We found the people of Houston!

There they are burrowing away in the underground under-city tunnels.

Houston’s downtown underground started as a connection between two downtown movie theatres. Six metres under, it now runs for more than 6 miles – that would be nearly 10km – extends over 95 blocks and includes restaurants and retail shops.

Pretty damn cool. Access is via an escalator or stairs in any of the major buildings within the city centre. 

Smart Houstonites, out of the humidity, out of the heat.  Away from the UV, which seemed to be quite low at 3 today, but felt a lot hotter.

Especially from the open top deck of the Hop-On Hop-Off bus we took this morning. Truth was, false advertising.  It wasn’t a hop-on, hop-off. They let us off at the Aquarium but aside from that it was a drive around the city for an hour and a half, the new driver competing with an automatic recording to see who could speak over the other. I am sure his timings will get better.

It was however, a good tour. To be fair.

As you will see from the MANY photos I have taken. Some labelled, most not.

It’s been a huge day. 

So I’m going to tell you about the day, then I’m going to just land all those photos on you. 🤪

The day started in a very cool little coffee shop MoD had found called Day Six Coffee Company. Made me think that maybe, just maybe, I can move on from Starbucks.

Damn nice coffee and not a bad breakfast croissant. 

Enough sustenance to move onto our bus adventure.

Post the bus tour, we explored the tunnels, had some lunch, then took the Metro to the Museum District. The Metro is a tram/train (similar to a Melbourne train) which goes straight along Main Street in the city. Unlike Christchurch, the streets here don’t randomly change names after a few blocks. Main Street is a looooong street. 

Once again, the fare was $1.25 with machines at each stop distributing a paper ticket. You can also load a card of course. 

The trip to the Museum District was interesting, going quickly from slum type areas to more affluent and back again. Quite random really. The place is so spread out, there are big expanses of green gardens but also large concrete nothings. 

As we got closer the area became nicer. The Museum District has 19 museums who currently host about 9 million visitors per year. 

Intending to go to the Museum of Natural Science, and not quite sure where it was, we hopped off the train a little early. Which was a bonus as it turns out.

Naturally I had to have a toilet stop. 

Hotel ZaZa to the rescue. A museum in itself!

Incredibly cool. Every wall housed a print of an artist, actor or musician. The foyer had a large original painting with a pool underneath filled with live fish. We wandered around there for awhile, pretending to be guests.

Finally it started to become a little awkward so we escaped out the back door and just before we got to the museum spotted Hermann Park Conservancy.

Our need to see a water wall was finally fulfilled, sort of.

A really beautiful space. 

Onwards and upwards to the cool of the museum.

Literally, I had to put a jacket on.

That’s the thing about Houston. People wear layers, they are either inside air conditioned buildings, or in their cars in air conditioning. Or underground.

MoD read somewhere that Houston is the air conditioning capital of America.

It seems to be true.

Anyway, back to the Museum. 

So much to see!

We decided on the exhibition ‘Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life – Understand Yourself from Within’.

Well we certainly did after that. Interesting to say the least.

And a little depressing to be visually confronted with the total reality that when you get to a certain age……well it all falls apart. 

Damn that ageing process!

A quick oversee of the Morgan Hall of Palaeontology (Ross Geller would be so proud), a visit to the Hall of Ancient Egypt and then on to the exhibit we paid extra for.

4pm at the Burke Baker Planetarium – ‘Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon’.

We didn’t know what to expect but I guess expectations were high enough. 

I mean it was Pink Floyd right? Not that I’ve ever been a fan. They are, however legendary stuff.

Hmmmm one must not forget Pink Floyd were mid 60’s.

Wasn’t that also the era of free love, LSD and hallucinations?

Clearly that’s what the creators of this completely surrounding you, visual exhibition, were re-creating. 

Latest Digistar 6 software. Apparently. An experience where you felt you were part of, and moving with, the images.

What really could one say about that?

Vomitious? 🤮

An invitation to experience a first degree epileptic seizure?

Well at least we got to sit and rest for 45 minutes.

Eyes shut of course. 

Back on the train and back to our hotel.

A cup of strong tea was needed – at my age it’s far too late in the day for coffee…

Oh wait…..they don’t do tea here.

After some searching and begging, I managed to find a tea bag in the restaurant downstairs.

Praise the Lord.

An hours rest then onwards to tick a little something off MoD’s bucket list.

A good ole’ Texas steak.

You can’t go to Texas and not have one apparently.

I didn’t. 

He did.

At Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse. Just down the street. Voted best steak house in Houston.

According to MoD it lived up to the claim.

My meal was pretty damn nice too.

But even better, was Jeremy at the grand piano.

Wowsa! 

With echoes of John Legend, his soothing tones were a fitting end to a big day out in Houston.

Day 2.5 done and dusted.

Thank you Houston.