I Didn’t Want To Love The USA – But I Did
I’ll be back, y’all.
I’m a Europe girl through and through. Running through my blood — even if I am only British by birth, and Britain is no longer in the EU — is the romance of French and Italian words, the colour of the Mediterranean, the fascination of Russia and its former Soviet empire, the ancient buildings oozing with history; the countries I’ve yet to tick off my list from Spain to Sweden.
I was born in Liverpool and started learning French at school in Australia, or even earlier when the desire to speak it likely stemmed from my mum converting merci beaucoup to “merci buckets” when my sister and I were young.
I studied Italian as a minor during university and managed to receive a scholarship to travel to Italy for a few weeks in order to present a thesis project on return. I’d already been once before prior to university, however, the second trip solidified that I feel a sense of belonging there.
The only times travelling to the USA had ever crossed my mind were the omnipresent dream of going to New York City (hello, fashion and food), and once I’d met my boyfriend, we began planning a soon to be postponed trip thanks to the pandemic. It was an east to west-style trip of sorts (or vice versa — I can’t remember now) to include NYC and L.A., ticking off national parks and sports games along the journey.
When borders reopened and with my boyfriend’s sister now in Mexico with a newborn, we jumped at the chance to be back in international terminals onward to our next adventure. But, America? I still had my doubts.
I admit I had my prejudices— and I presume many others outside of America, looking in, do. There were a few events that occurred in the lead up to our departure that did little to ease my anxieties, particularly given we were travelling to Texas: the Uvalde school shooting, the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Either way, our trip was planned: Austin, Dallas, two weeks in Mexico, then driving the Big Sur coast with stays in Carmel and Santa Barbara.
Austin, TX
I loved how generous, hospitable and welcoming everyone we met was. It was unpretentious but still assured. I had so much fun hanging out with my partner in college bars; finding a great underground jazz bar on a Monday night and drinking rum punch until the early hours; and of course the barbecue!
Our favourite barbecue place was Micklethwait Craft Meats which was well worth queuing in 30°C weather to enjoy. The lovely woman at the caravan window was super engaging and made conversation with everyone before asking about their food order. Some may see that as holding up the line but we appreciated the friendliness and hospitality.
Dallas, TX
After contending with Texas interstate highways and American drivers (I’m sorry, but y’all are crazy!), we arrived in Dallas to stay with my boyfriend’s relative. Staying in Dallas was always part of the plan and many people in Australia wondered why we were bothering. I didn’t know much of what there was to do there either, although we knew we’d be trying to see the NBA and NFL there.
Dallas was great and we met so many nice people. There are countless cool districts and interesting things to do. We particularly loved Bishop Arts District, Deep Ellum and Lower Greenville, and loved visiting the Dallas Art Museum and JFK Sixth Floor Museum. We got to have dinner at Sister restaurant which was on New York Times’ Best Restaurants list for 2022. Highly recommend; don’t miss the wild boaranaise pasta. (Another restaurant on this list was Canje in Austin which we also went to and is unmissable.)
Luckily, we were able to go to a college football game, plus see the Mavericks (NBA) and Cowboys (NFL) all on the same weekend. The spectacle was something I couldn’t have expected and it was great to experience this. Having two wins made it even better!
Carmel, CA
After travelling to Mexico for two weeks, we flew into San Francisco to drive the Big Sur coastline of California. Our first stop was Carmel/Carmel-by-the-Sea. What a beautiful part of the world. We arrived late one evening after being in airports and on a plane all day, and driving from SFO, and demolished a burger and some beers in a great pub.
The next day was our only full day to explore and that we did. The beach was stunning and the weather was perfect to have a long walk. We even saw a hummingbird nearby which was exciting! The town itself is lovely and very reminiscent of some beachside towns in Australia. We watched the sunset along Scenic Rd, and then enjoyed some more food and beers while getting to know locals, although needed an early night to head off along the Big Sur drive the next morning.
Big Sur has always been on my bucket list and it surpassed expectations. In fact, it was my birthday on this day so I was lucky to be doing something that I’d always wanted to do. Again, we lucked out with the weather — it was perfect. Our destination was Santa Barbara and we gradually wound our way down the coast, stopping for short walks or photo taking. For the most part, we were by ourselves when stopping and it felt like the Pacific Ocean views were all for us. One of the more exciting stops was the elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas. There were hundreds of them on the sand! Enthusiastic volunteers were dotted along the boardwalk to answer questions and educate about the seals which was nice.
Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara was my boyfriend’s choice of destination before we drove to L.A. to head home. I’d never wanted to go too much near L.A. and I presumed Santa Barbara wouldn’t be much my vibe, but it was far better than I expected. It must be a California thing but the weather remained sunny and temperate while we were there, so we were able to enjoy the beautiful beach, pier and palm trees in their element.
My impression was that Santa Barbara is a better, more relaxed version of L.A. You get the look and feel without the revolting traffic and other unappealing aspects! We were able to walk a lot; a big plus considering we were obliged to use Uber for most of our travels in Austin and Dallas.
The Funk Zone is a great area and we discovered a wonderful café (so good we went twice: Helena Avenue Bakery) and breweries in the area (Validation Ale was our personal fave.) Given we had a rental car, we were able to explore outer Santa Barbara so went to Montecito (nothing to do except be astounded at the houses really), and the Cold Spring Tavern in the hills.
The verdict
I didn’t expect to give you so much of a play-by-play of our time in America, but I still get excited about how much fun we had. While we did have a couple of run-ins with rude or inconsiderate people, they were few and far between when compared to the lovely people we met. I’m pleased that I was proven wrong, and still reminisce about the time we spent.
While it may be a some time off, I’m already excited for the next trip. It will most definitely include New York; I’ve always wanted to do the northern states like Montana; and we’d love to do the northern Californian coast, including Portland which is such a foodie spot now.
Perhaps it was just being back overseas again, travelling and exploring at a nice, relaxed pace, but I’d love to go back to the USA — I’d go back tomorrow.
