Driskill post-renovation

But to me, the best time to visit the Driskill is during the Christmas season. And this Thursday night, the Driskill is kicking off their “12 Days of Driskill” holiday, as well as their 125th year celebration with what sounds like a fantastic event.

This Thursday, Dec. 1, the Driskill will be providing free entertainment in the lobby as part of their traditional tree lighting ceremony (starting at 6 p.m.)  by musicians that include Ruby Jane (6:45 p.m.). All visitors will be offered sweet and savory holiday treats from the 1886 Cafe & Bakery, apple cider, hot chocolate and coffee. Immediately after the tree lighting, there will be passed birthday cake and champagne.

Photo of Driskill provided by the hotel

Starting at 7:15, Dale Watson will perform on the Driskill Stage in the upper lobby. Other musicians taking part include Betty Soo at 8:20 p.m. and Sahara Smith at 9:20 p.m., among others.

The Driskill first opened for business on December 20, 1886 by Cattle Baron Jessie Driskill. One of the oldest historic buildings in the state, it was a favorite of President Lyndon Johnson who held many election night events at The Driskill and where he took the future Lady Bird Johnson on their first date. To read more about the hotel’s history, check out their historic timeline.

When we arrived, the folks at the front desk invited us to head down to the Back Porch for a complimentary happy hour of wine or beer. We felt like we won the lottery, especially since we hung out on the porch watching the sun go down, but apparently this is something they offer everyday for guests.

Back Porch at Lakeway Resort

We chatted with some other folks who were in from out of town — we were the only ones from Austin, and everyone else we met was from Houston and Dallas. There were families, couples, and other groups of girlfriends, and most were there just to enjoy the resort itself.

Sunset at Lakeway

I had tried Josey’s restaurant at the Spa and Resort before (photos and recap of a blogger event from MisoHungry here), so in the interest of trying something new, we made a reservation at Artisan Bistro. Recommended by my friend and colleague Francois as his favorite French restaurant in the Austin area, Artisan has been on my “to try” list for quite a while.

And since it was “girls night” and we had brought bottles of wine to enjoy in our room, we were thrilled when the staff at Lakeway offered us complimentary rides both to and from the restaurant.

Mussels and Frites at Artisan Bistro

Due to all the wine, I’m not able to really give an opinion of Artisan, but I do remember enjoying everything I tried, and being provided with great service by all of the staff and owners. I’ll definitely have to go again with Adam.

The next morning, we put on our bathing suits and headed out to the gorgeous pool area. The pool alone is a great reason to stay here!

Pool tiers

The temperature outside was in the 70s and sunny (in November), so we could have swam in one of the big pools, but instead we soaked in the hot tub and read wedding magazines while gazing out onto Lake Travis. It was just lovely.

Flipping through wedding mags and hot tubbing = happiness

While our room was on the house, according to the website, it would have cost about $176 with tax, and the prices go up from there. However, they have lots of specials, especially for those who book more than one night.

However, for me, the room wasn’t a highlight. While the hotel is under new management, it has been around for a while, and the rooms show its age — mostly in the bathroom, which also lacked a fan. I didn’t get a chance to tour the more higher end rooms on the property, so I can’t speak to anything but our own experience.

If you live in or near Lakeway, Josey’s restaurant offers a three course prix fixe dinner with a focus on local ingredients for just $25 every Wednesday. And if you haven’t yet made plans, they are also serving a Thanksgiving brunch.

We ate our way through Bruges, and almost everywhere we stopped, Adam stuck a candle in whatever we were sampling and lit it. I got to make lots of wishes that day! Here we are at da Vinci Gelateria.

Da Vinci Ice Cream

Next stop was for frites at the Belfry (or Belfort). Both Adam and I were underwhelmed by the fried potatoes in Belgium, which was a bit disappointing. The dipping sauces, however, were amazing.

Belgian Frites under Bruges Belfort

We had a lot of wonderful chocolate while we were in Europe, but the best chocolate experience for me by far was the hot chocolate at De Proeverie tearoom in Bruges. It was even better than the famous Angelina, where we went just after we got engaged, in Paris.

Best Hot Chocolate at De Proeverie

When they found out it was my birthday, a kind employee at The Chocolate Line gave me and Adam two chocolate pralines (with caramel) to take with us.

Pralines at the Chocolate Line

That night, we went with our tour group to Cambrinus, a slightly touristy restaurant with a beer menu that was longer and heavier than my college yearbook. All of the beers I ordered there were lovely. However, the food left something to be desired so overall, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Orval Beer at Cambrinus

There are hundreds of chocolate shops in Bruges, and the next day we stopped off at Dumon for some samples.

Chocolatier Dumon

To work off some of the calories, we took a guided bike tour to a nearby town – Damme. There, we stopped at Damse Poort for some amazing waffles and beer.

Waffles at Damse Poort in Damme

The lovely local beer. For those with low tolerance, beware the Belgium beers. They are a meal in themselves though!

Maerlant beer from Damme

To reward ourselves for biking to Damme and back, we celebrated with half glasses of De Garre’s house beer and cheese. It’s an extremely old bar, one of the oldest in Bruges — meaning its been open and serving for centuries on end.

de Garre

We couldn’t leave Belgium without ordering mussels, and while these are attractive, they were small and grainy and not very flavorful. What can I say? Eating in new/touristy towns can be hit or miss.

