Welcome back! Once again, we’ve reached out to our travel-savvy Au Pairs in America, to get their opinion on a state that is very dear to our little American hearts…
In this series, we’re shedding some light on our au pairs’ favourite spots in the USA. Whether it is a city, a state or just a general area that our au pairs are currently obsessed with – we’ll introduce some of North America’s “places to be” in an entirely new way. Our secret? We get our recommendations right from the source – our lovely au pairs – to ensure that our travel tips cover everything an Au Pair in America needs to know about and more!
Rather than focusing on a specific city, we feel like we’re ready to take it to the next level this time around. Ladies and gents: Take a seat and make sure to put your seat belts on, cause we’re about to take on the 2nd largest state of the Unites States of America. Welcome to Texas, everyone!
Austin
🚌 Buses | Can be handy for getting around downtown and to S Congress Ave
🚇 Light Rail | for when you need to get out of town and into the suburbs
Dallas
🚇 Light Rail | downtown & suburbs
🚋 McKinney Ave Trolley | uptown & downtown
🚂 Trinity Express trains | connects Dallas & Fort Worth on weekdays
Houston
🚇 Light Rail | downtown & museums
🚌 Buses
San Antonio
🚋 Street Cars | bus-like trolleys that connect all major downtown sights
📍The Texas State Capitol | Austin
📍The Alamo | San Antonio
📍Rothko Chapel | Houston
📍Japanese Tea Garden | San Antonio
📍Space Center | Houston
📍Hope Outdoor Gallery | Austin, Graffiti park, including the infamous “Greeting from Austin” graffiti
📍Congress Avenue Bridge | Austin, hosts the world’s largest urban bat colony (1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats)
📍Pennybacker Bridge | Austin
📍National Butterfly Center | Mission
📍Preservation Texas | Austin
📍Sea Turtle Inc | non-profit organization in South Padre Island
📍Barton Creek Greenbelt | Austin
🏛 The Alamo | San Antonio
🏛 The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center | Houston
🏛 The Lone Star Flight Museum | Houston
🏛 Bullock Texas State History Museum | Austin
🏛 Blanton Museum Of Art | Austin
🏛 The Kimbell Art Museum | Fort Worth
🏛 The Thinkery | Austin
🍔 Sonic Drive-In
🍔 Whataburger
🍔 Tookie’s
🍔 Cured
🍗 Franklin Barbecue
🍗 Terry Black’s Barbecue
🍗 Salt Lick BBQ
🍗 La Barbecue
🍗 Louie Mueller Barbecue
🍗 Lockhart Smokehart
🐔 Raining Cane’s Chicken Fingers
🐔 Chicken Fried Steak
🌮 Torchy’s Tacos
🌮 Los Salsas
🍰 Cheesecake Factory
🎼 live music all day every day | Austin
🎼 Zilker Park Events | Austin
🎼 House of Blues | Houston
🎼 Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival | 📆 5th – 14th October 2018
🎼 SXSW Music Festival | 📆 11th – 17th March 2019, Austin
🎼 In Bloom Music Festival | 📆 23rd & 24th March 2019, Houston (replacing the Free Press Summer Fest)
🎼 Kerrville Folk Festival | 📆 every May, Kerrville
🎼 Texas Folklife Festival | 📆 every June, San Antonio
🎭 Performing Arts Theater | Houston
🎭 Stageworks Theatre | Houston
🎭 National Youth Theatre | Spring
🎭 Esther’s Follies Comedy Club | Austin
🎬 SXSW Film Festival | 📆 8th – 16th March 2019
🎬 Fantastic Fest | 📆 20th – 27th September 2019, Austin
🎡 Poteet Strawberry Festival | 📆 every April, Poteet
🎡 Luckenbach 4th July Family Picnic | 📆 every July 4th
🎡 Wurstfest | 📆 2nd – 11th November 2018, New Braunfels
🎡 Ice Cream Festival | 📆 every August, Austin
🎡 State Fair Of Texas | 📆 28th September – 21st October 2018, Dallas
🎡 Dickens On The Strand | 📆 30th November – 2nd December 2018, Galveston
💡 SXSW Interactive Festival | 📆 8th – 12th March 2019
👕 Galleria | Houston
👕 La Cantera | San Antonio
👕 Barton Creek Square | Austin
👕 The Domain | Austin
👕 South Congress | Austin
🌳 Zilker Park | Austin
🌳 Sunset Springs Park | The Woodlands, Houston
🌳 Rob Fleming Park | Spring
🌳 Big Bend National Park | Mexican border, one of the biggest national parks in the US
🌳 Barton Creek Greenbelt | Austin, ideal for hikes
🌳 Colorado Bend State Park | Bend, ideal for hikes
🏖 Padre Island National Seashore | Corpus Christi
🛶 River Floats | tube down a river, e.g. Guadalupe, Comal River, Brazos, Possum Kingdom Lake, New Braunfels
🚲 Lady Bird Bike Trail | Austin
🚲 Palo Duro Cabyon | Amarillo, the “Grand Canyon of Texas”
🌅 Lake Travis | Austin
🌅 Inks Lake | Austin
🌅 Lake Conroe | Conroe
🌅 Lake Livingston | Houston
🌅 Possum Kingdom Lake | Fort Worth
🌅 Barton Spring Pool | Austin
🌅 Krause Springs | Spicewood
🌅 Caddo Lake State Park | Kamack, ideal for kayaking
🌅 Jacob’s Well | between Austin & San Antonio
🏞 Riverwalk | San Antonio
🎢 Schlitterbahn Waterparks & Resorts | different locations, e.g. Corpus Christi, Galveston, New Braunsfeld, South Padre
🗻 Mount Bonnell | Austin
🌳 Buffalo Bayou Park | Houston
🌅 Lady Bird Lake | Austin
🌌 McDonald Observatory | Fort Davis
🏘 Historic Downtown | McKinney
📍The Texas State Capitol | Austin
📍The Alamo | San Antonio
🚢 Battleship Texas State Historic Site | Houston
🏛 Space Center | Houston
🐂 Rodeo | e.g. Fort Worth Show & Rodeo, San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, Stockyards Championship Rodeo
🦇 Congress Avenue Bridge | Austin, hosts the world’s largest urban bat colony (1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats)
💃 Line Dance
🇲🇽 Dia de los Muertos | Celebrate the Day of the Dead in San Antonio
🎡 State Fair Of Texas | 📆 28th September – 21st October 2018, Dallas
🌌 McDonald Observatory | “Star Parties” in Davis Mountains State Park
🛣 Route 66 | 178 miles along several of Texas’ infamous ghost towns
🗻 The Enchanted Rock | Fredricksburg, stargazing at the nation’s 2nd largest granite dome
🌟 Marfa Lights | Marfa, minimalistic Prada art installation in the middle of the desert
🌼 Bluebonnet Trails
