape.

The rest of my weekend was much more relaxed. Before I arrived I had told Carly that she had to find some awesome coffee shops for us to visit, and boy she delivered! Even though I don’t really know much about coffee, I love drinking it and I don’t think that I would be able to ever live somewhere that does not have a good coffee scene. While in Austin, on average I had about 3-4 cups of coffee a day, and would have probably consumed more if Carly hadn’t suggested other fun activities for us to do. Of the coffee shops I visited, my favorites were the modern Wright Bros. Brew and Brew (which serves both coffee and beer!), the artsy and homey Vintage Heart Coffee and the well-hidden Flat Track Coffee.

While in Austin, Carly also wanted to make sure that I had the opportunity to try some of that famous Texas barbecue. Therefore, we made a trip to The Salt Lick which is located in Driftwood, a couple of miles outside of Austin. I have to say that it was one of the most amazing food experiences that I have ever had! I definitely entered into a food coma after eating so much delicious barbecue. On top of that, it is such a cool restaurant to visit, even if you do not like barbecue. The place was huge, and they even had a beautiful outdoor picnic area where customers could dine.

Carly was the perfect hostess because she was nice enough to humor me and take me to all of the cool touristy places that I wanted to visit, and she was more than willing to join me in my food, coffee and thrift store shopping adventures. Thanks to Carly I even had the opportunity to enjoy some great live music, which is what Austin is really known for, at a really great bar called Cheer Up Charlie’s. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any pictures from that night because I was too afraid I’d ruin my camera while out on the town.

I hope you enjoyed my pictures! There are many more to come because there was just so much to see around Austin. I’m so happy that I made a trip to Austin, and I was so sad to leave this wonderful city. However, I hope that 2014 brings me many new adventures as great as this one.