Finally the sun was out; it was warm, perfect for walking around. Our cab driver dropped us off by the history museum and the University of Texas Art Museum; not what we originally requested but turned out to work better than we had planned. After snapping a few pictures in front of the star at the history museum we headed to the Texas Capitol Building; snapped a few photos, checked out the building, walked up the stairs, saw the house and senate rooms. Overall a really cool building, glad we went in; a short tour to learn about the building would have been nice, but wandering around worked just as well.
After visiting the Capitol we headed for the Austin Museum of Art to see the American Letterpress Exhibit – the Art of Hatch Show Print. The exhibit was small but I felt I learned about an art I’d never heard of but had always seen and found interesting. We were in and out in about an hour. But be sure to check out the gift store for books and other memorable objects of the Hatch experience.
After spending the morning broadening my cultural horizons we headed down 6th Street to the Whole Foods Market offering culinary classes, a restaurant and great grocery store. We were going to grab lunch here, but were a little overwhelmed because it was a Saturday afternoon and it seemed everyone else had the same idea. So we headed back downtown.
We had not had any Mexican cuisine the entire weekend and decided to give Maria Maria Restaurant a shot. It was nearly 2:00 PM and there were hardly any people in the restaurant. But considering the design and decor and how great the food turned out to be, I’m sure the place is hopping in the evening hours.
- To start: Chips and salsa are brought to the table – and I have to say they were the best chips I’ve had. But I’m not sure if they were homemade or just really great store-bought chips
- What I tried:
o Tortilla Soup – so good, but spicy! With chunks of cheese and mushrooms, the soup was delicious, but made my eyes water it was so spicy
o Grilled Shrimp, Spinach and Mango Salad – wow, what a great salad! But it, too, had some kick to it
Another great restaurant serving more dishes I wish I could recreate.
