Austin 2011: South by Southwest (SXSW)
The husband kindly agreed to let me tag along for his trip to Austin for the South by Southwest Conferences & Festivals this year and I had such a blast. I was left to my own devices and that "problem" was quickly resolved when I decided to purchase the film pass, which allowed me to watch unlimited number of films. Yay! In the span of 5 days I watched 10 independent films and felt really honoured to be among the first audience for these great films. More on that in a separate post. Austin is also famous for its BBQ and MEAT and we totally indulged ourselves to the point of overdosing. I'm convinced the servings are exceptionally generous here and I felt like I was bursting at the seams at every meal. So yeah my life was pretty unreal for about 5-6 days because all I did basically was watch films, eat and had great conversations. Okay, it was my birthday week after all and yes I had a really fun and awesome time :)
The crowd that had descended on Austin during this period numbered in the tens of thousands. The city was highly energized with people and sounds coming from all corners. In addition, you see people with large badges looking really important and busy everywhere. It felt a little overwhelming at first but soon enough I adjusted. I decided to get in the swing of things and adopted a curious spirit. I had a really pleasant surprise when I walked into a "street party" where the famous 6th Street was blocked off to traffic. Performers were doing their things at different corners and live music blasting from the pubs. Lots of things were going on at the same time and I was just thrilled to be in the middle of it. Some people sat comfortably by the roadside having a chat amidst the noise and others were selling hot dogs at the stands. It was simultaneously weird and exciting at the same time. Usually I am not one who thrive in a huge crowd and noise but this was such a lovely experience for me :)
Austin rocks!
People lining up for entry into one of the clubs where a famous band was going to perform. The line was longer than a block!
At 6th Street
Doggie came out to play too.
Ritz - one of the venues I frequented.
Imagine music blasting and this girl can really dance!
"Free hugs and music..."
Having a tête-à-tête amidst everything. Nice!
Cool instrument
It's all work AND play here.
One of the live bands. They were great!
The crowd that had descended on Austin during this period numbered in the tens of thousands. The city was highly energized with people and sounds coming from all corners. In addition, you see people with large badges looking really important and busy everywhere. It felt a little overwhelming at first but soon enough I adjusted. I decided to get in the swing of things and adopted a curious spirit. I had a really pleasant surprise when I walked into a "street party" where the famous 6th Street was blocked off to traffic. Performers were doing their things at different corners and live music blasting from the pubs. Lots of things were going on at the same time and I was just thrilled to be in the middle of it. Some people sat comfortably by the roadside having a chat amidst the noise and others were selling hot dogs at the stands. It was simultaneously weird and exciting at the same time. Usually I am not one who thrive in a huge crowd and noise but this was such a lovely experience for me :)
Austin rocks!
People lining up for entry into one of the clubs where a famous band was going to perform. The line was longer than a block!
At 6th Street
Doggie came out to play too.
Ritz - one of the venues I frequented.
Imagine music blasting and this girl can really dance!
"Free hugs and music..."
Having a tête-à-tête amidst everything. Nice!
Cool instrument
It's all work AND play here.
One of the live bands. They were great!