It’s been a while since we’ve spoken (or written), and I have many things to tell you. Last time I had just been to the University of Austin, and now I’m soon to leave. This fills me with great anguish.
Let me first tell you of the stores they have in this city. The best ones are on “my” street, and there are especially two that have gotten my interest. The first one is a candy store. This might not be of any interest to you, but wait till you see this one. It’s old-fashioned and it feels like the fifties have come back with a vengeance when you’re there. It really is a fascinating place. I even got to take a picture in there, because it is indescribable. So is the second store, but that’s not because it’s cool, but because it is so very, very creepy. Consider the Leatherhead family from Texas Chainsaw getting their own store. Then you can imagine this one. It’s got cut-off animal heads on the walls and dirty bottles for sale. In this store, named “Uncommon Objects” (damn right they’re uncommon), there are dolls with no heads and old, old furniture that could use some dusting. It really is a scary place!
The women here, it seems, are also having some troubles with their men. Monday night I didn’t sleep until late because I just had to listen in on a conversation in the other room (that walls are very thin here). Two female friends were talking about the man to one of them. They said things like “huge fight” and “such an idiot” and “you know what he said?” and so on. But this is nothing like the next morning, when I was awakened by an angry woman’s voice in the other room screaming “you just don’t understand!” Of course I had to figure out what that was all about, but it wasn’t difficult because this conversation was LOUD. This girl was obviously on the phone with her boyfriend. Apparently this is the story: Late last night she drove Sybill home. The boyfriend doesn’t approve of Sybill, but the girlfriend thinks she is “so full of life”. However, Sybill is no longer full of life and is now an overweight alcoholic. I don’t exactly know how, but somehow the boyfriend got quite upset about this whole driving-home business and sent the girlfriend some angry texts. The same texts they were now discussing. She called him a jerk a lot and cried. Those women sure don’t have it easy here.
It was snowing all Tuesday. Actually the weather was so awful which is unexplainable, since it was downright summer when I got here. Not very satisfying. This resulted in me writing a lot of Freckles in a coffee shop downtown. I was determined to see the Texas State Capitol Building though, and hurried over there to see the pink-granite building that is a sight for sore eyes, as they say. And it is. The coolest thing about it though, is all the photographers that seem to be around it taking their pictures. When I came home I saw that my neighbour had a do-not-disturb-sign on her door, and I felt a little bad for her.
In the evening I ate at a place called Woodland that played great country music and had the whole diner/restaurant thing going on. I’m still too afraid to go into the local eating dive, Güero’s, but I think today will be the day where I finally get myself together and just go! After this I again walked downtown. Now the weather had become much better, and it was no longer snowing. Good. I walked to the legendary 6th Street and into the Alamo Drafthouse where they had a showing of the old Craven horror-flick The Hills Have Eyes; a totally sold-out showing and I’m just happy that I bought my ticket on the first day here. It was a pretty awesome showing with people who’d seen the film as many times as me. It was like the delta sorority in Animal House, and it was just plain great. Actually the Alamo itself might be one of the coolest cinemas around in the entire US. They have a single showing of a premiere film and everything else is just kitsch, camp, cult and so on. But not only is it a cinema, but it’s also a drafthouse (hence the name) and a restaurant of the more suspicious kind. I loved it from the first time I saw it. And since it was placed directly on E 6th St it was even be an experience to walk down to it. Let me tell you guys about E 6th St. It’s a good place. It’s not the best that Austin has to offer, but it’s a concept within itself. The entire street is based in dives, bars, and downright sleazy stores. Oh, and then the visitor centre is there, too. Every night that place is a party filled with beer and country music. And then if you walk back up to Congress Ave it’s like it was never there. I think that’s amazing. So basically: if you want to get drunk in Austin, head for the 6th. And still, it’s nowhere near scary. It’s nothing like walking down Gothersgade in Copenhagen is starting to be; no, here it is all cozy and somewhat safe. And actually Austin is pretty much like that. Cool and safe. There are no threats in the air here, not even after midnight. It’s all good.
Anyway, when I got back to the motel I wasn’t tired, so I sat for an hour or so in a diner, drinking a cup of coffee, writing Freckles, until I finally went to bed at 1:30am. Pretty good evening and night, if you ask me.
And now it’s Wednesday. Tomorrow I have to get back to Dallas as a stop on the way to Oklahoma. Blows. I really wish I could stay here. I am beginning to really love Austin, and I wish I could just go here whenever. But enough of that now; I just went on a hike near the lake that divides the SoCo area and downtown. They have a hiking trail there and it’s a beautiful walk down the river where you can look up on both sides of the city. For half a mile or so I was even followed by a squirrel.
That’s all for now. Take care, all.
