This was hands down the worst tour we have ever taken of an area. It was raining at the beginning of the tour and the guide failed to bring the cover for the pedicab. The tour guide spent a large portion of the tour pointing out Starbucks and restaurants. The rest of the tour was him reading street signs and making comments like "That's the court house, I knew a judge's daughter... she drank a lot...". And laughing to himself. We actually asked to end the tour early because it was painful to continue. We felt like we learned very little to nothing about downtown Austin except what tour to avoid ever taking again. We contacted the company directly to express this view and they ignored us.
Одговор домаћина
Dec 2018
Your tour guide was Richard who is a history buff that loves to talk to others about Austin's history. He's our best and most informative tour guide...and will often give an extra hour on the tour. I emailed him your review and here's his response-
I am shocked too & chagrined. It turned out there was no need for the canopy, since it was only slightly misting at first & soon quit even that altogether. I did the same tour that I always give, which is more than any other tour giver. First, I pointed out the turtles in Waller Creek, which I thought they found interesting. I pointed out that the creek was named after one of the founders of Austin (historical). Then I passed the North Door & mentioned Astronomy On Tap, which while not technically historical should be very interesting (& after all the Universe is the ultimate history!). Then down 6th St. where I pointed out the changing character of this side from hispanic to gentrified, & pointed out the Violet Crown bar, whose name is a reference to the bluebonnets which blanket the landscape in April & May. At this point the subject of the canopy came up. There was nobody at the shop to help me, & the precipitation (which again was minimal) was already dissipating, & I knew that would be 10-15 min., so I passed on installing that. Then we went by the Texas State Cemetery, & I pointed out the important dignitaries who were buried there (how can you get more historical than that!), &, as an aside, how in the back it's a great place to find some peace & quiet & lower your blood pressure 10 points. Then we went to the French Legation Museum, & I talked about the guy who was responsible for it & who may have had some questionable authenticity as a french ambassador (pure history). I talked about how the place was sold to a doctor in the latter part of the 19th century & is instructive as to how people lived back then. (They used water hauled from Barton Springs for refrigeration of wine & food. & the kitchen building had iron bars to shield the pantry which is up next to the ceiling to keep the help from helping themselves to the goods.) Then we went to 11th St. where I pointed out The Texas Music Museum & the African-American Community Center & the Victory Grill (pure history). We passed Franklin BBQ, which still had a line & I talked about how the line can be a 2 hr. wait & people start getting into it @ 6:00 in the morning. That might not be pure history, but it IS an essential part of Austin's character, & it certainly will be history one day, so they were witnessing history in the making. Then on to Red River where I started my spiel about downtown north-&-southbound streets being named after Texas rivers (Is this where they got talking about street signs?), & that they run in a rough geographical order corresponding to the layout of the state: Sabine, Red River, Neches, Trinity, San Jacinto (here I mentioned the battle of San Jacinto, which was situated on the river in Houston after which the battle was named--not Austin history, but still history), Colorado, Lavaca, Guadalupe, San Antonio, Nueces, Rio Grande. I also mentioned that the east-&-westbound streets used to be named after trees. That is technically Austin history. Turning onto Red River, I pointed toward the original Brick Oven outlet, & mentioned how it was the first to use wood-fired ovens. That's history. I passed Mohawk & 9th St. & talked about the guy who ran over a bunch of people during South By Southwest (they didn't seem to know what that was) & ruined it for everybody. Technically, that's Austin history. Went by the bars on the way to 6th St. & talked about their genres &/or lifestyles. Noted the homeless shelters nearby & remarked how it was crack central 1 block away from the police station. Maybe they took offense at that. Turned onto 6th St. & compared it to Bourbon & Beale Sts. Pointed out the various places like Esther's Follies, Vulcan's, Pete's Piano Bar, Museum Of The Weird, Maggie Mae's, The Jackalope, Alamo Drafthouse, how they make Austin's character, how Maggie Mae's once had the widest selection of beers on tap in town but how now that's routine in bars, how the Alamo Drafthouse originated the concept of dinner & drink while watching a movie, plus the story of the jackalope (which I grew up with in Idaho). I also talked about how the buildings made with limestone were 120+ years old & that some of them were used as brothels. (Pure Austin story). When we got to the Driskill hotel, I pointed out the bust of the namesake original owner & date of construction on top, mentioned it was Richardsonian architecture, & encouraged them to take a gander inside, which they did for an extended period time. Upon leaving, I pointed out the spot where horsedrawn carriages hang out & their rates.
