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Ok, lots to catch you up on. So last blog was Tampa. Since then we have been to New Orleans, Houston, New Braunfels and noe Del Rio. So New Orleans... what can I say? It is definitely a fun and friendly place. We got off to a great start by pissing off a cab driver. We were loaded up with luggage and this guy wanted to try to squish us all into his standard sized cab (remeber there are still 4 of us at this point). We wanted a larger cab and the lady in charge of the cab line went to get us one. Well this didn't go down well. He was not a happy cabby. But to be honest his getting angry at us made me even more reluctant to go with him. Anyway... hotel was very nice and quite roomy but we were ready to go out and have a look around. First stop was a must for anyone heading to NO... Pat O'Briens. Best Hurricanes ever! Sooo strong and sooo good. Also, tried some fried Alligator and Catfish and Crawfish cakes. All very good. Then it was time for some more Hurricanes, and some more. We were going to head back to the hotel at this point but got waylaid at the bucking bull. Tara was game for a ride (or 4) and we had a blast watching her try and hang on. I think it was the fact that she couldn't stop giggling that really put her off her game. Next up was a very, VERY reluctant Siobhan. The guy running it decided he would let her ride for free as she did not want to man up. But after a lot of persuading and some help removing her shoes she was off. Literally... she was falling off. But it did do the job and get the participants flowing. After Siobhan and Tara the bucking bull had no trouble finding a willing rider. Siobhan and Tara got some beads for their effort and Emma and I got some for just being so awesome. We then decided that another drink was in order but not having a cocktail list it was vague description for the bartender to interpret (very frustration I know). Something fruity, something tasty, something with rum and something good. But he was an awesome bartender and managed to get them all bang on the mark. This was followed by a round of shots (sex on the beach), some more shots (tasted like toothpaste) and then water for me. We met a couple from Las Vegas who gave us their number and are going to show us around a little when we get there. It was at this point that Siobhan decided to drag me back to the hotel and Emma and Tara stayed out for more drinks. Siobhan and I managed to get back to the hotel and clean up. I had what I assume is a very funny conversation with my mum and then went to sleep. Apparently I missed all the fun when Tara and Emma got home.
Next day Tara wasn't feeling so good so Emma, Siobhan and I set out to have a wander. We wandered down to the NO Aquarium and Market. The aquarium had some very amusing beavers and the markets were a nice way to pass some time. We headed back to the hotel to rest up before the big night and then it was off for some more fun on Bourbon Street. First stop this time was Funky 544. 3 for 1 drinks and a balcony to watch the crowd go past. The guys next to us were hilarious. One was screaming at the top of his lungs trying to get the attention of girls so they would flash for beads. They were not very successful. It was very amusing however when he started screaming at the older women... apparently he doesn't age discriminate (his words not mine). Time to move on to our favourite haunt Pat O'Briens for more Hurricanes, and more, and more again. Met some interesting people. One couple decided they wanted to stalk us because we knew how to have a nice low key night. This lasted as long as her attention span, which was about 2 minutes. Emma kept making friends in the line to the restroom and we all felt sorry for the restroom attendant (on till 4 and some people cant hold their liquor). Got some Pat O'Brien beads and a hat. Siobhan rocked it out when her song came on and we all rang in the new year at the front bar. We lost Emma and Tara soon after that to the depths of Pats. Siobhan and I navigated the maze of people (if you bump into someone just say Happy New Year!), made a few friends and finally found the two wandering girls. We had made up our minds to head back to the hotel but got a little waylaid on the way. Emma decided that she wanted to meet ever single person on Bourbon street and it felt like we were. We met people from all over, including another group of Aussies! I spoke french to a guy from Quebec and he actually understood me (Je suis tre fatigué - I am very tired). We also saw Gumby! Met some guys form Texas (or maybe just one of them was from texas). Anyway one of them was from Corpus Christi (yes, like the school at home) and apparently it is quite nice there so thats another stop to add to my next trip. So we stumbled our way home and it was about 4am by the time we were in bed.
We had another lazy day new years day. Tara headed out by herself and the rest of us went for a walk to Jackson Square. They have a Pirate Street in New Orleans. We ended up watching a street show by the Dragon Masters Showcase. Basically a mix of athletics, break dancing and comedy. And they were funny. I laughed more at their show then at the comedy club in New York. We ended up getting their DVD so people will be able to watch it when we get home.
