Snapshots of Galveston, TX // February 2016

Today I'm writing you from beautiful Georgia! However, I'm posting about Texas ... so let's get to it! :)

On our way to Houston, we visited Kira from The Retro Dorothy near Dallas, and then we decided... why not go all the way out to the coast first?! So we did.

I don't really know why Galveston wasn't on my radar before now, but holy cow. What a beautiful old city! It's right on the gulf and has lovely beaches and views. It has a historic downtown for shopping and eating. It also has some of the most beautiful and absolutely GIGANTIC Victorian homes. As usual we did a little shopping and eating, etc. I'll share the details below!

Eat: Rudy & Paco. Be prepared though, this is an upscale place. We glanced at the menu before going in, and were definitely under dressed. It wasn't a huge deal. KC had a button down, and I was wearing a chambray dress, but if you're going for dinner you may want to be a little bit more formal! We laughed so hard (internally!). Hehe everyone who worked there was super nice, and the food was AMAZING.  You should definitely go. Perhaps at lunch, or sitting at the bar you wouldn't need to be more dressed up. I'm sure we got a sneer or two from young professionals... but that really didn't matter to me. We had a great time, and really enjoyed the dinner that had a Central American flare to it. I got Pelo de Angel, and KC got Vuelva a la Vida. We even had dessert, a molten cake - KC's favorite! Also, this is the kind of place that has low lighting and a vintage interior. The music is croony and sweet. It was perfect. We also went to Mosquito Cafe. It was recommended online and by people we know, and it just didn't do it for me. My breakfast was the veggie of the day omelete... which was shredded carrots and zucchini. It was also very well done as far as how it was cooked. The apple salad sounded great, but it had a sweet taste but the sauce was mayonnaise or something. Not my jam. KC said his was just ok as well. Maybe it was a fluke and they were just busy. Not sure! The pastries looked really good... but we wanted a sit-down meal. The patio was lovely! So... make your own judgment on that one!

See: The gulf! The Victorian homes! The Strand and it's shops. Visit the candy shop to see live taffy pulling. (I know everyone and their brother has seen live taffy pulling... and is over it... but I hadn't! So I thought it was cool!) The colorful walls! The cutest store EVER! The Kitchen Chick. :) 

Shop: Walk down the strand and visit the shops. Some are more touristy than others. I really enjoyed the taffy pulling at the candy shop. As well as the store, NAME...? We visited The Kitchen Chick - which was just a few blocks from the strand. It was THE CUTEST KITCHEN STORE EVER! Everything was adorable, we bought another silpat mat for our kitchen. If you like vintage things, kitchen items, or food... this is the place to visit. They also do cooking classes. The owner was really sweet as well. Definitely take a few moments to shop around! :)

Do: Shop, eat, visit the beach. There is a pier there as well, you have to pay to enter. But it has rides, etc. inside. We were only there for one day and didn't feel the price was worth it for us. It's just not quite our thing. But if it is your thing, it's there. I would have loved to visit The Galveston Railroad museum. I know that sounds funny, but they have these lovely remnants of how the cars, meals, etc. used to look. And they set it out for you to walk through the past. So interesting and lovely. We didn't have time, but if we go back someday, that's definitely on my list!

Favorites: The Kitchen Chick (clearly...), Rudy & Paco!, and being by the water.

New Experiences: Plantain chips, chimichurri sauce, unknowingly walking into an upscale restaurant, ... not caring about what people thought that we walked into said restaurant, seeing taffy pulled and wrapped, seeing the huge Victorian homes (I've seen some before... but never that enormous!).

Has anyone else been to Galveston?

Have you ever walked into a fancy restaurant without knowing it? - if so, how did it go?

I clearly *had* to do the mermaid/sailor cutout pic. Too fun! :P 

More Posts From This Trip: Snapshots of Road to Houston, Snapshots of Houston Day 1 & Day 2, and Snapshots of the Road Home from Houston.

We also visited Texas (Ft. Worth, Austin, Corpus Christi, Kyle, and San Antonio) in 2012. And in 2013 we visited Garland and Amarillo. But we've never been to "East Texis" - as Sheldon Cooper would say. So we had lots of fun exploring this area! A mini gulf trip!

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Happy Travels!

Alexandra