Sub-par mussels (but cool shot, Adam!)

For more photos of our two days in Belgium, click here and here.

Related:

• Austin Post: Jodi Bart Wins the Whole Foods Foodie Fantasy Contest
• Le Fantasme Foodie Commence!
• A Paris Engagement
• M. Chapoutier Vineyard Tour and Tasting
• Insider’s Tour of French Cheese Culture
• European Trip: Things we wanted to Google

The barn

These are really nice farm apartments (with full kitchen) that you can rent for the weekend.

Montesino Farm Studios

I was hanging out in their outdoor kitchen/bar area when the Montesino herd of Miniature Herefords came by for a snack. They looked huge to me. I later learned that while these cattle are 2/3 the size of regular Herefords, they eat 1/3 the food. When their time has come, they are taken to Harvest House in Johnson City to be killed humanely.

Miniature Hereford cow

This is Melody and David taking our group around the farm. Before Melody started farming, she had been working as a florist. Coming home from her first full day on the farm, she told her mom,

“I’m tired, my body hurts, I’m filthy, I smell like fish guts, and I love it.”

David has worked in agriculture and farming since he was 20, and he is now 34.

Farmers Melody and David

They told us horror stories about drought, flooding, sudden freezes, and other weather challenges. Melody says, “I’m glad I started my career in farming in Texas, there are more pests here than anywhere. If I can do it here, I can do it anywhere.”

Protected crops from the freeze

Their advice for future farmers? “Grow fruit. Everyone wants fruit.”

Later on, it was time for the barn dance! I chatted for a while with Scott, the owner of Montesino Farm and Ranch.

Scott of Montesino Farm & Ranch

And then it was time to enjoy delicious gumbo and pumpkin-pecan pie from the Leaning Pear, and of course, dance!

Beautiful barn dance

One of the bands we danced to was Sour Bridges, and they had the crowd dancing non-stop. It was such a magical, relaxing, and fun day.

Related Link:

• Tasty Tuesdays: Best Wedding Venues in Central Texas

While Adam and I were on our over two week vacation in Europe this September, we decided not to deal with paying for international calls and data charges so we put my iPhone in airplane mode. I’ll write a separate post later on how you can use your smartphone abroad without incurring extra charges, but for now, just know that we rarely had access to the web while we were away.

The thing we missed most was Google, followed closely by email, the mapping app, and Yelp. So, we created a list of things we wanted to Google when we came home. And here it is. Mostly for us, but you may find it interesting (on various levels) also.

Berlin
Entrements
Indian Tonic
Dehydration urine
Spandau Ballet
History Currywurst
Brandenburger Tor Berlin Wall
Post-war division Germany
Dogs Germany
Berlin Wall Gallery artists and organization
Men kissing Berlin Wall East Side Gallery

Amsterdam
Yoko and John Yoko and John curled up picture day he was murdered
Restaurant Anna Red Light
XXX Amsterdam sign
Amsterdam oldest church prostitution
Mariska PIC
History Prostitution Amsterdam
History Drugs Amsterdam
Numbers windows Amsterdam Red Light
Amsterdam swans
Hebrew monument Amsterdam
Calvinist
Dutch cheeses
Rijstaffel
History coffee shops Amsterdam
How did Theo Van Gogh die
Sid Lee
blauw
Netherlands most bicycles per capita
Netherlands miniature horses ponies

Bruges or Brugge (Belgium)
Cows lie down rain
young cheese old cheese low countries
De Garre history
Eglantine
Mirabelle

Paris
Pay bathrooms culture Europe
No toilet men’s bathrooms Europe
Maruice Raval
Au Bon Marche or Le Bon Marche Paris
U.S. cheese laws
benefits raw milk cheese
how many Whole Foods stores
Pascal Beillevaire
Warm milk cheese making process
Modern cheese shop no counter climate control
Meilleur Ouvrier France
Fete des Jardins
Jardin des Tuileries
Pont des Arts

Provence
Trees in Avignon
Difference between Port and Tawny Port
charcuterie
History of French or France in Texas
Rock formation Vaison-la-Romaine
Truffles kinds regions
chocolate truffle vs. chocolate praline
wine less expensive water France
Summer truffle fall truffle winter truffle black truffle
White truffle Italy
Hammers carved Pont du Gard
digestive reason cheese end of meal
Master of the House lyrics Les Miserables
Dog culture dog training France
Rocks Marquis de Sade chateau
France zone artisinal
Arbouse tree fruit digestif
La Occitane meaning
difference between petanque bocce ball
men only play petanque
How calanques Cassis formed
Why so many carousels France
Cassis town cassis fruit
French baguettes boulangerie Saturday night
History bidet why not in French hotel bathrooms

So that’s how our crazy minds work.

Related:

• Austin Post: Jodi Bart Wins the Whole Foods Foodie Fantasy Contest
• Le Fantasme Foodie Commence!
• M. Chapoutier Vineyard Tour and Tasting
• Insider’s Tour of French Cheese Culture