Austin, TX - Fall 2025
Austin has a pulse that hits you the second you start walking. I spent my first afternoon wandering through every shopping pocket I could find, drifting past the downtown lights like I was arriving late to a dinner I wasn’t invited to. From there, I crossed the pedestrian bridge, Lady Bird Lake stretching below, reflecting the city skyline, joggers passing by, the whole city humming around me.
As the sunset began, I watched a flock of people gather on the opposite side of the bridge, backs turned to me and the gorgeous sunset happening, ignoring the skyline, peering out over the bridge, looking for…? Bats, apparently. Everyone’s talked about these Austin bats, but I had some local intel those tourists probably didn’t- its past their season for that iconic flyout moment. (That ends near the end of October and starts back up around April). Felt pretty cool knowing something about local sites going into this trip, have to say! Back at the hotel, I had this massive suite that felt like it was daring me not to make content. So naturally, I did. Good lighting, good skyline, good excuse.
Day two was all work. But night two was the classic “three restaurants and somehow we end up in the one we assumed was impossible” situation. Two friends and I wandered from spot to spot before finally landing at ABBA - and getting in, which felt like winning a small raffle. The Talking Robot restaurant didn’t work out , and our “waitlist time-killer” spot, the Equipment Room quickly turned into a whole vibe too. ABBA’s bar looked like someone let Vanderpump loose with a blank check: florals, vines, dramatic lighting, the works. It was over the top, but honestly, it worked, and it worked well.
The next morning, I took things slower. I grabbed coffee and a snack from Juniper Breeze in the lobby market- the kind of shop that’s almost too cute for its own good - and wandered the lake path for a bit before logging two meetings. After that, I packed up and headed across town to explore the University of Texas campus.
I stopped by that famous “How are you?” mural Kurt Cobain turned into a T-shirt design and fully committed to the bit: wandering around like a pretentious film student, photographing the stadium, people-watching students studying at outdoor spaces, and remembering the feeling of being in college myself. Although, I think I consume more coffee now than I did then, which you wouldn’t initially think. There’s something grounding about a campus - the routine, the noise, the energy of everyone thinking their whole life might shift in the next semester.
Austin surprised me. It’s young, it’s lively, and it has a deeper connection to nature than I expected - trails, trees, and a skyline that looks a little softer than other cities its size. Quick trip or not, it left me with that “I’d come back” feeling. And maybe next time, I’ll see those bats everyones clearly anticipating.
