Thinking of Miss Rumphius

Yesterday as we travelled from Abilene to Austin I began to see more and more of these purple flowers and we mused, "Could those be bluebonnets or are they lupines, or something else altogether?" Well today I used Goggle and the answer is "yes" and  "yes"  since bluebonnets and lupines are one and the same. 

Remember the pictures I took of The Driskill last night? This morning we went to the cafe in the hotel for breakfast and we were not disappointed! I had the Paris Texas Eggs Benendict. Besides, the waiter was super friendly and helped me find the yoga studio I wanted and gave more recommendations than we could track. The only thing I didn't like at 1886 Cafe was the coffee. So after we took a sight seeing drive through Zilker Park and the funky food wagon area of Barton Springs we headed back to Bouldin Cafe which we had passed in one of those "maybe we are lost" moments. That turned out to be serendipitous. The coffee was fabulous and while we were not hungry enough to order any food, it was obvious by looking at other tables, that the food there is great too. So, that will be the choice for tomorrow morning's breakfast. 

Once our caffination process was complete we headed back to the other side of the river and parked in the Rainey Street district and walked around and looked in bemusement at the little old homes, most of which were converted into restaurants and bars, nestled amongst condos and office buildings. None of them open until four or five o'clock and we were not hungry anyway. But still, it was a curiosity worth exploring. 

Since our day of 9 hours on the road from New Mexico to Texas, my Sciatica had been  giving me fierce pain and so one of my major plans for today was to find a yoga studio. I am so grateful to have found Wanderlust yoga studio. I took a 4:00 Vinyasa class and I am feeling 100% better in body and spirit! As I yogaed, Chris visited the gelato company of his friend Stephanie and sampled their product which he decreed delicious. With perfect timing he picked me up and we headed south across the Congress bridge into the neighborhood that was by far my favorite; boot shops, bars, good restaurants, second hand stores, AND a great view of the city when you turned around and looked north. The Austin Motel looked like a cool place to stay IF it had a vacancy (my advice is go west of I35 and south when choosing a hotel in Austin; it will be more expensive but it will have greater walkability). We had margaritas at Gueros Taco Bar and then I got my sushi fix at Lucky Robot. Get there before 6:30 to take advantage of the Happy Hour menu. The Lemon Drop cocktails are thirst quenching and my favorite Happy Hour menu item was Sake Nashi. OK, it is 11:00 and I must get some sleep because Siri is waking us at 6:00. We have a friend to meet for breakfast!
April 3rd update: 
We met Chris' friend, Anne for breakfast as planned at Bouldin's Cafe.Great food; all vegetarian!

Here is the picture I wanted! Austin skyline, looking North taken from the Congress Bridge.

Bye, bye, batty city!