So Cthulu and I went to Austin for part of the weekend in order to escape our normal responsibilities and dirty house we don't feel like cleaning and all that, and to do that whole "romantic getaway" thing couples are supposed to do, although I'm not sure other couples define "romantic getaway" as "eating crepes and Mexican food and going to the art festival" but whatever, YMMV.

Here are the things we did, and my thoughts on them.

1. Hawthorn Suites Ltd., Airport
This is where we stayed. The cool hip hotels were all sold out, which is fine, actually, because I kind of like anonymous, quiet hotels. Downside of this place: they are remodeling right now, so the lobby area, while functional, is obviously under construction. Upsides: $100/night, really nice sheets, pillows and blankets, very clean, very quiet, and has a little living room, plus microwave and tiny fridge. Oh, and free wireless. It's criminal that some hotels charge extra for wireless. Finally, this place is not on the main drag, but it's very easy to find the main drag from here, and it's not far away. So, yay Hawthorn Suites. We liked you! We will come back.


2. Curra's Grill
We got in Saturday night and used the free! wireless! at our hotel to find a place to eat. Citysearch recommended Curra's, and they were right. Curra's is very affordable Tex-Mex (lots of dishes are $7 or so) with great queso and salsa, warm chips, and a wonderful patio. It's very low-key and not at all fancy. Its food is not high-end or anything, but it was a nice place to relax outside after our drive. We went back the next day to grab some dinner before we left town because we were wearing our swimsuits still (more on that later) and knew that we wouldn't feel too underdressed here. If you want to try their specialty, order the Cochinita Pibil, which is basically very spicy barbecue pork with fried plantains. Delish.

3. Magnolia Cafe
We went here late Saturday night because the Internets strongly recommended it and I wanted some mimosas. Cthulu had a root beer float and I had mimosas and one gingerbread pancake with blueberries. Verdict: meh. There was a long wait, and I'm not sure why. The interior was supposed to come off as "funky" but instead just looked sorta disjointed. The mimosas didn't have great orange juice in them. The root beer float was average. And the gingerbread pancake, which I thought sounded really yummy, was in fact dry and kind of gross and not at all sweet. The gingerbread pancake might have been better if it was served with whipped cream and powdered sugar instead of butter and regular pancake syrup. Maybe we just ordered the wrong things, but we weren't impressed.

4. Old Pecan Street Cafe
I already knew I loved this place, because we ate here the last time we came to Austin. Still love it. This is where we ate lunch on Sunday. C. had the fettuccine, I had the grilled salmon. Both were delicious, as was the steaming hot bread they serve with the salads. We ended with strawberry crepes. I can't emphasize strongly enough how perfect the crepes are at Old Pecan Street Cafe. I've been there twice now, and each time, the crepes have left me speechless. They have just the right cold/hot, tangy/sweet combinations. We ate one, and then, to our surprise, ordered a second one and ate it up completely too. This is on my "do not miss" list for Austin.

5. Old Pecan Street Festival
It was hot as hell outside, but this festival, which is mainly an arts festival, was still fun. I never wind up buying anything at an arts festival, but it's entertaining to look, and I wind up talking cameras with all the photographers ("how did you shoot that? oh, I had a Fuji once too!"). This was fun for people-watching and dog-watching. I took a lot of dog pictures. The food also smelled delicious, but we were too stuffed with crepes to eat any of it.

6. Barton Springs Pool
After a couple of hours at the festival, we were hot, sticky, and sick of art. So we went to this very cool natural pool in the middle of Austin. The spring that feeds the pool keeps fresh water pumping in and maintains the (huge) pool's 68-degree temperature. This means that you have to choose a temperature-adjustment method. Cthulu, who is a "rip the band-aid off" type, threw himself in all at once and nearly suffered a heart attack. I am a "remove the band-aid one centimeter at a time" person, so I went down the pebbly steps one at a time, suppressing shrieks as I went. After we got in, the water was heavenly, and the hot sun kept it from being too cold. This was the perfect way to spend a hot afternoon. A+.