There’s a place in the deep South of the United States of America where ribs and rodeos mingle with museums and margaritas. A place where you’ll find stockyards and stirrups next to cultural art districts.
I’d like to welcome y’all to Texas, a place you need to add to your (probably already expanding) travel bucket list. Stat.
I recently travelled there with Qantas airways, on the inaugural A380 flight direct from Sydney to Dallas. While Qantas have already been flying direct routes on their 747s they haven’t done it in this kind of luxury before.
Looking out the window as we arrived in to Texas, I was in awe. The landscape is really flat. But as your eyes scope the pancaked terrain you see it, BAM some high-rise buildings sticking out like an awkward architectural growth has formed in the middle of the desert. That’s Dallas.
As we hopped off the plane, the first thing that hit me was the sting of the dry air. Beautiful desert-like heat.
And then being greeted by Qantas ambassador, John Travolta. Star Struck. No words. Hello Danny Zucko.
John Travolta.
From a huge airport to a rockstar bus, I was taken into the city, where they say, ‘big things happen’.
Before I went to Texas, I imagined it to be like a scene out of an old John Wayne Western. And while there was a glimpse of that during part of the trip, Dallas Fortworth offered so much more diversity than just cowboys and cattle.
It’s the fastest growing region in the country right now. From its beginnings with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kids, the red light district and brothels to it’s cultural arts district, modern bars and fancy restaurants today – Fort Worth is a changing face. It only really started to redevelop in the 1970s, so everything’s pretty brand spanking new.
Here’s nine reasons why y’all need to go.
1. The food.
When you think of Texan cuisine, if you think juicy steaks, ribs dripping in hot sauce and deep-fried everything then you’re pretty much spot on. Add bacon to it and you’re there.
Seriously on my first morning I ordered a bowl of granola and was asked if I wanted a side of bacon with that. All salads had bacon, some drinks had bacon – one breakfast menu offered bacon pancakes covered in bacon – salivating yet?
Other delicacies included steak fried chicken (we had to wrap our head around this one) think steak fried in chicken batter. It’s gourmet deep-fried goodness. You could get burgers in every size, flavour and variety at any restaurant. Alongside the burgers were always a big steak option, ribs and chicken wings.
You don’t have to worry about being underfed, because as is everything with Dallas Fortworth the serving sizes are big.