Thanks again for all the helpful tips.
With the short time to be spent there, we decided to stay in Fort Worth rather than trying to squeeze Dallas in. My friend who arrived earlier did some of that and I am sure I’ll return another time.
It was indeed crazy hot – more of a dry heat and quite bearable though compared to Toronto which gets extremely humid and quite tropical in July/August.
Friday night we went out for a couple of beverages on W Magnolia street. Fairly young crowd but still very pleasant. Lots of cute little cafes and restaurants. We stayed on the beautiful “bearded lady” patio and enjoyed a couple of pints of excellent craft beer and deep fried cactus. I wish I had been hungrier – the menu looked excellent with very reasonable prices. Super friendly and knowledgeable server who even offered to have us taste a few different ones so we wouldn’t end up with a pint of something we didn’t like.
Saturday we went to the Stockyards. They put on quite the Western show – lots of horses, cowboys etc. It was mainly families there and targeted towards that audience, but certainly nicely done. Managed to leave without buying boots. At that point we were starving and made our way to el rancho grande. Not the best Mexican I’ve ever had, but decent and good margaritas for sure. Excellent service.
Had a quick visit in downtown Fort Worth – a complete ghost town – but not really a surprise – who would stay in the city at 40 degrees on a Saturday afternoon. Dozens of kids were enjoying the fountains and the respective parents having a nice relaxing time sitting and chatting in the shade. That square has a nice set up and I can see the whole area being quite lively during a weeknight.
Saturday night was the rodeo. Yes, very touristy, but quite a spectacular show. We had the 22$ tickets and were in the front row right next to the VIP eats in the centre. Excellent choice as it was really close to the action – the booking in advance definitely helped here I think. I was a bit scared for the cowboys with the potential for terrible injuries. The well trained horses were quite impressive I have to say. Went to the Riscky’s patio – unfortunately still stuffed from the epic meal at the rancho so just went for some drinks.
Interesting bar scene, definitely very different. We went to Billy Bob’s Honky Tonk (what a name…) after which left me a little speechless for a number of reasons. In all fairness, the clubs I hung out in my teens/early twenties were probably not any better. It was certainly an experience.