Dealing with "Nature" at UT games

This is going to be a pretty "targeted" post as it only applies to some 85,000 or so folks who find themselves on The University of Texas campus on certain Saturdays in the fall.

Let's say you drove up to Austin for a college football game. Kick-off is at 6:00 and you're making your way across campus at 2:00. Or, you just might be hanging east of DKR, tailgating with some friends and enjoying a cold Shiner. A funny grumble in your stomach signals that not all is well "below". Your closest option is a stinky port-a-potty with a slow moving line. Maybe you're right in the middle of campus and don't know which way to turn. You could "fake it 'til you make it" and wait until you get into the stadium (and take your chances with a stadium bathroom). Are there better options on campus?

Nine years as season ticket holders and plenty of additional game experience has led us to some of the better bathroom options on the UT campus. These bathrooms usually tend to be cleaner and uncrowded. In no particular order...

1. Main Building - Entering by the UGL, you can walk to the center of the building and find clean and usually quiet bathrooms. Particularly nice if your morning breakfast is going to require a longer visit.
2. Perry Castaneda Library - Options on each floor. The first floor is usually fine but more frequented. Another option is the Undergraduate Library.
3. The Union - The Union is pretty barren on gamedays so there are never any lines. Bathrooms are on the second floor when entering from the west mall.
4. Harry Ransom Center - Museums normally have clean and well-mainted bathrooms... the HRC is no different.
5. Art Building and Museum - The closest option to the north side of the stadium and typically barren. Walk into the main entrance and turn left. Where else can you ponder the glory of the Gutenberg Bible while taking care of business?
6. School of Social Work Building - This one is favored by those tailgating in the higher dollar Longhorn Foundation tailgating spots. Usually someone will have wedged open a door so you can get it. Gets busier as the day goes on and the beer disappears.

Not recommended...? I would pass on the Texas Exes Center - Tons of people and very cramped quarters. Yeah, they "renovated" the bathrooms but I wouldn't sit down and take my time in there. Only a good option for a quick pit stop when in the Exes Center.

I like Doors, I like Windows

I like doors, I like windows, I like doors and windows and people standing in front of doors, leaning out their windows, hanging out in the street by a door or the bicycle they used to get to that door. If it's a door, or a window or an interesting part of a door or window, it's a target for my camera.

An elegant knocker in Paris, France

The charm of Plaza Dorrego in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Detail of a lock in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Ice Cream Shop in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico

Lottery Ticket Vendor in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

18th Century Restaurant in Vieux Montreal, Canada

A watery front door in Venice, Italy

A Victorian Door Latch in Cardinal, Ontario

Scene from the old Jewish Ghetto in Rome, Italy

A colorful window off of Portobello Road in London, England

The decaying walls of Villa Torlonia in Rome, Italy

A San Telmo delivery made in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The late afternoon sun in Rome, Italy

First Football Game of the Year in Austin

We headed to Austin this past weekend to watch our beloved Horns take on the typically beatable Arkansas State Indians. While I can say that the game was ugly and downright not that enjoyable, at least we won. The team better get to work before TCU comes to town.

Anyway, we had originally planned on staying only on Saturday night but we changed our mind at the last second and included Friday night in our plans. This made for some interesting shuffling around since we booked our lodging with Priceline. That left us with good news, bad news and good news. The good news was that Priceline booked us for both nights without a hitch. The bad news, since we booked about two weeks apart, was that we would stay in two different hotels. The good news was landing the Hyatt and the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental for $100 each.

We've stayed at both hotels and either is a great Austin option. My bids on Priceline were $100 for a four-star hotel in downtown Austin (in case you wanted to know how much we bid to get accepted.) Could we have gone for less? Probably but time was of the essence.

