Amazing Things To Do in Austin

As many of you already know, we chose Austin as the place to have our wedding not only because of its strategic positioning (considering we have people coming in from all over the place), but also because it is one of the coolest cities. Here are some suggestions for things to do if you find yourself with a little down time while you're in Austin:

Restaurants:
1. Chuy's Tex Mex: 1728 Barton Springs Rd (located a few miles from the Hyatt Regency). They have outstanding food and are moderately priced. They also have a fun, Keep Austin Weird vibe going on. And if you go, you must try the Texas-tini.

2. Trudy's Tex Mex: 409 W 30th St. This one is close to the UT campus, so a bit farther away from the hotel. The food is fantastic, and also moderately priced. They also have great drinks for decent prices.

3. Kirby Lane Cafe: 2606 Guadalupe St. This one is also close to campus. Their pancakes still haunt my dreams! It's a great breakfast spot, though they serve good food all day. Their prices are on the lower end, so if you're looking for good food on the cheap, this is a great place to go. It tends to get crowded, though.

4. Stubb's Bar-B-Q: 801 Red River. This one is closer to the wedding venue and is an Austin institution. Not only do they have mouthwatering Texas-style bar-b-q, they also regularly have live music. This is also located near the main live music scene, so it could be a great way to start a Thursday or Friday night. Prices are moderate.

5. Veggie Heaven: 1914 Guadalupe St. Even if you're not a vegetarian, this place has food to die for! I recommend the Protein 2000 (yes, many of the dishes have dorky names, but they taste so gooood). It's close to the UT campus so you'll see tons of students getting their lunch on. It's priced for students, which makes everyone happy!

6. Thai Passion: 620 Congress Avenue. I know, Thai food in Texas? But Austin has a sizeable Asian population. This place has good Thai food, a nice atmosphere, and is close to the night life action. Prices are moderate and you can get some pretty spicy food items :).

Live Music:
Anywhere you go on downtown 6th street in the evenings, you will be able to wander into venues with live music wafting out. You can literally find any type of music from Texas Blues, to Jazz, punk, rockabilly, you name it! Surrounding streets (5th, 7th, etc.) boast live music as well, so explorers will never be left unrewarded. Here are some venues that are a staple for interesting music:
1. Emo's: 601 Red River. Though the original burned down, this location still boasts some great sounds on a regular basis.

2. Antone's: 215 W. 5th St. This was one of the first clubs built in downtown Austin and still has a variety of music booked nightly, all week.

3. Elephant Room: 315 Congress Avenue. GREAT jazz.

4. Anything and Everything on 6th street :).

Outings:
1. Lady Bird Lake: Recently renamed (it used to be simply called "Town Lake"), it's a beautiful place to explore. You can walk along the banks near downtown. If you're willing to drive a few miles, you can rent a canoe and paddle around on it. Canoe rentals are at: 2100 Barton Springs Road. Prices are $10/hour or $40 for all day.

2. Barton Springs: This is a gorgeous natural spring that stays 64 degrees all year round (SO worth it in the steamy Texas summer) and has been enclosed (somewhat). It isn't chemically treated, as it feeds into Lady Bird Lake, so expect a little slime on the bottom :). 2101 Barton Springs Road. Entrance fee is $3 and it usually costs $3 to get a parking spot. This place gets really crowded as swimming outdoors is what everyone in Austin does to cool off.

3. Zilker Botanical Gardens: It has beautiful flowers and plants, a random bit of dinosaur replica action (don't ask) and some adorable koi. 2220 Barton Springs Road. On the weekends it costs $3 to park, but on week days it's free.

4. THE BATS!!!: If you're staying at the Hyatt Regency, you really owe it to yourself to check this out. This is an Austin tradition. The bridges built over Lady Bird Lake have become a haven to bats. In fact, it's the largest city-dwelling bat colony in the U.S. Every night, as bats do, they fly out to hunt. Don't worry, there are no vampire bats in the mix. People come out to watch the bats begin their nightly hunt. It's truly beautiful. The best place to see it is from atop the South Congress Bridge. Lucky you, the Hyatt Regency is a super-short walk away.

