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Well as I landed in Austin, I got a feeling of being in a different State. Girls with boots and Guys with hats. Welcome to Texas, how ya’ll doin? (How are you). My bag was quickly off the luggage belt and I was soon in the Hotel bus being accompanied by a lively Harvard Student, Taryn, who had just graduated and was moving to Austin for her first real job. She was good entertainment over a beer in the evening, as she was a mix of Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston, a keen footballer and a bright Harvard student, excellent.

Before I got into the bus I saw a vending machine in the Airport that I had never seen before, a Bouquet Machine. I had heard that Texan’s were gentlemen and knew how to treat their women just right, and they had everything at their disposal to satisfy their ladies after a flight, Yeehaw!

So the plan was that I would have a day in Austin, drive over to Dallas for a few days to meet up with some BT colleagues and to get a feel for the Texas landscape as I have done with some of the other States and then back to continue my journey from Austin Airport. For Austin, there were two things that I had on my very simple afternoon and evening agenda; 1. Music and a Beer and 2. a Steakhouse with some Texan food. Nice an easy for a scorching hot Saturday. I had done a little research on some of the popular locations, and a lot of activity happened on a main road ‘6th Street’, so I got dropped off by the Cab driver at the end of the Street and I was going to go struttin’ and listen out for the music. Well before I got struttin, I was on my knees recovering my sunglasses that I knocked off my head getting out the cab and they bounced under the car.

My first stop off was to one of the most well know Hotels in Austin, The Driskill Hotel. It is a grand old Hotel, but reputed for its music. As I entered there was a lot of activity going on in the foyer, with a huge floral decoration being constructed. I made eye contact with a Manager to make sure I was in the right place for some music. Unfortunately, not on this day. A major wedding was to take place and the party had booked out the whole hotel, but he pointed to the bar and said it was open for drinks. This was fortuitous as I meet up with a couple of delightful people, Mike who was from New Orleans and a friend of his who was showing him around town, Becky who had great Cowgirl boots and a very friendly Texan welcome. We started talking travel as usual and had a really pleasant conversion, which added another item to my agenda, “You must see the Bats, they come out every night”, yes I would. On the way out I couldn’t resist a photograph with the Boots, and Becky and of course Mike, with the flora tribute in the background. One thing I will always remember is that New Orleans has a drive-thru Margarita service. Some States just know how to party! I would catch up with them again on the Austin bridge after the Bats had flown and share a few more moments, also joined by Mike’s daughter. To me they epitomised the Southern States and something that I would experience time and time again in the next few days. They treated me like one of their friends immediately and I appreciated it too, so if they are reading, thanks guys and I hope we meet up again one day.

With one beer inside me to get the limbs moving I did a quick tour of the bars and the sounds coming out onto the streets. Sometimes you can’t work out whether a bar has live music or just that they are playing good music. So, being polite, as I walked in on the first bar and the band was not yet on, I just took in another bottle and chewed the fat with others around the bar. But as you sit and sip, you then see movement and hear sounds that pin point the live music in other bars as most have large open windows and doors. So, my next 3 bars were spot on and the changing musicians were good too, playing a range of things from Country, Honky Tonk, Blues and Rock. Simple surrounds, a few choice of beers and everyone listening to the band. Perfect. And with a few odd characters that have probably been roadies in their times, where the afternoons drinking probably started the night before. This was exactly what I was looking for. No. 1, tick.

Now before I had too much beer, I had to eat and with some guidance I was pointed to a restaurant a few blocks away called ‘Moonshine’, a steakhouse. When in Rome?

After choosing a nice steak, the order came and with the normal sides of Sweet Potatoes and a number of tasty but unhealthy fried things etc, but I was asked if I needed anything else. Yes, can I have some English Mustard. Sorry we don’t carry that. Do you have Horseradish? Yes! and off the girl trots to the kitchen to return with a small bowl of shredded dry horse radish, just like you would with grated carrot. A bit odd, but as I had asked for it I mixed some mayo in with it and ate it. The Steak was as soft as warm toffee and full of flavour.

As I got outside the sun was beating down, so there was only one thing to do and that was to find another bar and another band. In the next one, I had a chat with a girl who was playing beer pong with her friend and we struck up a conversation over Texas, travel and why here?. The usual Texan warm greeting, but as she went off she gave me a hug (all Texan’s have been hugging me, I could get use to that) and said “can I just ask one more thing hanging on the English accent, “can you say F***, S*** and A*** ?” Not being one to be unfriendly I did, she laughed out loud and left. Bizarre but another friendly Texan repaid in kind.

By 7.30pm I noticed the sun dropping so headed to the Bridge a short walk away to see the Bats. The viewers started to mount and after an hour it was dark. Boats had been congregating under the bridge too with lots of twitchers (I assume like bird watchers, although they could have been Bat Men and Women). I couldn’t see anything for a few minutes until a lad by the side of me pointed to an area where they were passing by a little light and there were thousands, tiny, but in masses. So number 3 completed, I walked back up with my new New Orlean friends of earlier and then back onto 6th Street. Wow, how it had transformed. There must have been 10 times the people and 5 times the volume and choice booming out onto the Street. I lasted for about an hour and called it a night. Austin is a cool City and maybe a taste for what we might get in Nashville.

