xoxo

xoxo

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Our Austin/San Antonio Trip

We had a blast on our weekend getaway...our first trip that's been just the two of us since Anthony was born. We left Anthony in the very good hands of Mario's mom. He happily waved "bye-bye" as we headed out the door. So, we drove to our first destination--Austin, our state capitol. As we were driving off, it DID feel like we were forgetting something... :(



Mario in front of the capitol building
Mel in front of the capitol building

The grounds were lush and beautiful. We spent a little time taking in some of the history of the site. There were some school groups in there, and we could almost feel the "swine flu" in the air, so we didn't stay long enough to catch it!

We then took a driving tour of the UT Austin campus to see what the big deal was all about...we still don't really get it. We did stop for smoothies on campus with all the 12 year old students (or maybe they only LOOKED that young...or maybe we're just getting OLD!!! Haha!)

We drove a little outside the city to our free hotel, thanks to Mario's Priority Club points. It was a huge room with a jacuzzi!!! Wow!
The next day we drove to the outlet mall and did some shopping before making our way to San Antonio.


An Italian restaurant we ate at on the Riverwalk


Posing on the Riverwalk




San Antonio trolley in front of our hotel



Me in front of our hotel






We went to the symphony one night. We tried to capture the cool lighting effects and artistry in the architecture and decor.





And there we are!




We walked about one and a half miles to the Guenther House--a breakfast restaurant in a renovated old home that's on the same property as the mill where they mill their own flour. We are sitting outside on a bench waiting to be seated.



Still waiting




The sign out front. We had an amazing breakfast consisting of cinnamon raisin bread as a starter. Then we had buttermilk pancakes and biscuits and gravy--everything tasted so fresh! This place is definitely a winner!!!




On our walk back, Mario posed for a snapshot in front of the buildings where they actually mill the flour. We got some souvenirs to take home (aka cinnamon raisin bread mix--yum!)



A pretty and quiet part of the Riverwalk


We of course visited the Alamo and listened to the history of the bravery of the Texans in the face of the Mexican army. It was a surprisingly interesting story.




Behind the Alamo there were men in costume timing how quickly they could load and shoot their muskets. These were the same type of guns used in the battle here. They were able to do it three times in one minute.


Another pretty view of the Riverwalk



Our "night out on the town" dinner at a fancy restaurant--"Biga on da Banks" (j/k...it's "Biga on THE Banks--Mario was just saying it wrong the whole time ;) We had an AMAZING meal! Mario had the roast duck, and I had a fillet mignon. The chef's menu changes everyday because he uses only the freshest organic ingredients, so he never knows what he might find and cook! Our server was wonderful! He liked us so much that he brought us a complimentary dessert!
We left on Sunday to come home, but not before visiting our friends the Duvalls for lunch! I can't believe I didn't take any pictures while we were with them, but we had a fabulous time. Their boys are getting so big, and Cole is an expert at the Wii! Thanks for a wonderful afternoon, guys!
Well, that's our trip in a nutshell...hope you enjoyed it. We couldn't wait to get back home to our own little munchkin, so we threw our plans to make one last stop at the outlet mall out the window (much to Mario's relief, I'm sure) and headed back to see our baby. He was so excited to see us! That huge grin just melts your heart and makes you never want to leave again! But I'm sure we will because we had so much fun, and it sure was nice to have an uninterrupted conversation!!!

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