5. UT: Ok, this is just Amber's school pride coming out, but UT is an amazinigly beautiful campus. Not only is it HUGE, but the squirrels are adorable, the ample trees keep you shaded as you walk around, and there are some cute, hidden gems to be found. Sure, I could tell you where they are now, but that woudln't be as fun. Though you should at least check out the statue of George Washington (near the clock tower) that still has bullet holes from that unfortunate shooting incident. I would also recommend the turtle pond as a great place to relax. And of course there will be hot co-eds taking summer courses to run into :).

6. Golf: allegedly Austin was voted the best golf city in america. There are definitely some nice golf courses around town, but all of them require a bit of a drive :(.

Other Random Stuff:
1. Texas State History Museum: If you don't know much about Texas and want to learn, this is a decent place to start. 1800 N. Congress Ave. (across the street from UT).

2. Driskill Hotel: Allegedly it's haunted. I've tried several times to find a ghost there, much to no avail. It definitely is beautiful, and it's one of the oldest hotels in Austin (built in the 1880's). 604 Brazos St. (close to 5th street downtown).

3. Austin City Limits Studio: You can take a tour of where the Austin City Limits music show is filmed. Admission is free, but they only give tours on Fridays :(. Communication Building B, 26th St. and Guadalupe St.

4. Texas State Capitol Building: It's a lovely building with great acoustics! 11th St. and Congress Ave. (hard to miss as it's that large building you see at the end of Congress Ave.). It would be a bit of a walk from the Hyatt Regency, but parking can be difficult in that area so walking is preferable.

5. Texas State Cemetary: It might seem morbid, but cemetaries are amazing places to experience history. See the graves of Stephen F. Austin, Tom Landry, and more. 909 Navasota St. This would require driving from the hotel.


Hopefully you have time to get out and experience some of what we love about Austin, but it's also a fun city to just walk around and explore in. There are a million things to see and do that are not listed here! We can't wait to see everybody in a few days :).

-Matt and Amber

It's Getting Close...

As the date approaches, here's an update on the timeline for this Saturday, August 21.

6pm- People start making their way to the Palm Door for the event.

6:30pm- We get married!

6:45pm- The fun begins with drinks, food and music.

10-ishpm- Wander out into downtown Austin to explore its awesomeness.

Don't go wearing nothing fancy

We're serious!  This affair is casual at best.  The bride and groom will both be wearing jeans.

The Wedding Registry is Open

Hi Family and Friends,

Now that we are back from our vacation in London and Paris, we have started a wedding registry at Bed Bath and Beyond, and you can click here to jump to the registry website. If the link is not working you can also go to BedBathandBeyond.com and type in Amber Boies or Matthew Koppel in the wedding registry section.

See you in Austin,
Amber and Matt

Hotel Details

Hey Everyone -

Amber and I have booked a block of rooms at the Hyatt Regency in Austin. Please call +1 512 477 1234 and when making your reservation say you are with the Boies Koppel Wedding. The rate is $149 a night from Thursday through Sunday.

Flights and Hotels

Hey Friends -

Depending on where you are traveling to Austin from, it may be cheaper to fly to San Antonio and rent a car. If you chose to do this please let us know and we can attempt to group people together on the car rental.

In other news, we are about to finalize a contract with the Hyatt Regency in Austin for $149.00 a night by the end of the week.

August 21, 2010 SAVE THE DATE

Hi everyone -

As you know, we're getting married on August 21, 2010. The wedding and reception will be held at the Palm Door at 401 Sabine Street Austin, TX 78701. We'll be posting links to registry as well as potential hotel packages that we are organizing.

Can't wait to see you all there.

- Amber and Matt