MONDAY | Due to delays in Cancun we arrived late into a deserted Austin airport. It should have been a quick pass through immigration but due to our B2 Tourist Visas the automated process rejected us and we found ourselves at the back of the line. By the time, we made it up to speak to the immigration officer it was us in an empty hall with about 5 security personal. We were pummelled with questions about why we got that visa, our intentions in the states and all the usual hoopla. When asked what we’d bought in Mexico (and were bringing into the USA) Ash thought it would be a good time to crack a joke: "alcohol and cigars". It wasn't. The immigration officer was very unimpressed and stern in repeating his question. When we'd cleared that query more questions followed and finally he granted us entry. Our skinny standalone townhouse awaited us nestled just north of downtown Austin. Decked out in country chic furnishings we were stoked that this would be our home for the next week. TUESDAY | Thanks to the excess food and beverages in our house we were able to loiter at home and feed ourselves before venturing out to explore. As soon as we turned into 6th street we were confronted with mass amounts of people bustling down the sidewalk, their SXSW badges hanging from their necks. We headed away from the crowds and settled on a unofficial venue that was playing tunes. Whilst watching an array of different artists we munched away on sweet potato tots and a BBQ pulled pork burger. Musically satisfied we decided we were ready to venture towards the masses and we headed downtown to the main part 6th street. Majority of the road had been closed off to the cars and so the entire street swarmed with people. Tunes blared from inside the bars as spruikers shouted over it about $1 shots and beers. We forged on to the end of the street to the Pandora soundstage. After lining up in the heat for our free wristband we headed inside to soak in the SXSW vibes. All around us smancy people with official badges networked whilst artists onstage vied for everyone's attention. We sipped on some very strong free-poured vodka with a dash of soda and soaked it all in until this painfully annoying country singer took the stage and instead of singing she just talked a lot. So, we left. As we wandered home we stumbled on Bishop Briggs doing a sound check for her evening gig, so along with everyone else we stopped to enjoy the free show. Then it was on to Royal Blue Grocery to pick out a selection of cheeses and meats for our dinner. Accompanied with some red wine and cable TV we dinned in, enjoying the comfort of having a home again. WEDNESDAY | after a restless night sleep in our double bed thanks to some eccentric cheese dreams we were up with the sun and ready for our day adventure. We made the short walk down to the car hire venue and within the hour I was behind the wheel of the car steering us towards San Antonio. Thankfully there was no teething issues with driving on the wrong side of the road and we made it to San Antonio just before lunch. We spent a decent amount of time strolling around the river walk and adoring the man-made beauty of the water way. Like everyone else visiting San Antonio we settled on the oldest Mexican restaurant in town and enjoyed a feast down beside the river. Post consumption we were back on our feet walking the intricate pathway up to the city mall. We moseyed around the mall and surrounding streets before settling into Starbucks for a refreshment before heading to the bus stop. After a brief ride through the run-down burbs we arrived at the AT&T stadium ready to see the San Antonio Spurs play some bball against the Portland Trailblazers. It was a suspenseful game that saw the leader board zigzag between the two teams. We cheered, we ate ridiculously greasy food and we shouted with joy "twwwwoooo shooots" every chance we could. It came down to the wire and in the final, seconds the Trailblazers scored leaving a devastated San Antonio crowd. It was an effort to get a cab back to the city but when we finally did we were rewarded with a wonderfully cynical dude who entertained us all the way back to the parking lot. It was a long drive home in the dark thanks to plenty of roadwork but Ash got us home safely just after midnight. THURSDAY | Despite the late night there was no sleep in on Thursday, after dropping the car back and stopping in for a coffee and mini breakfast burrito at Royal Blue, we walked downtown to line up for a free SXSW cider and brunch event. Even though we were 45 minutes earlier the line was already snaked around the block. All up we waited just under an hour to make it to the front of the line. Only to be told they were out of food, there was however still plenty of free cider. So, after no arm twisting at all we enjoyed a liquid brunch followed by some free live music. Then we made the trek down to the infamous Rainey Street. A row of sorority houses that have been transformed into bars. The major ones had been snapped up for official SXSW events so we ventured into a few that were open to the public. Our timing was impeccable because as soon as we'd got some drinks the Muddy Magnolias started playing. They are a Nashville based duo that Ash has been following on Insta and was keen to see. After their set we stayed to see a few more bands play before heading next door to the food truck station for some 'White Girl Asian' stir fry. Stomachs satisfied we headed across the road to listening to more live music before making the trek home in the early