05 Mar Austin, Texas!
I am still unpacking the reams of notes and head full of ideas that I gathered whilst at the Raymond James Global Top 50 conference last week and will be sharing my thoughts in the coming weeks.
For now, I thought I’d let you see some of what I got up to before and after the conference…
I arrived early Saturday evening and after an early night (and, thanks jet lag!) was up and about bright and early Sunday morning.
I’d read that a ‘must see’ was South Congress, so after breakfast headed off in a taxi which dropped me off at the end of the strip.
It turned out Sunday morning was the ideal time to go with plenty of people out enjoying the mild weather and I spent a very pleasant few hours slowly wandering back up to the hotel, dipping in and out of the eclectic mix of shops and enjoying the various street entertainers.
#SoCo Austin Sunday morning 😊 pic.twitter.com/FJkr8daf5Q
— Financial Bodyguard (@CarolynGowen) February 23, 2020
Enjoying brunch
This is an iconic Austin landmark painted on the side of a café. You can buy a myriad of products from postcards to fridge magnets of it
This handsome chap greeted me on entering one of the stores. Sadly, you don’t get an idea of scale, but trust me, he’s HUGE.
After a quick lunch back at the hotel, I headed off to here and spent far too much (although I now have enough yarn to see me through for years 😂) . I wish we had shops like this in France.
On Monday morning I headed out to the Zilker Botanical Gardens. It was a little early in the year for much in the way of flowers, but I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of hours strolling around a wonderfully peaceful setting.
The conference ended Wednesday lunchtime and we had a couple of hours to kill before heading off to the airport so Peter Moores and I decided to visit the Texas State Capitol, which was just a short walk from the hotel.
As luck would have it, a guided tour was just about to start when we arrived. It’s a beautiful building, and we got a good ‘101 history of Texas’ from the excellent guide.
On every door
The House of Representatives
This beautiful chandelier is in the House, the light bulbs spelling out ‘Texas’
Peter and me really showing our age. Rather than taking a selfie of both of us, we each took a picture of the other, old school 😂
I really felt on this, my third trip to the city, that I got to experience a lot more than on previous visits. It’s a fabulous city with a great, laid back vibe. If you get the opportunity – go!
Carolyn