christmas

hi it is my 40 birthday at christmas so i am thinking of going to austin over the christmas hioldays with my friends as we are irish we like to have fun and go to bars we are all singel woman and we wondering what the weather was like at christmas and all the fun things to do

christmas

Howdy, Irish! Texans are very happy to have Irish visitors seeing how 12 of the brave defenders of the Alamo were themselves Irishmen!

I%26#39;m betting the weather here at Christmastime will be warmer than San Francisco. Bring a sweater, a medium/heavy jacket, and maybe even a long coat. But chances are very good we won%26#39;t have snow, and it may be warm enough for short sleeves. Sometimes it gets into the sixties, but a better bet would be high 40s/low 50s. Good walkin%26#39; around weather.

If you got a group of folks coming in, might want to get a suite at one of the downtown hotels. The first one that comes to my mind, pricewise, is Extended Stay America at the intersection of Guadalupe and Sixth Street. It%26#39;s affordable, and it%26#39;s close to the downtown attractions as well as Congress Avenue, which is where a lot of the north-south buses run. Let me know if you%26#39;re thinking about getting a car when you%26#39;re here. Other places downtown that aren%26#39;t too expensive include the Radisson, overlooking Town Lake to the south.

Okay, fun things to do?! First, year-round: Sights -- take a tour of the Capitol of Texas, still my favorite building in town! You%26#39;ll be hear just one month before the robbers, er, legislature gets back in session so it won%26#39;t be very crowded. The main building was erected in 1886 after fire consumed the old building, and the underground extension was added in 1993. It%26#39;s not only beautiful, but a fairly well designed legislative hub, except for the fact that it%26#39;s hard to get a cell phone signal in the lower levels, so all the lobbyists have to walk out into the below-ground-level terrace to make their phone calls. Looks like a gaggle of geese -- in DK suits, of course...

Also, check out the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum, north and a bit east (I think -- I hope!) of the Capitol on MLK (old 19th Street). This is a very new building, maybe 1999 or 2000. It%26#39;s got a good dose of bragadoccio, but it%26#39;s also a very faithful presentation of the Texas timeline; the further up you go, the farther along the line it gets.

Now, Christmas-time?! Take Bus No. 1 (North Lamar) north to 38th and Guadalupe to see the 37th Street Christmas tree lights. This is one of those neighborhoods hard to find outside Austin. Each of the homeowners does his home up special for the holidays and the combination is stunning. Be sure to look for the home where the lights are just stapled to the side of the house in their original box -- makes a very interesting effect! This guy will stick lights in anything -- pill bottles, yogurt containers, plastic ducks, you name it -- and surround his yard with it. He even wraps his electric meter in lights so you can see how fast it%26#39;s rotating!

Besides that, there%26#39;s the Trail of Lights in Zilker Park. That might be more interesting if you are bringing some kids; it%26#39;s not been my cup of tea, but you can see the Zilker Christmas Tree up close. Funny thing is it%26#39;s not a tree at all, just a lot of lights strung up around one of Austin%26#39;s Moonlight Towers, antique light-towers that went up in the 1880s! Almost half of them are still around, and they still play a part in Austin%26#39;s night lighting scheme.

You said two words: Irish and bars. My reply is one word: Fado! This is an Irish pub that, if its owners are to be believed, was dissembled in Ireland and put back together on 4th Street, a bit east of Lavaca. That%26#39;s in a neighborhood with other bars that are aimed at people in their ';second twenties'; like you (and me :). You%26#39;ll also find the Ginger Man to your liking, particularly if you like beer. If your taste runs to single malts, try Opal Divine%26#39;s on Sixth Street at West Avenue; bring your wallet. Also, further east on Sixth Street is Maggie Mae%26#39;s. Now a large bar and dance hall, Maggie%26#39;s was once a small hole-in-the-wall that sold imports back when everyone else thought Lone Star was a premium beer. There are some other nice places, but you might find the crowd a little young.

Well, I%26#39;m just gettin%26#39; started. Any kind of food you%26#39;re particular to? If you have wheels, that changes everything. Hope you enjoy your visit! Ask me some more questions when you get a chance.

christmas

Looks like that long post had alot of info! I too thought ';Fado'; when you said Irish and Bars. It%26#39;s a great place. Another place right next to it, is Saba Blue Water Cafe. It%26#39;s my favorite happy hour place in Austin. 1/2 price appetizers and specialty drinks. Try their mojito, and ANY of their appetizers are DELICIOUS. We usually go in a big group and split a bunch of appetizers between all of us. Great place to start your night out on a thurs or fri or any other weekday! All in all, for the 30-40 age range, the warehouse district is the best place to go (4th street, where Fado and Saba are, and many others like Gingerman!) You may want to check out 6th too, just to say you%26#39;ve been there, although you%26#39;ll find mostly college aged and 20 somethings out there.. But, on 6th, Aquarium is cool, The Library, and Logan%26#39;s. If you want to start 6th street out with some tex-mex %26amp; margaritas for dinner, definitely go to Iron Cactus. If it%26#39;s not TOO cold out, you can sit on the roof for dinner and have a great view of 6th. Also, for hotels, if you want to stay downtown but not spend a fortune, AND want to walk to all the bars from the hotel, check into the Hampton Inn on 2nd %26amp; San Jacinto. It%26#39;s nicer than alot of hampton inns and is decently priced.

thanks for the reply where abouts down town should we book a hotel as we don%26#39;t mind the price we would like to be close to the bars

honestly i%26#39;m not familiar with the hotels too much since I live here...but I had some friends who recently stayed at that Hampton Inn on 2nd and it was nice. But, if you don%26#39;t care about price, and want something fancy and ON 6th in the middle of everything, check out the Driskell Hotel. It is a historic Austin Hotel and BEAUTIFUL! And, it%26#39;s right in the middle of everything on 6th so you can walk to all the bars. (http://www.driskillhotel.com/) If you don%26#39;t like this one, there%26#39;s plenty of others-- just look online for other hotels near it on 7-2nd streets I guess. Driskell Hotel can be your starting point to look around I guess.

Sorry i can%26#39;t be of more help!

there is also a brand new Hilton downtown that is supposed to be very nice.

Downtown Hotels?

Splurge - Driskill and the Four Seasons

Second tier but still very, very nice - Hilton, Omni, Intercontinental, Radisson, Hyatt Regency, Marriott Courtyard and Marriott

Great Value for the money and very nice - Hampton Inn

I certainly didn%26#39;t list them all but most of the reviews of hotels on this web site are pretty much on the mark. The ones I%26#39;ve listed are all in the immediate downtown area and within walking distance of all the fun places of 6th Street, 2nd Street, Warehouse District.

Don%26#39;t forget to hit the visitor center web site(209 E. 6th) for the free maps and info.

www.austintexas.org

Good luck!

Extended Stay America is also a good value. I never recommend it because it%26#39;s in the most gosh awful ugly building you can imagine! You%26#39;d never take a picture of it to save for a souvenir! Sorry, personal opinion!

I just read on another forum about someone%26#39;s stay at the Extended Stay and they said the room smelled moldy and the water was so horrible they couldn%26#39;t even make tea in the room. It%26#39;s one of the most reasonably priced hotels downtown so it%26#39;s probably getting well worn around the edges!