The Stephen F. Austin is located on the corner of Congress and 7th - within easy walking distance to 6th street, the warehouse district and even the 2nd street district. We got a good-sized room with a queen bed. It was bigger than the standard room you might land when making a regular reservation as it had a little seating area with a sofa/coffee table and a desk. We were on the third floor which made the rest of the hotel accessible but we could hear the Congress street terrace late at night (even though we crashed at 1:00). For dinner, we went to Roaring Fork - excellent food, as always, even if the service was somewhat spotty.

Looking across Town Lake to the Hyatt Regency

The next night, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency on Town Lake. Another great location... just a two minute drive from South Congress, walking distance to the Congress Street bridge (if bats are your thing) with great views of downtown. The Hyatt refurbished their rooms a couple of years ago and they're much nicer. The standard Texana theme has been replaced with a sleek and modern theme including Samsung LCD TVs, dark woods and nice modern touches all around.

From Barkitecture.com

On Sunday we ate breakfast at the 2nd street location of Jo's Coffee (a spin-off from the original South Congress location). Sitting outside has a very European feel - mid-rise residential housing on top of retail with a good vibe and buzz on the street. It's very relaxing and you just feel like hanging around outdoors with nothing to do but drink coffee and peoplewatch. Within reaching distance are restaurants like Taverna, CRU Wine Bar and the always delicious Paciugo. You've got to hit Paciugo for great gelato. Two of the best home stores in the area are The Home Retreat (where we found a great clock for our refurbished study) and Mercury Design Studio. Both places that make it easy to drop some cash. There are probably a dozen boutiques and much more. Call it a mini-version of Houston's midtown.

Oh yeah... and course, you know we didn't hit the Austin area without checking out the outlets in San Marcos. We made a quick run on Saturday morning before heading to campus for the game.

All in all, a good trip... some pretty ugly football but a nice long Labor Day weekend.

Great Bites in Rome

We have some friends who are heading to Rome in the next few months and they'd asked for various recommendations, including where to eat while in Rome. Here are three restaurants that I recommended (and one that just came to mind):

Da Giggetto - This is a Roman institution, located in the old Jewish ghetto in the shadow of the portico D'Ottavia. Great Roman food with some emphasis on Jewish specialities like artichokes. The cacio e pepe is delicious.

La Taverna Degli Amici - I've eaten here over the years... on business trips and during our honeymoon. It's a terribly romantic location - tucked into a small little piazza on the edge of the Jewish ghetto, right next to an old medieval tower. If you can, try to score an outside table. - it may have changed names but it's the same location. A romantic spot.

La Cicala e la Formica - A cute little restaurant located in the Monti area of Rome. Seating is somewhat limited but the food is excellent. Check the menu - if they have dishes with truffles, give them a shot. It's an acquired taste but, once you like truffles, you'll love them. Another place we visited on our honeymoon.

Frontoni - A great tavola calda where you can get delicious pizza (really delicious) made your way "al modo mio", suppli', olive ascolane and other easy-to-eat favorites. We usually meet up my uncle here for the pizza. It's located in Trastevere at Viale Trastevere 52. Next door is a little gelato shop. From there, you can walk deeper into Trastevere.

Scottsdale's Valley Ho

Yet another hip 1950s hotel has received a great makeover and restored to it's mid-century glory. The Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, AZ reopened in December of 2005 after a massive restoration. Rooms, a new spa and all the common areas include classic modern touches. An old-school Trader Vic's is also on-site for those who need their tiki fix. Rates vary from room-to-room. A quick check of a sample itinerary for a three-night weekend in October showed rates starting at $299.00/night. A little pricey but perhaps perfect for a long weekend getaway.

Fires in Greece

Wow. what's been happening in Greece is terrible...

New Hotel Addition

My wife found an old itinerary from one of my business trips to Europe. Listed in the itinerary was a hotel that I really enjoyed but couldn't seem to remember its name. Well, I found it so I added a link to the right... Hotel Pierre in Milano. I'll never forget how my Italian colleague said that the hotel was so nice, that Simple Minds would stay there. That cracked me up.