Ashley's Wanderlust

And thus, the adventure comes to an end. At least for this semester. Will I continue this blog? Will I not? We may never know. Although, I must summarize my blogging experience for thy reader.

There’s more I wish I could have improved on this blog. One destination I was eager to go to was Fredericksburg and even Waco, but simply got caught up with everyday activities and even friend drama. I wished to have shown you more cities rather than continuously going back to Austin. I promoted these posts as usual, although, I could have followed more people on Twitter to actually get more people to notice my blog instead of hoping for the best. My best experience with this semester-long assignment was taking my foreign friends out to places! It made it 10x more fun and I never regretted it. This experience benefits my future, truthfully, by showing any place, building, event, or even food truck can be included in a travel experience. Learning how to create content and update this blog regularly will be implemented in my future technology skills for a further career down the road.

But the big question is, was this blog a success? Let’s check the data and stats, shall we?

My last week (5/3-5/10) was definitely the most popular week for this cutesy blog of mine. It may have involved me building the courage to ask my fellow friends and peers to see the finalization of my blog (and maybe some reassurance as well.) It received in total 63 views among 19 visitors. Oh how adore my friends. My most popular post was my first post- Austin: Sixth Street. No shocker there though, as I kept it as my featured post throughout the semester and always showed up first in the home page. That page alone received 13 views, how brilliant!

Some fun facts I noticed skimming through my data was the locations of some viewers. A majority was the US (but went from California, to Chicago, and maybe even to the East coast), but also seen in Canada and Singapore! That’s two continents, baby! Some extra neat facts was I received three likes, four comments, and even an extra follower. Not bad for a newbie!

Lastly, big shout out to those who took the time to skim my social medias. Specifically my Twitter and Instagram, y’all are true pals.

This blog has been an exciting and delightful to engage in. Massive thanks to my lab teacher for dealing with my foolery and to my professor being a great example.

Cheers to all FDOM students! We did it! We made it to the end, even if it was online!

Remember, stay cute and have a grand day!

Welcome back to the fifth round of my travels. I thank thee for being my companion. Unfortunately, a tragedy struck nationally. The Coronavirus sneaked its way into Texas and restricted all for us to stay home (don’t forget to wash your hands, too.) But right before this struck, I managed to snag a few friends and explore downtown. Originally I wanted to show my cute French pals a cute French brunch place, but, we went to Austin THE DAY their mayor allowed restaurants to only allow takeout.

So three Frenchies and a American walked among South Congress. We’re strolling, a bit sad, but enjoying the window shopping. But still hungry, we went searching for anything to allow us to sit down and eat. Found Gourdough’s was still opened and grubbed a bit there. Our sweet tooth satisfied, we still wanted to see what we can do while in the city.

We decided to go to the Butler Metro Park and walk among the trail right next to the Colorado River, a beautiful sight. We found an opening parking garage that I should’ve paid for, but, being unattended sneaked right in. Walking past the Palmers Event Center, we did watch a guy hit a curb roughly and pop a tire. Tragic. We resume our walk towards the park.

But wait. It’s a local hot spot for outdoor exercising. This is where it spices up a bit.

BOOM.

Protruding abs and voluptuous figures are everywhere. Sweat glistening on their chests. Gorgeous women squatting with their weight balls. Whoever you like, whatever you are fond of, trust me, the river isn’t the only view. Austin is filled with beauties.

We did feel a bit out of place, dressed in our casual outfits, but multiple families were out and about walking together. There was an occasionally city dweller walking their cute doggos as well.

So there you have it folks. My adventure in Austin before the virus made us isolate ourselves. In this particular situation, the money I only spent was gas and my delicious doughnut from the food truck. Although, besides the lovely distractions of fit people who seem to have their physique together, Butler Metro Park was very exquisite. You can read more about it here!

Remember, stay cute, have a grand day, and wash your hands!

Greetings and salutations, as you’ve arrived in time for the fourth round of wondrous traveling. This day features my lovely friend and coworker, Nikki. We’re taking it bit a back and exploring downtown overall, instead of a small sector of the city.

My dearest friend lives in South Austin and wanted to spend a day closer to downtown. Fair warning: all we did was eat throughout the day.

We first started our day with brunch. It was called Elizabeth Street Cafe, off of South 1st street, which is a combination of french and Vietnamese food. It’s in a cute renovated house too, the aesthetic screams adorable. It wasn’t too expensive, dropped around $30 for my Banh Mi and Jasmine tea. We then got some bakery goods to satisfy our sweet tooth at a cute bakery around the corner at La Patisserie, an idyllic French bakery. Spent only $5 here for a pistachio croissant and iced coffee.

We then too a bit of break, visited the public Austin library and browsed all the floors including their roof garden before we went back home to chill and watch movies. But as said, this post is very foodie, because naturally dinner came around which required a brush up of our makeup before we headed off.

We went downtown, craving Italian and spent 20 minutes in traffic while struggling to find parking as well. Eventually we searched through all Google’s recommendations and settle with North Italia, a buzzy, modern Italian restaurant. It was fancy, I mean like FANCY, so being broke college students we split a 12 inch pizza and order their drink specials. I spent an additional $30 here as well. Following, we walked around, observing the city folk and cute doggies being walked, before we realized we wanted something sweet. Nikki knew exactly where to go, and so we headed back over near South Congress and devoured in Gourdough’s, a doughnut food truck. It was super cute while being outdoors, matched with fairy lights in hopes to distract the calorie intake that is about to go down. I spent around $8 here, which yes, is a bit pricey for a doughnut. But you don’t understand, these doughnuts are MASSIVE.

