Texas Holidays & Accommodation
USA, North America
Texas is known for its ranching and oil drilling. It has two major cities, Dallas and Houston; that share a friendly rivalry. The state is known for its Tex-Mex cuisine, horses, and its chilli. For young women of the wealthier class, there are also annual debutante balls for their coming out into society, a holdover from an earlier era not observed in many areas today. Texas is also a state of contrasts, on the one hand you have a cowboy culture and the landmark of the Alamo, on the other hand you have cutting edge facilities like the Johnson Space Center in Houston where Mission Control and the space shuttle testing facilities are.
Texas Holidays Planner
It is difficult to talk about Texas without talking about its food. It used to be that when you thought of cuisine in Texas, the thought that came to mind was of a steakhouse. Texas has worked hard to overcome this stereotype and portray itself as more cosmopolitan than its reputation once warranted. Today you can expect to find any gourmet option you could hope for in the urban centres of Texas, but the specialty that has come to the foreground internationally is Tex-Mex. Mexican cooking is fantastic, but Texans have tweaked it a little, leaving out the lard in the refried beans and changing some traditional favourites. Enchiladas are a new classic of Tex-Mex cuisine, but other Tex-Mex favourites include chile-con-carne, and fajitas.
If you want a unique Texas experience, visit a ranch. There are plenty of opportunities to either stay on a ranch or arrange to be part of a working ranch. For anyone who has ever dreamed of the cowboy life under the stars, it's a must.
The crucial battle in Texas history was the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. Mexican troops attacked the Alamo mission near modern-day San Antonio and all but two of the Alamo's defenders were killed during this battle in the Texas Revolution. The defeat galvanized the Texan population and they eventually rallied as a result and defeated the invaders two months later at the Battle of San Jacinto. You can visit the Alamo and have a guided tour of the mission if you want to visit, there is no charge.
There is great rivalry between the two major cities of Texas; Dallas and Houston that, as a tourist, you can only wonder at. But the two cities offer a lot to visitors. In Dallas you can visit the Sixth Floor Museum at the Dallas County Administration Building, the building where the fatal shots were fired at President John F Kennedy's motorcade in 1963. You can also visit the Nasher Sculpture Center where you can see work by Rodin, Matisse, Miro, and Picasso. In Houston, there is the unexpectedness of a Holocaust Museum, which highlights the connection of Texas with the Holocaust. For something quirky yet spooky, you can visit the National Museum of Funeral History where you can see funerary memorabilia including mementoes from the funerals of notables such as Martin Luther King Jr., Dwight Eisenhower, and Elvis Presley.
In the town of Johnson a visitor's centre is dedicated to the age of space exploration. The NASA space shuttle launches may be at an end, but there is a long history here to discover.