Next day was a Cajun swamp tour for me and Tara and a Plantation tour for Siobhan and Emma. The swamp tour lacked in the alligator department but was fun. We got to hold a turtle and we fed a baby raccoon. The little Cajun town had some very funny signs. Not much else of interest to you though. Dinner was at Hard Rock and it was good. Pulled pork sandwich yummmmm. The staff there were great. One of the bar guys found out we were Australian and came over for a chat (he had lived on the Gold Coast for a while and may be going to Surfers Paradise when they open the Hard Rock there). And the guy in the merchandise sop gave us some free stuff (being Australian gets you all sorts of perks!). And thats New Orleans done for now.
Next stop was Houston and a very long drive. Got lost a few times but made it at last. Had dinner at a little Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant. Was a little worried when half way through the meal we heard scurrying in the roof. The hotel was less than nice but it was only one night. There was a wall length mirror at the head of the beds and all those episode of Criminal Minds and CSI started to show when the first thing we thought was two way mirror lol. Still, we all got changed in the bathroom. Next day we got up bright an early for the Space Centre, so early in fact that the parking attendant didn't bother charging us for parking because we were there 20 minutes before opening. The Space Centre was pretty cool. We went on a tour of the Johnson facility and got to see one of the Mission Control rooms and the Saturn V rocket. We also got to look at the actually training facility the astronauts use. All in all an interesting place.
And last but not least New Braunfels. The Worldmark accommodation was quite nice and we were close to lots of places. We headed into San Antonio for a day to see the River Walk and Alamo. The River Walk was minus the river though. Apparently in early January they drain it and clean it. Disappointed, but will just have to go back again to see it. I haven't actually seen the Alamo movie so I had absolutely no idea about the history behind the place. It was an interesting history lesson. We also stopped by Natural bridge Caverns. It was a little smaller than I though but it had so many different types of structures. It was very cool but hot and sticky temperature wise. There were a lot of structures that looked like jellyfish and coral. There was also popcorn walls (though personally I though it looked more like broccoli). We also passed some fried eggs and pancake stacks. Random fact, our guide likes his pancakes with his mums home made strawberry sauce. The website describes the caverns as: On March 27th, 1960, four intrepid students from St. Mary's University in San Antonio geared up for another weekend of spelunking in the Texas Hill Country. They were about to make their fourth journey deeper into a network of narrow passages beneath an amazing 60 foot natural limestone bridge between San Antonio and New Braunfels. What they discovered that day was nothing less than the mother lode of underground majesty and wonder: Natural Bridge Caverns. Chamber after chamber of spectacular formations, one the size of a football field. Gigantic towering columns. Emerald pools. Delicate, crystalline soda straws. All living and still growing.
On Siobhans RDO we decided to head into Gruene (pronounced Green) for the day. We hit Cotton Eye Joe's and the General Store before moving on the the winery for some wine tasting. They like there wine sweet in texas (most of it too sweet for me, but Siobhan and Emma liked most of it). Figured we should have some lunch before doing any more drinking. We went to the Gristmill. Its at the site of the historic water tower and built so it looks over the Guadalupe river. It was a great view (minus the car park across the other side). The food was great and our waitress was really nice and chatty and we talked about travelling and such stuff. They had the best margaritas I have ever had (fresh lime and on the rocks). The waitress managed to talk us into coming back today for Beef ribs special before we left for Del Rio. We rocked up toady and all the Beef Ribs signs had been taken down. Lucky for us we are Australian and had another nice waitress. We asked if they maybe still had them and she talked to the kitchen for us. Apparently they got a lot of Ribs orders last night and didn't want to have to make any more of them unless we were from ridiculously out of town. Seems Australia was out of town enough for them. And they were soooo good. Fall off the bone, so much flavour good. Hands down the best food we have had so far. Oh and I cant forget to tell you about the Dance hall last night. It a cute little hall with country music and jiving dancing. We had a good laugh when we spotted a real life cowboy. He had the hat, the one leg hitched up on the chair,the hands on the belt and the beer. All that was missing was the straw to chew on. Emma was kind enough to ask him for a photo (because Siobhan was chicken). Boy could that cowboy smoulder... enough to rival Flynn Ryder (yes, you should watch Tangled, its a great movie). Apparently cowboy Clint was from the area before he joined the Marines (no wonder he filled out his shirt nicely). He is on leave at the moment but at one point was in Darwin where he got so drunk he passed out and woke up to an Aboriginal poking him with a stick. True story. We should have asked him for a drink but thats hindsight for you.
And so here we are in Del Rio where I haven't googled it but I'm pretty sure there is nothing much to do. Did see a fighter jet in the air. That's about the highlight so far! So hopefully updates will be more often because this one took me about an hour to write (my typing skills are a little rough). So bye for now!
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