Last weekend I visited Houston to attend the Alicia Keys concert at the Houston Rodeo at the NRG Stadium. While we were in town, the city hosted us to some fun and luxury hotel accommodations during our weekend stay. My mom was raised in H-town so I was excited to see what her childhood city had to offer. With its sticky and humid weather, close by the beach location, delicious food, and amazing skyline, Houston certainly has so much to see. I need to take another weekend to see all I missed on my list and stop by the zoo for sure. These are the 3 places and 2 restaurants we visited while we spent a weekend in Houston, Texas.
1. Space Center Houston- Inside the multiple exhibit complex Independence Plaza, the Space Center features the original shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905 with the high-fidelity shuttle replica Independence mounted on top. You will be able to touch one of the few moon rocks on earth available to the public inside the Lunar Vault and stand close to multiple flown spacecraft, including Gemini V, Faith 7 and Apollo 17. The history filled NASA tram tour will take you to see the state-of-the-art working facilities where astronauts prepare and train for missions.
2. Downtown Aquarium- My inner mermaid LOVED this place! Take a tour on the marsh and bayous of the Gulf Coast in the Louisiana Swamp and enjoy wild encounters with gators, alligator snapping turtles and spotted gar, and see the crayfish, catfish and bullfrogs that make this a true Cajun Country experience. This place was so cool you get to step back in time by entering a Shipwreck, see many diverse species of animals and sea life, visit a lush rain-forest, and learn about the aquarium’s conservation efforts.
3. Museum of Fine Art- If you know me personally, you know I cannot stay away from art museums. The tranquil Cullen Sculpture Garden is truly an oasis of art and nature highlighting masterworks of 20th- and 21st-century sculpture by artists including Henri Matisse and Auguste Rodin. There were so many neat objects that were created in the Near East, Egypt, Greece, and the Roman Empire. I especially liked the museum’s Contemporary art collection that ranges across five continents and reflects today’s global culture. For those of you in the Houston area, introduce art to your whole family with free family activities in the galleries every Sunday afternoon.
4. Treebeards at The Tunnel- Houston’s downtown “underground” is a system of tunnels 20 feet below Houston’s downtown streets and more than 6 miles long; it includes restaurants and service retail and connects 95 city blocks. Treebeards offers delicious Cajun cuisines that are sure to satisfy your tastes bud and at a great price too. Menu items include the chicken and shrimp gumbo, red beans & rice, and etouffee.
5. Russo’s Pizzeria- This New York Pizzeria was introduced in 1992 in the Houston market in an area where they truly appreciated the New York pizza style, giant slices, and calzones in Texas. Their chicken pesto pasta was amazing and the pizza slices are so huge, 2 people can share one.
A big thank to Houston’s visitor’s bureau for hosting my weekend stay in Houston. There are affiliate links in this post.
