Austin, TX

Everyone loves Austin, right? I mean, you tell people you are going to Austin for five days, and you get a universal reaction of jealousy and comments professing adoration for this gem of small American cities. A few FYI's before I jump head first into my Austinisms, we don't have a rental car so we're confined to downtown, and we're here for a conference so can't spend the entire day exploring.

Having said that....

We're staying at the Omni in downtown Austin (not the Omni Southpark). This hotel is generic, could be any upscale chain hotel in any city, but I like it. The rooms are large, the staff is pleasant, the workout facilities are ample-to-good, and there is a rooftop pool. The biggest up here is the cleaning/turndown servicing. Basically, my room is cleaned twice a day - late morning they come in and do the standard cleaning, and then an evening turn down service that goes beyond just the basic turn down - they re-make the bed (I like afternoon naps), replace towels, and tidy up. The location is good - a few blocks off 6th St, but still relatively quiet. They also have a quiet nights policy where they investigate every noise complaint and no outside guests are allowed after 10pm.

The rest of downtown is pleasant enough, I'll admit that a good McDonalds somewhere downtown would be great, they seem to have an anti-corporate vibe going on here.

6th Street is clearly the main draw. A lot of local bars with good drink specials, inexpensive food and live music. Its sort of an inexpensive and relaxed version of a child between Georgetown and Adams Morgan. I also liked the area around 4th and Lavaca. Gingerman, with several locations throughout Texas, is my favorite so far. A hundred or so beers on tap make it a fun place to drink.

I guess my question is, what is there to do in Austin besides drink? Not that theres anything wrong with drinking, I'm a big proponent, but I'm not sure there is a lot here that would draw me back in the future.