Fun at the capitol

Last night Travis and I went on a date to celebrate six months of marriage. We can't believe how quickly it has gone by! On the other hand, it's hard to imagine how I ever got by without Travis. I think I just let things stay broken for a really long time :)
Our first stop was Mozart's, a coffee shop on the lake, for dessert. Travis had strawberry cheesecake, and I had mango gelato with raspberries. There are a ton of decks where you can sit outside there, but since it had rained earlier in the day (more like a monsoon than rain, in my opinion), everyone was crammed inside and under the one little covered area. That included a trio of jazz musicians (guitar, electric bass, and a female vocalist), who filled the little space with loud scatting. It was pretty funny. Also, we were sitting right next to a couple on their first date. At least I think it was their first date. They were probably high school seniors. It was really cute, and a little awkward that we were sitting so close I felt like I was on their date with them :)
Then we headed to the Capitol building. I'd never been before. It's beautiful at night! Even though it was 10:30pm, the building was open, so we went in and explored a bit as well. Travis is pretty excited about Texas history (you will not meet a Texan who isn't), so he told me all about the building. There used to be a rule requiring all state capitol buildings to be shorter than the U.S. capitol, but after that rule was repealed the dome of the Texas capital had to be restored. In the restoration process, they decided to make it a little taller, so now the Texas capitol building is the tallest capitol in the U.S. by 7 inches. That is totally something people in Texas would do. Travis was so proud and smiley when he told me that story. (Note: Travis has just informed me that a few other states had the same idea. Louisiana is now the tallest.)

Texas history makes Travis smile. Exploring new places makes me smile! Here is the inside of the dome. I felt like I was back in Italy, taking straight up pictures of intricate domes! Sorry Texas, but your dome is tiny compared to the Duomo in Florence. Also, it has way fewer graphic judgement day frescos. I am so sneaky! I just took a picture of a guy sleeping in front of George W Bush's portrait :)Whenever we take a picture like this, I am standing waaaay up on my tippy toes, more like on pointe really.
The whole building is made of granite. I'm not sure why that's impressive, but Travis ensures me that it is.