After the Driskill, I proceeded to Congress Ave. Passing Jimmy John's, I related how eating one of their pickles helped with my muscle cramps, which although it's not technically history, it could still be valuable knowledge to anybody. Rounding the corner @ 6th & Congress, I recalled the experience I had early one morning when some grackles mobbed me. I tried to explain what they were, since they were unfamiliar with them. I recounted the story that I read this year about how they came from Mexico, & had followed the cattle trails back in the 1930s. (Again, pure history that few people know) At 6th & Congress, it was time to tie in the envoy from the French Legation (Saligny) to the "Pig War," which was a minor tiff between him, who at that time lived there, & a neighbor who owned some pigs that were digging up Saligny's grounds. Saligny threatened financial retaliation, & this escalated into the Republic Of Texas, which needed money, begging france for help & being rejected. Consequently, the Republic Of Texas was forced to turn to the U.S. for help & the subsequent union with it in 1845, ending Texas' independence. (That's Austin & Texas history intertwined.) Then it was time for Angelina Eberle & her statue & story. I gave the story as completely & succinctly as possible. Pure Austin history. Proceeding north on Congress, I pointed out The Hideout & the Paramount & State Theaters & talked about their history. They admired the First Citizens Bank building. I pointed out the Capitol Building, & mentioned the red light on top of the building at night, which calls something else to mind. Just a joke that most people appreciate. Then I showed them the Austin Metropolitan Club, where the old guard used to, & maybe still do, meet to discuss the affairs of the city. Again, history & behind-the-scenes politics that not too many people get a peek at. Now, we passed a Starbucks & I related the by-now-probably-stale joke about "Did you hear about the Starbucks they're going to build inside the bathroom of another Starbucks?", alluding to their ubiquity & presumably unavailable space for another one. That was the one & only time I mentioned that. Apparently, the customers thought it was a bad joke. I'll give them that. We passed the Swedish Emporium, & I noted it had a history & art gallery. I also talked about the Swedish presence in Austin, & told them about Swedish Hill across what's now the Interstate. Pure Austin history. Then I talked about the statue on top of the Capitol & how it was sculpted by Elizabeth Ney, described her as an independent character who still has a museum on 45th St. I told the story about the statue's refurbishing 20 years ago & how the state of Texas flubbed reinstalling it on the spindle that it's mounted on & how they had to call in the Mississippi National Guard to finish the job. I also mentioned that the Capitol was modeled after the U.S. Capitol & was larger than any other state capitol building & may even be taller than the U.S. Capitol. Then onto the General Land Office, where I described how it was instrumental in financing the construction of the Capitol. In particular, the sale of the XIT Ranch (millions of acres) in the Panhandle provided the most funds. I retold how O.Henry, the famous author, once worked there. Since they weren't familiar with him, I briefly synopsized his stories "The Gift Of The Magi" & "The Ransom Of Red Chief." I followed that with a little bio of how he had been jailed for embezzlement & while there he took up writing.
Moving on back to the Capitol after the General Land Office Building, I talked about how the stone used in its construction was quarried with prison labor, Convict Hill in Oak Hill being exhibit A. I pointed out the confederate statues & mentioned the recent controversy concerning them. Then I pointed out the Buffalo Soldiers monument, which was erected partly as a counterpoint to them. I mentioned that the barriers to vehicle entry to the grounds had been put up since 9/11. All of this counts as history, I would think. We then went by the Governor's Mansion & I told the story about Sam Houston & his child locking up the legislators--also about the arson 10 or so years ago, & the time I rode by the back entrance & witnessed a trooper holding an assault rifle for protection (pointing it to the ground!). I said I didn't think current governors were living there now. Then we went to The Cloak Room & I repeated the legend, apocryphal or not, of its being the meeting place for legislators & lobbyists. Crossing Lavaca, I pointed out the UT Tower & told its storied HISTORY, what with Whitman & the suicide jumper causing it to be closed to the public for 30 years, & how it's lit burnt orange for UT athletic victories. Going down Guadalupe, I passed the Travis County Courthouse & pointed out that the annex in the back was partly named after the judge whose daughter I knew. I thought this would show I was a bit of an "insider" myself & thus add to my credibility, but obviously I was wrong. Mentioning personal problems was to show we're all only human, because I loved her & still think about her. Then we passed the Austin History Center & I singled it out. How does that not count as Austin history?! I showed the old public library & talked about its namesake, John Henry Faulk. On the opposite side was the site of the last of the Austin Servant Girl murders, & I told that story--how it was the first documented case of a serial killer in the u.s. back in 1885, & it predated Jack The Ripper by 3 years & that, in fact, there is one theory that both phenomena were connected by a Malaysian cook who resided in both places, but that the prevailing theory is the one of the man, Nathan Elgin, who had a missing toe that matched the bloody imprints, & who was caught dragging a woman out of a bar in a similar vicious manner. I went by a loquat tree & tried to show its leaves, talked about their history & to look for them in April to get their tasty & tangy fruit, which often goes to waste. Then it was on to the old Lamar Blvd. location of Whole Foods where I talked about the Memorial Day floods which put that section of town under 10+ feet of water & how a dozen people perished during that event. I told about how the store used to have waves painted on the side to show high the water got in the '81 & '87 floods & how Austinites remember the moniker "Whole Floods." I explained that since then upstream projects had reduced the danger on Shoal Creek now. Then we went by Book People, Waterloo Records where authors & artists do signings on new releases, & the new Whole Foods store. Then we went to Treaty Oak, & I told its story. You can't get more Austin history than that. At this point, the customers relayed to me their desire to go in, so I bypassed the most beautiful building in Austin (in my opinion) @ 7th & Guadalupe, Willie Nelson, City Hall, the Bell Tower, the Bat Bridge & Rainey St., only briefly referring to them from afar, but pointing out the new public library, the site of the old Music Hall, the Warehouse District, Frost Bank & its exotic flowers on display in the lobby, & finally the O.Henry plaque & museum & the Susanna Dickinson house. I also wasn't able to go by Antone's & talk about it. If in all of this, they tried to ask me questions, & I ignored them I am not aware of it, & I'm sorry if I did. I really heard nothing from them at the time that was so critical as what they submitted to Groupon.
I pride myself on that & I don't think anyone does better.
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ЛГБТ пријатељске туре
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Уметност и култура
Виатор Плус
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