So...aside from the wild array of musical choice Austin laid out last week, three things stood out: the weather (smokin' hot), the food (all meat--not a green thing anywhere in the city), and the people (friendly beyond description).
We Canadians are supposed to be uber-polite--sorry this, excuse me that--but we've got nothing on those Texans. At every club, no matter how jammed, I saw people being stupidly sweet to each other...same thing in the street, in taxis, in restaurants. Maybe it was the sudden shot of summer temps in spring, or maybe the chance--finally--of a swing away from neo-con leadership for a liberal town in a conservative state. Or maybe that cliche about southern hospitality isn't just talk.
One more thing: in Austin, I didn't see much of that storied American ignorance about Canada, either. People knew where Toronto was, that it was big, and that it wasn't always cold. Some had even visited. Lots of people, though, in a slip of tongue or brain, got mixed up and called us "North by NorthWEST." Maybe we should include maps with our promo...