Austin, TX

Another weekend, another great trip! This time to my favorite city: Austin, TX!
I actually lived here for 5 years when I was going to school at Austin Community College and got my Associates in Meeting and Event Planning as well as in Hospitality Management. Austin is truly the best city for that! I’ve been away for about 3 years now and it’s crazy how much its grown! However, somehow Austin still keeps its charm.
Here’s how our trip went:
Airbnb
Having lived in Austin, I never had to pay for a hotel or anywhere to stay. So visiting on overnights trips means having to deal with the headache of finding the best location for the best price. This weekend we went to celebrate a friends birthday and seeing as how it was gonna be four of us, we needed a cheap place large enough for all of us, yet with privacy and close to downtown. Sound impossible right?
Hotels were reasonably priced and perfect location but no privacy. So I headed to Airbnb. If you’ve never heard of Airbnb, it’s a website where individuals can rent out a room (or their entire home) to guest from a night to a month or more. It might sound sketchy, but Airbnb goes through a rigorous verification process to ensure that both host and guest are safe. You can find an Airbnb almost anywhere in the world!
I’ve used Airbnb many times! Sometimes they’re a better deal than hotels, sometimes about the same. It’s really up to you and what kind of trip you’re taking. For this particular trip our Airbnb was perfect! We got an entire apartment with two rooms and two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen for under $200. And it was only a $10 Uber ride to downtown!
To sign up for Airbnb and get $40 off your first trip click here.

*I didn’t post any pictures to respect the privacy of our host*

Dinner and Brunch

Dinner was amazing! We went to Fogo de Chão and got stuffed on steak and red wine! We were so full that it’s a surprise they didn’t roll us out of there! If you’ve never been, I highly recommend going! However, try not to eat anything that entire day until you get there. You want to take advantage of the unlimited steak and other meats available. There is literally servers walking around carrying all this tender meat around for you to eat! I actually tried lamb for the first time and it was delicious!

We had plans to go to Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill and do their amazing brunch on Sunday morning, but can you believe we were still full from dinner the night before?!? Haha. Instead we went to El Taquito. This place was always a go to after a night out; it stays open until 4AM (and gets PACKED!). But it hit the spot the morning after too! I, of course, got a michelada! 😉

Texas Rowing Center and Groupon

Austin is known for being an active city. You will always find people running the trails, hiking the Greenbelt, or riding their bikes instead of driving. It’s just part of its charm. So its fitting that we decided to go kayaking out at the lake. Oh and what perfect weather we had for it! Remember, I HATE sweating!
I got us this deal from Groupon and it was so worth it! $60 for 2 hours of kayaking for 4; that’s a 70% off savings! And currently they’re offering an extra 20% off with code SALE3.
There is a lot of companies you can rent out equipment on the lake. Texas Rowing Center was exceptional, in my opinion. Upon walking up, we thought it was going to take forever to get in the water. But the process was so fast and easy! The staff was friendly and efficient. And being out on the water felt sooooo good! I can’t wait to go back to Austin and do it again!

And just a quick shoutout to bae for doing most of the rowing! He totally earned a nap afterwards! Hehe.

If you’re in Texas and never been to our state capital, you need to get yourself there ASAP! Or maybe not…because then you’ll fall in love with it and want to move there as well. 😅
I hope to one day move back to this wonderful city. Some of my best memories and experiences were there. I still consider Austin my home, it’s a big part of who I am today.
Have you ever been to Austin? What are your favorite activities and places to eat there? You know I’m always looking for recommendations!
XO, Mayra