Overall, this post is definitely more about the food options you can find in Austin. Austin contains so many foodie options, it’s practically heaven. From bakeries, to food truck, to expensive -but worth it- restaurants, there’s many options to choose from. If seeking more recommendations rather than my own, check out the Ultimate eating guide.

Remember, stay cute and have a grand day!

Hello, the Earth and I greet you today! Instead of exploring among central Texas today, I’m going to review a local Austinite blogger who has inspired me! Her name is Shelby Sorrel, living in Austin as previously mentioned. When not interacting with folks online, she works as a social media strategist for a top culinary company. Props to her!

In her blog, there’s a variety of content. There’s travel, food + drink, lifestyles, and others! We love a woman who engages in other topics. Within the subtopics, you engage and travel among where she’s attended or explored – whether if it was within Austin or out of the country! I especially enjoy that there’s no limitations to her blog. One specific post she has is simply showing the prices and locations of hotels that allow pool passes, how neat is that? To be honest, I wasn’t even aware that was a thing among Austin hotel pools.

So, her blog rating? 10/10 all the way! Shelby is the perfect online tour guide for restaurants and destinations among Austin, but as well other locations! Simply dive into her blog to see her recommendations of products, her international tour travels, and much more! You simply won’t regret it! You can look at her blog and engage with her on her instagram @shelbysorrel.

Remember, stay cute and have a grand day!

Hello! Welcome back to my third round of adventures. Today, I’ll be guiding y’all for a free hidden gem within San Antonio, as well as a popular shopping center near downtown. The Japanese Tea Garden is located near the San Antonio zoo, and it’s one of the more popular among the San Antonio Parks. It’s north of the Pearl, a popular shopping area in North San Antonio. If you want to see more parks, Brackenridge and the San Antonio Botanical garden are right around the corner.

Going into the Japanese Tea Garden was a bit difficult because the connecting street was under construction, so my mother, sister and I had to park down the road and walked. Walking towards it, the park was a bit smaller than we had realized. But overall, it was cute and simple. Several koi ponds and Japanese inspired architecture in the walkways. They have a little cafe called Jingu House that has oriental snacks, sake, and bubble tea. We spent an equivalent of an hour and a half walking around and taking our time browsing the scenary.

After walking the garden, we still had the afternoon sun out. Driving eight miles north, we decided to shop at the Alamo Quarry Market and grab some lunch. This location has history of being a cement factory and left abandoned, but luckily, was remodeled into the market area we all enjoy! They mainly had common franchised stores, from Michael’s, to Nordstrom’s, to Whole Foods. Quite the selection!

Overall, these two locations are lovely. The garden was free and if you have extra spare change hanging around, you can go check out the clearance racks among the plentiful stores. The areas are family-friendly and are inexpensive unless your shopping taste is expensive. You can check out the website for the garden here, and pre-plan your damage to which stores here.

Remember, stay cute and have a grand day!

Welcome back to the second round of my travels. Today, I’ll be guiding to a secret, cute, hidden hot spot within New Braunfels, New Braunfels is located about 16 miles south of San Marcos, where I reside and attend university. This historic district was revamped after a UT student came across the historical buildings while floating down the river, and decided to create a popular tourism spot. In this particular day, I decided I would show my friend Dorothee, an international exchange student from German, to give her a little insight on how New Braunfels is heavily influenced with German culture.

We decide to go for a late lunch and walk around the area whilst browsing the shops. We ate at the Gristmill, a restaurant located right next to the Guadalupe river. Funny, I ordered the country fried chicken while she ordered the country fried steak to compare which one was better.

With our tummies full, we proceeded to browse the Gruene Antique Company filled with vintage delights! Closely following and needing a boost, we walked over to the Gruene coffee house, desiring a caffeine taste. We browsed the Got Toy store and Gruene Hat Company before concluding the end of our afternoon.

In conclusion, the day trip and afternoon spent within this district was an overall great experience! I spent no more than $25 in food, and simply saved money window shopping. You may want to save a couple extra bulks if you do seek a thrift find within in the antique store. I found $15 100% cashmere scarves. What a deal! There’s plenty of stores and event that occurs, especially in the Gruene Hall. You can always check their website to look up their next musical guests or wine tasting events. It surely will be worth it! This area is also family-friendly, so any ages can indulge in the beauty of this hidden gem.

Remember, stay cute and have a grand day!

How do you do?

I’m Ashley Fajardo, a third year student at Texas State University majoring in Public Relations. Let me present to you my upcoming project,

Welcome to the wondrous travels of Central Texas, where I plan to take you alongside as a travel companion! From Austin to San Antonio, I will guide and share my journey of playing a tourist. I plan to visit cafes, museums, tourist attractions, restaurants, and multiple destinations that are appealing to an outside traveler. I’ll share the experiences, prices, and any other details to these excursions. It’ll be exciting and I’m glad I’ll have you the fellow blog reader, engage in these moments. Stick around and see what Central Texas has to offer.

Follow for updates of post via Twitter @ashleyftxst