Just had the most brilliant day in Austin. I discovered last night that there's a bus route which runs from behind the hotel, and it goes into the middle of town. So I got myself an all-day pass for $2 which lets you have unlimited rides. Took the 20 minute ride into town and went to the Visitors Information Office, where I got a really good map of the district - so I was armed and ready to go !
I went first along Capitol Avenue to the Capitol Centre and went round that. It was very grand with loads of monuments about the South and the Civil War. From there I went through the University area to the North. After lunch I went to a park. It was very parched - there's been a drought round here and the smaller rivers are all dried up. Then I walked back in the direction of town and found a large CD shop and a bookshop. The latter had a book about Doug Sahm, a great Texan musician. It was a hardback and therefore expensive, but it isn't available anywhere else, so I bought it !
Returned to the hotel and found that they hadn't fulfilled my request for a plug for the bath, despite me requesting one this morning. A further request brought no joy - it's amazing what can be a problem for a hotel. While the room in general is fine and good value, it would be nice to have a bath after a long day's walking. Hopefully they'll be able to come up with one. This is the second time on the trip I've come across this problem - maybe Americans never take baths.
As a University town, Austin is full of life and culture - a bit like 'Frisco. The one thing which isn't so relaxed is the driving - it's very aggressive. I was gestured at by a driver for taking too long to cross a boulevard; I'd been waiting ten minutes for my turn, and got across as quickly as I could, but the lights changed before I reached the other side. The poor fellow found the 5 second wait too much for him. This is one aspect where London scores over US cities; it has taken steps via the Congestion Charge to control traffic and is much more pedestrian-friendly. Just one small gripe; overall I love Austin and am enjoying being in Texas. The people seem to love my accent for some reason, and comment on it more than when I was in the North. I suppose people in Boston and Chicago are more used to having English people around.
Tomorrow I shall be going round Austin again. The bus service here is a real bonus - it means I don't have to drive anywhere, which is nice as on Thursday I head off for LA, 1,300 miles away.
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