Austin and the UT area

Before you arrive in Austin:

June in Austin is HOT (upper 90s to 100 degrees during the day, mid to upper 70s at night) and generally quite humid. On the other hand, the dorm rooms (and classrooms) at UT are COLD (mid to upper 60s) and you won't have any control over the A/C! My suggestion: dress for a tropical safari, but bring your long PJs (maybe even an extra blanket) and an extra sweater to wear while you're indoors. You can leave it in the EIS Lab so you don't have to lug it all over campus. You will also want to bring sunscreen (especially if you're coming from a part of the country where May is "springtime") and a good hat.

If you want, you can purchase a one-week pass to the university's rec center (weight rooms, racquetball courts, swimming pools, etc). There is also a recently refinished running track just behind the Jester Conference Center which you may use free of charge.

Once You're Here:

You will be staying in Jester Conference Center and eating in a dining room there known as "The Longhorn". You should know that Jester does not serve meals on Sunday afternoon or evening, so you will be on your own for dinner the first night of the workshop. We've put together a restaurant guide you may find helpful.

Getting around:

Lost? Look at the map. We're in AREA 1. Jester Center is in AREA 3.

If the early June heat is too much for you to handle (it's often too much for us to handle), you might consider riding the UT shuttle from Jester Center to the Geography Building. Take CL (Campus Loop) bus. It won't be running frequently during the first workshop (it's between academic sessions) but should run every 7-9 minutes (except for Saturday) during the second workshop. Route maps are right here.

The city bus service, Capital Metro Transit Authority, covers most of the main thoroughfares in the city. Fares are 50 cents one-way. Be forewarned -- Austin is NOT Chicago or New York City (or London, D.C., Paris. . . ). My point? Public transportation here is just barely adequate (as a person who doesn't own a car, I frequently question whether it's even that). Most bus routes stop running by about 11:00 pm, and much earlier than that on Sundays. You can get where you're going, but it takes planning. A better option for many outings is to take a taxi. Fares are regulated by the city and are really quite low, especially if you share your ride.

Food:

Shannon's favourite restaurants (keeping in mind that Shannon is a poor graduate student without a car, so everything's within walking distance or a short bus ride from campus):

Dog and Duck Pub

• They may not let me back in after last year's workshop. . .
• The bartender can make cloverleafs in the head on a pint of Guinness!
• dozens and dozens of imported beers, dozens and dozens more domestics
• typical "pub" fare -- fish and chips, bangers and mash, those bizarre pickled egg things. . .
• they contribute every year to the local PBS station so we can watch "Red Dwarf" and "The Vicar of Dibley" -- reason enough for our patronage!

Thai Noodle House

• Close, cheap, yummy
• dinner will cost you about $6

Les Amis

• great black beans and rice, awesome chicken salad. Don't go if you're in a hurry. In an effort to recreate a "Parisian" sidewalk atmosphere, someone told the wait staff to be REALLY slow. I keep telling them it's not really like that in Paris. . .
• menu items run from about $2.50 to $6.00

Red-River Cafe

• diner fare

East Side Cafe

• "upscale" for Austin, but you can wear jeans. . .
• fresh fish, good wine list
• entrees range $7-$20

Cafe Armeggedon

• I can't even begin to describe it. Weird, even by Austin standards.
• Daily lunch specials ($5.50 includes drink)
• decent wine list
• $1.50 import pints all day Tuesday and Wednesday
• a chocolate dessert thingy I would give my left kidney for

Mi Madres

• "boothy" in a good way. The best breakfast tacos I've had anywhere.

Martin Brothers

• organic everything
• good vegetarian menu

Mezzaluna

• Nouvelle Italian. Once you get past the yuppified late 80s decor, it's not bad. And, regardless of the ineptitude of the decorator, the chef is a GENIUS.
• This one's a little pricier, and you might want to make reservations on a Friday or Saturday night.

Quackenbushes Intergalactic Cafe and Bakery (or some such thing -- we call it "Quack's")

• yummy desserts
• sandwiches and soup
• smoothies and milkshakes

Amusing yourself:

Dog and Duck Pub. See entry under "Food".

If you have some extra time on your hands (or just want out of the Geography Building for a little while), consider a visit to the Huntington Art Gallery. The museum actually has two galleries here on campus, one in the Humanities Research Center, the other in the Art Building. Also on campus are the Texas Memorial Museum and LBJ Presidential Library and Museum. You might also want to tour the state capital building, just three blocks south of Jester Center (You can't miss it -- just walk out the front doors at Jester and look to your left -- the dome on top stands taller than the U.S. Capital in Washington, D.C.).

Austin is the live-music capital of the world. On any given night you should be able to find between 30-50 live bands playing in town, many of them on 6th street. Unless you're really into hanging with drunk college students, avoid the 6th street area on weekends! You can find out who's playing in the Austin Chronicle.

The Broken Spoke Dance Hall on South Lamar Boulevard is the place to two-step and line-dance to your heart's content. Live music most nights.

Austin is also home to some of the largest colonies of Mexican Fruit Bats in the Universe (about 1.5 million of them). It is the largest URBAN colony in the U.S., and is a bizarre (but major) tourist attraction. Austin's professional Ice-hockey team is even named after them. (Yes, Austin has a pro ice-hockey team). If you walk down to the Congress street bridge on Town Lake (about 15 blocks south of Campus) just before sundown, you're in for an awesome sight. Words to the wise: (1) take an umbrella -- bat gauno and all that -- (2) don't touch any of the bats. There's been a higher-than-normal incidence of RABIES over the last couple of years.

the afternoon coffee break. . .

The Texas Union is just across the street from the Geography Building. Go out the front doors, across Whitis, then across 24th Street (or cut diagonally across the street -- oncoming traffic usually stops). There you will find coffee, a variety of fast-food outlets, and the Cactus Cafe. Again, many of the shops will be closed during the first workshop (for the intersession break). There are also a number of businesses along "the drag" (one block from the Geography Building) that should be open and serving all sorts of caffeinated things.

If you find you have some extra time on your hands, you might want to visit the on-line Austin Visitor's Center. It features information about restaurants, music, movies, and special events.