Orbit in Houston

Go to the Menil collection!

Also, if anyone wants to join me for a drink in the evening (after 8pm on all 3 days), let me know.

there are other threads about Houston, but i'll repeat a bit of what i've said there here.

I haven't been to the part of the city (Post Oak) that you're going to, but it's supposed to have lots of nice houses (this is the rich, residential area of town). the Johnson center is definitely a worthwhile trip for a couple of hours on top of the drive time, but it's not super-enthralling, and I'd rather see the city itself if i had limited time.

if I had one day, I would go to the Menil Collection, a national or even world class private collection museum housed in a piece of serious contemporary architecture, then head (you can take the bus along Bissonnet) to Goode Co. for a real texas barbecue lunch. afterwards, check out Rice University and Hermann Park (you can take a longish walk through these from Goode Co), checking out the garden area in the latter, and, if you have some extra time, visit the quality, fun museum of natural science or the art museum (MFA), which has a real, solid collection, but might be most interesting for the traveling exhibitions. have dinner at the local and feminine mediterranean-accented T'afia in midtown (the ensemble/hcc stop on the trolley). afterwards, head (take the trolley) up to mostly-empty downtown and check out the arts center area. if you don't want to spend money on good theatre/opera/ballet, or head across downtown to the (supposedly very nice) new baseball stadium, check out the nighttime outdoor tejano concert (a comparatively big scene) at Jones Plaza. if you're still not done, have a drink at the (cab-distance) West Alabama Icehouse, a local institution.

also in the food dept - Cafe Annie, a haute Mexican in the neighborhood you'll be in, is supposed to be the best place in town or even the state. for some serious Southern-accented breakfast/coffee, and a nice buppyish scene, check out the Breakfast Klub next to T'afia.

the trolley costs like $1.25 for a ticket that lasts 24 hrs. i have ridden it probably 10 times, and never seen a person who would take my ticket.

Great suggestions! It's always amazming (but no longer surprising) that affluent areas of cities don't allow public transit to connect to them. The hotel can prob tell me how to get a bus to the point where I can take advantage of the rail system. What a pain, though!

heh. interesting switch.

how I would do it:
head to the menil by cab, or on the 82 (to Westheimer and Mandell, then walk a few blocks South to Sul Ross (below Alabama)). afterwards, walk East to Montrose Ave, and walk or take the 34 Montrose Crosstown South to Bissonet at the museum District. if you're going to Goode Co., take the 65 Bissonet west to Kirby and Bissonet, and follow the smell a half block North. afterwards, walk East to Kelvin, then South to Sunset. continue South if you want to walk through Rice Village (a shopping mall/commercial area), or East if you want to stay residential. if you're going South, turn East when you hit University Blvd. if you're going East, turn South between Greenbriar and Shepherd. these will bring you to the football stadium at Rice. from there you can continue East through the campus. when you reach the gate at the far end, cross over Main to Hermann park, and turn right towards the garden. loop back through the park and up to the museum area. then get the trolley on San Jacinto between Ewing and Binz up to midtown (Ensemble/HCC) and then downtown (Main Street Square). after checking out the fountain south of the station, head up Main St to Texas St, then head West to Jones Plaza. to get back to Post Oak, head two blocks east to Travis, and take the 82 back. but if you want to go to the Icehouse, head just one block East to Milam and take the 78 Alabama/Irvington. afterwards, get a cab home or walk several blocks north to Westheimer to catch the 82.

this is t'afia

there's nothing on yet at the nationally-renowned Alley, but while in midtown, you could check out a play at the Af-Am-centric Ensemble.

you can get around by bus, but given a single day, i'd figure out where i want to go and get taxis... the public transit system can be tricky and getting lost could blow your afternoon. also, it'll be hot. only mid-nineties, which isn't bad for houston in september, but it'll be humid and being out and about in it will quickly get tiresome.

*kisses, you big lug!*

i had a half day to myself in houston today. the breakfast klub is fantastic indeed. so's the mfa (menil was closed today). i walked along westheimer west of montrose, i didn't feel like getting a tatoo, a polyester shirt, or a dildo, but i talked to a cool girl who was riding an old three-speed and smelled of patchouli. then i caught a long bus ride back to my hotel in greenspoint, where i'll be trapped for the next couple of days.

i kept telling myself that the entourage sitting near me at the b'fast klub was a crunk crew. how dorky.