Sunday I arranged a car and headed for Dallas. First mistake, I should have flown. I think it was a Chris Rea song that said that Texas had ‘roads went on forever’ and how right he was. Dallas, and I would find Fort Worth, is one big road works and an amazing complex of Freeways that travel up into the skies at any opportunity (not sure if they always come down). I would love to be the man who supplies the concrete. However, my 3 hour trip took 5 and a half hours and the views from the main route the I35 gave away nothing of Texas as it is so flat and a simple tree line hid everything. Funny though, when I got to Dallas and the inner city Freeways took over I had a perverse excitement of being on some of the overpasses, as it was ‘America’ and their love of Cars is clearly shown here. I think that a small economy engine would serve to run the air conditioning in some of the Texan Gas guzzler trucks that bullied the roads.

I forgot to add that I had Sat Nav, which was as useful as a Pork Chop at a Bar Mitzfah. It wasn’t until late on the second day that I saw the settings were wrong and it was not taking me the quickest route, but even with that corrected it could not cope with the roadworks.

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Monday I headed in a round about way to the centre of Dallas to see the JFK Museum which superbly articulated the events of his death in 1963. I have to say that this is one that I find hard to use any humour, as is my usual style. Sue and I used to talk about JFK, as it was the first thing that emotionally moved her when she was 5 years old. I didn’t have the perspective of the build up to being president and what happened that day, but the museum did that. To see the video footage and then walk out into the road where it happened and see the building and maybe the grassy knoll where he was assassinated is quite something. And his history as a sponsoring president to real improvements in and outside of the America was remarkable and probably sealed his fate.

After a short interlude for a Mexican lunch, I headed to the Information Centre for some advice of what to look at in Dallas. It was 97F outside so I only wanted a couple of ideas, but a studious Information Assistant flattened out a map and started circling things. Just for context, Texas is the land of Republicans (JFK was a Democrat) but they have had a couple of notable Presidents from the Bush Family. So the Texan assistant rings a circle around a building and says “this is the New President George Bush Library, it is new so we haven’t got any leaflets yet, but (writing down the address for me) if you want to go on the internet for details, type in Dubya, Dubya, Dubya dot…”. I said that that was quite ironic and started laughing, but she didn’t quite understand my humour, so I bit my lip and sunk my head in shame.

I did whiz around the Old Courthouse Museum to get a sense of the Dallas and Texas origins and its famous and infamous people, just see the photos. Norah Jones who has been one of my travelling companions in my earphones grew up in Texas and is the daughter of Ravi Shankar. All very interesting and giving me a bit of context of this amazing State and the people.

That evening I caught up with a work colleague Kathy and her husband Jim as we shared a very lovely evening of travel stories and food and a Steak which took me twice as long to eat than them as I was in talking mode. As we left the restaurant Kathy handed me an Apple Pie that she had promised me 6 months ago which was to serve as my breakfast the next day…delicious. America, Texas, Apple Pie? what more…

Next day, at the advice of Kathy and Jim I headed for the more cultural bit of Texas, Fort Worth and a couple of few museums.

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The second museum was the Kimbell Art Museum and wow. When I entered it was just like many other galleries, but as I went up to one of the first pieces on the wall I did a double take of the artist. It was by Michelangelo. He only painted 4 pieces and this Museum owned the only one in the USA. But as I started walking around, the names just rolled off one after the other. Monet, Cezanne, Rembrandt and one in particular Eduard Munch! But the gallery was very laid back with Curators giving guidance, not just securing the paintings and sculptures. Oh and I missed the Picasso’s and the Caneletto. This was really an amazing gallery.

From this to a quick hop across town to the Stockyards. Fort Worth is a Cattle settlement and this is an area of preservation to the cowboy and cow town. Sitting on a saddle seat in a saloon takes you back, for me back to a holiday two years ago in Jackson, Wyoming, where Jon and I drank amongst the Bikers.

With all of the Cities in Texas I have really just skimmed the surface. Next time I am here I will spend a lot more time to get to see and know the place.

I raced back to my Hotel and then back to the BT Office in Irving to meet up with another colleague, Vance. The roadworks were horrendous and the Sat Nav was just playing with me. At one point by the Dallas-Forth Worth Airport, I found myself on the edge of the airfield watching the planes landing and my Sat Nav showed a Car in a Green Field. I high tailed out of there before the homeland security people joined me.

Vance took me out to a Texas BBQ restaurant, Lockhart’s, in the burbs somewhere, where the beef brisket was just awesome. Sadly I couldn’t finish the brisket that was recommended or the Smokey Beans and Pickles so took a doggy bag for breakfast. That was to be one of the nicest breakfasts (The smokey beans with pulled meat and chillies was incredible) I have had in years and finished off with the last mouthful of Home Made Apple Pie…God Bless America…In Calories We Trust.

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So, that was me done for my time in Texas, but I had one last stop off on the way back to Austin. In the Man versus Food TV programmes, Adam Rickman visited a Donut shop in Texas and tried some fresh, melt-in-your-mouth, donuts. Enter, the ‘Round Rock Donut House’. The staff were amazed that I had heard about the place in the UK, but Jon and Tom will know it from the repeats that we see. And the Donuts…Two Round Rock Caramelised, one Baverian Eclair with Chocolate and the same without Chocolate. They were fresh and warm and did exactly what Adam said, they melted in my mouth as I ate all 4 before hitting the road again.

So how can I sum up Texas? The Hospitality was as warm as the Sun and the Girls were as sweet as the Donuts. I would like a superlative for the Cow Girl boots, but they will just have to stay in my head. I will be back again to excess in some of this again!!!