City Hall, Second Street

The back of City Hall is on Second Street. (There is a plaza on Cesar Chavez which used to be First Street which you saw a bit of here when the giant guitars were around.) The distinctive thing in the back is a point thrusting across Second Street. Austin Java occupies the space below the gleaming windows. That makes two local coffee spots for our new neighborhood, with Jo's seen here. As we grow old downtown we will have free entertainment, too: watching the City Council in Action!

Reaching the Top

Our future home is stretching to its final height in the background (our unit is way below that, however) and the AMLI apartments in the foreground with their finish of sort of a metallic tile catch the setting sun in this picture taken Tuesday when we walked from The Four Seasons to the Second Street District. One day, the W Hotel and Residences will probably interfere with this angle.

Gingerbread Village

The Christmas decorations were officially launched at the Four Seasons Hotel yesterday and the center of attraction was a village of edible houses. Some gingerbread was used, of course, but all manner of other edible ingredients as well. Created by the pastry staff and sold for charity the little village will grace the Four Seasons lobby (along with a tree and other decorations) for the season.

Shop Local Alien Shops

I assume this place (which is in this center) is a local business. They sell electric scooters and bikes. Presumably not to people from other countries (or worlds). Although the green thing in the window is a blow-up 'little green man.' FFP and I go on two legs or in efficient (not hybrid yet) Honda cars but if you need an a two-wheeler that doesn't use fossil fuel but the hills of Austin are getting you down, might try these folks.

Acoustic Instrument

This is a photo I shot of the balconies and ceiling of the Dell Hall in the new Long Center for the Performing Arts. In this state-of-the-art hall everything is designed as a part of the sound equation including the construction of the seats. Excitement is really building in the community about the center.

Unexpected Oranges

We don't have oranges in Austin. It gets too cold in the winter for citrus trees, really. But this tree, tucked between a tennis court wind screen (which protects it from the north wind) and a stone wall produces a scad of oranges to be pecked at by wildlife (perhaps the peacocks like them?) and tossed about by vandals.

Food Made For Walking

Cipollina is one of those protean little places that serves multiple purposes. Across from the famous fine dining restaurant, Jeffrey's, and, in fact, affiliated with them, it serves a walking neighborhood crowd for coffee or wine and beer and snacks, provides 'take home and heat' stuff to those same walkers or shoppers at Fresh Plus grocery next door and occasionally hosts some live music. The food has an Italian spin, thus the name and clever sign. (I took this long ago. It's rainy and cold today so I'm probably not going to be out snapping pics for this journal!)