Texas : where everything is bigger

This is Dallas, Texas, where everything in bigger! Or so they say… I spent three days here (including the day of arrival) so there was a lot more I could do compared to Orlando. Okay, excuse my ignorance but I thought Texas was dry and barren but when I got here, it was nothing like what I imagined… No cows, no horses, no road side rodeos, no dessert :p Just amazing weather and an immaculate city. Even the flowers bloomed so merrily, it literally made me smile...

Big Dallas in BIG!
Well, we sure had to wait a while just to get here though. Our flight of 2 hours from Orlando International airport to Love Field, Dallas was at 6:20 in the morning. The airport being about 45 minutes from our hotel. Naturally it meant leaving by 4:30AM, which meant getting up and about by 3:30AM itself….

Hufff! There goes my sleep again… Anyway, we got to the airport, checked in, got a quick McDonalds breakfast and awaited our boarding. All was fine up until we got into the plane. Once seated, now all we had to do was take off… But guess what, that didn't happen for next 2 hours… Lol! We would have been at Dallas by now! Apparently some problem with computer receiving the signals. Well, at least I got to catch up on my sleep :p

We had to change our plane and then board the next plane prepared for us. At least this time it took off immediately. Well, only in US, as soon as the plane was off the ground the pilot let out the most hearty and cheerful "Hee-haw" ever!!! It was indeed extremely amusing :D No matter what else, ain't gonna forget that anytime soon ;)

So, Dallas Love field airport… Yup, the first thing you'd find at the arrival terminal is a statue of a Ranger...

Where else will you have a statue of a Ranger at the airport?

We were picked up by a lovely friend at the airport. She was pretty amazing at showing us the best of Dallas and having a blast through out the weekend...


The uptown city view from my friend's complex.
Living at the heart of Dallas city can be quite convenient. Everything, including the airport, the shopping malls, convenience stores, the gym, the performing art schools, theatres, museums and all the restaurants are just about 5-15 minutes drive away at the most. Even the best sight-seeing spots are also about 15 minutes away by car. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me… We had a quick lunch at an Indian joint and planned up our evening but exhausted as we were, and don't ask me why, we went off to sleep as soon as we got home. However, the dinner time was super fun... We went to an all seafood restaurant just down the lane and got ourselves some scrumptiously spicy crawfish meal with deep fried shrimps and calamari. And I must mention, I truely underestimated the "BIG" factor in the food portions. I mean I know portions are huge in States but wait till you see the picture below… It is just meant for a single person… Now tell me if that ain't the king's meal!

Delectable crawfish in potatoes, corn, sausages and "kitchen sink" spices.
The next day started with a cool 1 hour session of boxing in the morning… Working out is good for body and mind :) But then I made up for all the lost calories (and more) with some mighty heavy scrambled eggs and bacon pancakes breakfast at the local pancake house. Mmmmmm!

Then came the sightseeing… Now, in Texas, your trip isn't complete if you haven't seen at least one cow, live or inanimate, on your way. And by inanimate, I don't mean a road-kill but I suppose that counts too… Anyway, if you are looking for a massive herd of metal cows across an entire park, downtown is where you wanna be…  

The park called Pioneer Plaza is a 4.2 acre park with an astounding 70 bronze cattle statues and three horseback riders going down a hill, past a lovely waterfall and crossing a shallow stream onto the main road. It is quite an impressive installment.

Walking with giants...
The statues are almost twice the size of a normal cattle, intricately moulded to perfection, and each one of them shaped differently than the rest, so uncanny that it felt they could almost spring to life the very next second. The park was packed with people trying to get a selfie with one of the metal beasts.

One of the three horse riders
Waterfall beside the herds descending.
Other places to visit beside the cows in the city is the famous JFK memorial built at the spot where John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I'd say that's a very historic place to definitely visit. There are other structures beside the JFK memorial such as the Old Red Museum of Dallas County across the road, and also the George Bannerman Dealey Statue in the eponymous plaza erected in 1949 to "commemorate the service and preserve the example of a great, good and useful life, consecrated in faith, dedicated in purpose, to the Glory of God and the betterment of mankind" as written by Anno Domini.


George Bannerman Dealey
The JFK memorial looks like an extremely simple design but it is apparently a cenotaph. Well this memorial structure has its reasons to look this simple, it is infact meant to be an incomplete magician's cubic stone, symbolising the unfinished business of John F. Kennedy himself. Ain't that poetic?

JFK Memorial
Then there is the Old Red Museum of Dallas county that you can pay a visit to. The structure looks magnificent with vibrant hues of red and blue in comparison to the simplistic JFK memorial structure.

Pretty contrasts...

Old red...
And then of course, what trip to Dallas is complete without a rodeo and some authentic barbecue??? Well, that goes to say that my visit was incomplete as I didn't get to do the rodeo myself but there you go, something to do next time… Anyway, if you plan a visit to Dallas I would definitely recommend "Hard Eight Pit BBQ" as the finest "ask for your own portion" bbq that offers varieties of flame grilled delicious juicy meat from chicken skewers, ham, pulled pork, beef briskets, steaks, even salads and amazing fries… Oh and all you can eat beans and drinks too… Ok I can go on and on and on about food if you let me so I'll stop here :p lol!

My share of Hard Eight… Chicken kebab, yummy ham, tons of fries and pickle
Now, coming to my tip of the day: what to bring back from Texas? 

Well, Texas is well known for its giant steaks but it's more of a hassle to carry something like that, besides it will go all sloppy what with all the customs checks at the airport. But bbq rubs and sauces are excellent choices as souvenirs and gifts.

Also recommended are the popular cowboy hats and boots if you are big on the "wild west" fashion :) I definitely got me some sleek cowboy hat (well, just a picture tbh :p) from the local Target shop (which btw is a must-visit mall for the shopoholics lol)...

Heeeee-haw!!!

So, with this ends my Odyssey to Dallas. Now from here on, off to Allentown!

See you again with my next post :) Till then, 

love always...



aJB1



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