Let me first tell you of the stores they have in this city. The best ones are on “my” street, and there are especially two that have gotten my interest. The first one is a candy store. This might not be of any interest to you, but wait till you see this one. It’s old-fashioned and it feels like the fifties have come back with a vengeance when you’re there. It really is a fascinating place. I even got to take a picture in there, because it is indescribable. So is the second store, but that’s not because it’s cool, but because it is so very, very creepy. Consider the Leatherhead family from Texas Chainsaw getting their own store. Then you can imagine this one. It’s got cut-off animal heads on the walls and dirty bottles for sale. In this store, named “Uncommon Objects” (damn right they’re uncommon), there are dolls with no heads and old, old furniture that could use some dusting. It really is a scary place!
The women here, it seems, are also having some troubles with their men. Monday night I didn’t sleep until late because I just had to listen in on a conversation in the other room (that walls are very thin here). Two female friends were talking about the man to one of them. They said things like “huge fight” and “such an idiot” and “you know what he said?” and so on. But this is nothing like the next morning, when I was awakened by an angry woman’s voice in the other room screaming “you just don’t understand!” Of course I had to figure out what that was all about, but it wasn’t difficult because this conversation was LOUD. This girl was obviously on the phone with her boyfriend. Apparently this is the story: Late last night she drove Sybill home. The boyfriend doesn’t approve of Sybill, but the girlfriend thinks she is “so full of life”. However, Sybill is no longer full of life and is now an overweight alcoholic. I don’t exactly know how, but somehow the boyfriend got quite upset about this whole driving-home business and sent the girlfriend some angry texts. The same texts they were now discussing. She called him a jerk a lot and cried. Those women sure don’t have it easy here.
It was snowing all Tuesday. Actually the weather was so awful which is unexplainable, since it was downright summer when I got here. Not very satisfying. This resulted in me writing a lot of Freckles in a coffee shop downtown. I was determined to see the Texas State Capitol Building though, and hurried over there to see the pink-granite building that is a sight for sore eyes, as they say. And it is. The coolest thing about it though, is all the photographers that seem to be around it taking their pictures. When I came home I saw that my neighbour had a do-not-disturb-sign on her door, and I felt a little bad for her.
In the evening I ate at a place called Woodland that played great country music and had the whole diner/restaurant thing going on. I’m still too afraid to go into the local eating dive, Güero’s, but I think today will be the day where I finally get myself together and just go! After this I again walked downtown. Now the weather had become much better, and it was no longer snowing. Good. I walked to the legendary 6th Street and into the Alamo Drafthouse where they had a showing of the old Craven horror-flick The Hills Have Eyes; a totally sold-out showing and I’m just happy that I bought my ticket on the first day here. It was a pretty awesome showing with people who’d seen the film as many times as me. It was like the delta sorority in Animal House, and it was just plain great. Actually the Alamo itself might be one of the coolest cinemas around in the entire US. They have a single showing of a premiere film and everything else is just kitsch, camp, cult and so on. But not only is it a cinema, but it’s also a drafthouse (hence the name) and a restaurant of the more suspicious kind. I loved it from the first time I saw it. And since it was placed directly on E 6th St it was even be an experience to walk down to it. Let me tell you guys about E 6th St. It’s a good place. It’s not the best that Austin has to offer, but it’s a concept within itself. The entire street is based in dives, bars, and downright sleazy stores. Oh, and then the visitor centre is there, too. Every night that place is a party filled with beer and country music. And then if you walk back up to Congress Ave it’s like it was never there. I think that’s amazing. So basically: if you want to get drunk in Austin, head for the 6th. And still, it’s nowhere near scary. It’s nothing like walking down Gothersgade in Copenhagen is starting to be; no, here it is all cozy and somewhat safe. And actually Austin is pretty much like that. Cool and safe. There are no threats in the air here, not even after midnight. It’s all good.
Anyway, when I got back to the motel I wasn’t tired, so I sat for an hour or so in a diner, drinking a cup of coffee, writing Freckles, until I finally went to bed at 1:30am. Pretty good evening and night, if you ask me.
And now it’s Wednesday. Tomorrow I have to get back to Dallas as a stop on the way to Oklahoma. Blows. I really wish I could stay here. I am beginning to really love Austin, and I wish I could just go here whenever. But enough of that now; I just went on a hike near the lake that divides the SoCo area and downtown. They have a hiking trail there and it’s a beautiful walk down the river where you can look up on both sides of the city. For half a mile or so I was even followed by a squirrel.
That’s all for now. Take care, all.
What exactly is SoCo? And what happened to couchsurfing? Sounds like you're always staying in motels...
ReplyDeleteHey Manda - I didn't know either, but I found this on the internet:
ReplyDeleteSoCo Austin Neighborhood
South Congress Avenue
It may be hard for visitors to Austin's vibrant, creative and hip neighborhood known as SoCo to believe, but just a few years ago South Congress Avenue was a little seedy, a place where businesses had slumped and a couple of motels rented rooms by the hour. The days of headlines about naughty state legislators out on the town caught up in police sweeps are long gone. Now those restored South Congress motels are likely to be renting rooms to high tech execs and movie stars. The South Congress Avenue neighborhood has a new image and a hip name to match. South Congress continues to march south beyond Oltorf, the official southern boundary, and new South Congress apartments and businesses are being built all the way to St. Edward's University.