evening. Ash had been feeling a little off all day so we decided to enjoy some cheese left overs and call it a night early. FRIDAY | Ash woke up with the body aches and a full blown head cold. It was decided that she would be quarantined downstairs with the cable TV and I would enjoy the sanctuary of upstairs with Netflix. And so our day of doing absolutely nothing kicked off. We slept, we watched Tv, we occasionally shouted out to each other and we relaxed. After being on the go for so long it was relief to stop and just do nothing. For dinner I made my way downstairs to join the sick girl and together enjoy the Japanese we Ubered to us whilst watching Jurassic World. SATURDAY | with Ash still not 100% we had a low key morning at home before we gussied up and headed down the road to a Pub for a SXSW music showcase. Seated at the back of the room I enjoyed some beverages whilst Ash sipped on water. Shortly into our stop we were joined at our table by two American dudes, they bantered with us sporadically whilst the music played. But once the tunes had dried up they were ready to chat. Tyler was opinionated and argumentative. Cole was curious and sassy. Our conversation at the pub covered so many different spectrums and when it came time to feed ourselves we decided to keep it rolling and join them for dinner. Tyler lead the way to a Mexican restaurant up the road where we sat down and had a semi civilised meal. For a period of time Cole was cut off from the booze but once we'd consumed our meal the drinks kept flowing. After much banter we felt the friendship had run its course and we declined their offer to kick on at the clubs on 6th street. Instead we wandered back through the streets to our adorable home. SUNDAY | with SXSW having wrapped the previous evening we decided that our last day in Austin would be spent on Rainey St visiting the bars we hadn't been able to frequent a couple of days earlier. Feeling fresh we agreed to wander the 30 minutes from our place to the bars, it was also a great opportunity to see what Austin feels like when it's not hosting thousands of people for a festival. On the way down we were approached by a couple of guys wanting us to buy there album, I declined but Ash got dupped. She at first offered $10 but let them bargain her up to $20. So she is now the proud owner of a couple of random rap CDs.
Our first stop on Rainey was the bar made out of containers. Here we sat back over some nachos and drinks watching everyone flirt and dance and booze up on a Sunday afternoon. As crowd increased we decided to head down the street to another bar. We played some giant connect-4 and had a brief encounter with a couple from Denver who rattled off a list of places we needed to visit. After their departure we were soon joined by bubbly blonde who over heard our accents and decided to pull up a chair. Kat had never left Texas so to her we were very exotic and shinny. Shortly her two hairdressing colleagues joined us and the five of us chatted about our lives over beverages. Energy levels up we let Kat lead us back to the container bar and onto the dance floor. Whilst she twerked to the hip hop dj we shimmed and shook. A few more beverages consumed and we found ourselves piling into the super sized golf buddy and being chauffeured downtown to Handlebar Bar. The ultimate hipster venue in order to work here you must have facial hair, preferably a moustache. The other quirk of the bar is they offer free Cajun crawfish. Restocked with drinks and after a quick demo from the Crawfish we tuckered into the spicy seafood. Whilst Ash was off riding the sea saw with Kat I made friends with Mario. A lonesome johnny-deep lookalike who worked at a local hotel and seemed to know everyone who wandered past. He kindly shared his free crawfish with us as we chatted about all the celebrities who had been staying in his hotel during SXSW. Upon telling him it was our last night in town he delegated himself our tour guide and so we bid farewell to the gals and headed out in the brisk Sunday night with Mario. Seconds after exiting Handlebar Bar we were joined by Marios buddy, who's defining feature was his mass Afro. The four of us headed down 6th street, stopping every couple of minutes to greet someone that Mario knew. Our first offical stop was a burger joint. The guys tuckered into dinner whilst Ash and I shared some fries smothered on gravy and cheese. Mid way through our meal two more friends rocked up, Caleb and Bob* (*name has been changed due to memory loss). Meals consumed our newly formed gang headed up some side streets to a local dive bar. The attraction of this place was the $2 drinks and hidden beer garden - where weed and coke was being handed around very freely. Amongst the grungy vibe over the next couple of hours we socialised with our fellow gang members as well as newbies who came to sit and chat at our table. With the hours in the day dwindling Mario was keen to kick the tour onwards and so shortly before midnight we found ourselves traipsing down 6th street again. Down into a basement we were lead. What awaited us was a dark massive dance party. The music was so loud the beat vibrated beneath us as we navigated around the packed venue. It was evident very early on that this was not our scene and we were vibrating at a different frequency to everyone else. So after a short stay we bid farewell to our friends and clambered the short walk back to our country chic retreat for our final sleep in Austin.
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