Hit All the Highlights in Just 2 Hours!

Noel and I (Samantha) are usually busy giving food tours in Colorado all year long, but recently we had the opportunity to explore the colorful city of Austin, TX. We were there for the fourth annual Global Food Tourism Conference where we got to rub shoulders with nearly 150 other food tour professionals from around the world. After eight years in the industry, we are really excited to see so much growth. Every year, more and more people are taking food tours of their own community and those they visit. That means people love eating and drinking, just like us!

The first thing we did after booking our hotel and airline tickets was research local tours to maximize our time and see the most we could possibly see. We came upon a company called Austin Detours that offers a variety of food tours, drink tours, and sightseeing adventures.

Given our tight schedule, we opted for The Real Austin Tour, a two-hour van tour of some of the city’s highlights. A few of stops we got to check out for ourselves, including the historic Texas State Capitol building (which was designed by the same architect as the guy who designed the Colorado State Capitol here in Denver!). They call it the “bucket list tour” as it’s the most comprehensive tour done in a short amount of time.

Our tour guide was Steven, a comedian and entertainer who was full of stories (and jokes) about his beloved hometown. We even heard that Steven was recently named “Mr. Austin.” Good job, Steven! We met our guide along with our other tour mates at the Austin Visitor Center, which was in walking distance of our hotel.

Here’s some of the things Steven took us to see and explore:

• Texas State Capitol including an inside tour
• University of TX at Austin
• Rainey Street
• The original Whole Foods building
• The Treaty Oak, last surviving member of the Council Oaks
• Graffiti Park at Castle Hills
• Greetings from Austin Postcard Mural

And to satisfy the foodies among us…

Since no tour would be complete without some food, we also made a pit-stop at the popular food truck Bananarchy were we got our choice of frozen bananas dipped in vanilla and graham cracker or peanut butter and Oreo. I chose the chocolate, of course!

Thank you to Austin Detours for showing us around! We welcome you to come visit us when you’re in Colorado next!

At Rocky Mountain Food Tours, we curate delicious food and drink tours in Colorado Springs and southern Colorado. We are proud to work with the best local restaurants and food shops as well as be a member of the Global Food Tourism Association. Come explore with us!

Cheers, Your Rocky Mountain Food Tours Team

(So, what’s a food tour, anyway…?)

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