We headed back into downtown Austin, hoping to visit some Austin landmarks and popular tourist spots, as well as drive around and look for more street art and murals after seeing a few last night. There are tons more murals all over Austin that we missed or didn’t know about, so we’ll definitely have to make a trip back and see the rest.

One in particular we wanted to see was the cheesy but iconic ‘i love you so much’ painted on the side of Jo’s Coffee on South Congress by the girlfriend of the owner. It has since become a popular spot for couples to take photos in front of. Since we just got married, we figured what better time to go there and take our own picture!

We continued driving through town, taking pictures of the sights as we went until we got to the Baylor Street Art Wall (aka the HOPE Outdoor Gallery), an abandoned development with huge concrete walls that provide an endless canvas for graffiti and street artists. Since the space is open and available to anyone, the artwork is constantly changing, so we didn’t know what we would see today. This can make it a bit of a hit-or-miss, but we did manage to find a few cool pieces this time.

The top of the structure supposedly boasts one of the best views of downtown Austin if you’re brave enough to climb to the top. This is as far as I made it.

Next, being in Austin, we of course had to see the Texas State Capitol building. We drove back in that direction, this time in a bit of a rush since it was getting closer to sunset. We parked on the street and walked around the grounds and looking at the statues and monuments. We got a lot of pictures in before our meter ran out just as it started to drizzle outside.

As we were heading out of the city, we made one last stop for a photo op in front of the ‘You’re My Butter Half’ mural at the United Way building on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Then we made our way down the street to have dinner at the Austin Daily Press, a sandwich shop that had some really original flavor combinations. I got The Edward, a torta with edamame fritters, avocado, and ginger peanut sauce. It’s really good and tastes like an Asian stir-fry in a sandwich. Kori got the Pineapple Express, a torta filled with chicken, ham, and pineapple ginger chutney. We also got an order of jalapeño hush puppies to split between us. Once we finish up, we’ll be getting on the road and heading back home.

-Eileen