Houston

One can spend a lot of time traveling in Texas – after all it’s the 2nd biggest state in the US (following Alaska) and it would take 12 hours of nonstop driving to cross it from its Northern panhandle to its southern tip down by Mexico. The state rivals in its size France and Ukraine – two of the biggest European countries (following Russia, of course).

While Texas overall has a reputation of a very conservative, republican state, its major cities are quite cosmopolitan and, as it usually goes, more liberal than the countryside. Separated by hundreds of miles from each other although, each city has a very distinctive and unique character. Thus, Dallas is known for its glitz and glamour, Austin is the music-oriented, free-spirited mini version of San Francisco and Houston, perhaps surprisingly, is the most international city in the US, as well as a major petrochemical industry hub and a medical mecca.

As far as destination travel goes, Houston often flies under the radar. In part, I imagine, due to its extremely hot and humid summers, and, in part, due to its endless sprawl, rivaling that of LA and Phoenix that requires renting a car to visit its major attractions. The city has no zoning laws, and thus very few distinct neighborhoods, with most of the urban landscape presenting a random quilt of small and large business mixed with residential units in no particular order.

To avoid all the driving, this time around, Leiza and I decided to stay around Houston’s Museum District. We spent most of the weekend exploring on foot the art exhibits at and around the Museum of Fine Arts, Contemporary Art Museum, Lawndale Art Center, and Houston Museum of Natural Science – one of our favorites being its beautiful Faberge egg exhibit.

In between the museums, we strolled around Hermann park – one of the most popular public areas in the city, full of grand trees and expansive lawns, and a home to the Houston Zoo, an outdoor theater, and a man-made lake where one can enjoy boat paddling among ducks and swans.

While we skipped it this time, the Houston NASA space center from where all the space flight are controlled (how cool is that!) is a pretty fun place to visit, if you don’t mind the driving. As well as Galveston beaches (and lots of fresh seafood) are only an hour’s drive away. And while not exactly Florida (ok, not at all), if you ask me, laying on any beach is not a bad way to spend an afternoon.