I’ve been to the Lone Star State a few times – to Austin, San Antonio, and Houston – but until recently, I had never been to the big D, otherwise known as Dallas. When Alex found an incredible deal (as he tends to do) on flights to Bogota for only $200 round-trip from Dallas, we decided to make a day of it and explore the city.

We arrived around 8 in the morning and did not leave until 6:45 that evening, so we had plenty of time to check out Dallas. Since we had checked our bags all the way through to Bogota, we immediately headed to the DART train (Dallas Area Rapid Transport) after landing. Although the DART system was simple to navigate, it was actually a bit confusing getting to the DART station as we had to get on and off two shuttle buses. It turned out that we could have easily taken the Skylink almost directly to the DART STATION, but we had exited security and took the Terminal Link which takes much longer because it has to enter and exit on the highway. Once we got to the DART station, we were able to purchase $5 tickets for all-day passes and settled in for the nearly 1 hour ride downtown (we took the orange line and got off at St. Paul Station).

From St. Paul Station, we walked to Klyde Warren Park, first stopping for authentic Mexican breakfast burritos at a small shop downtown. I’ve never really been a fan of the breakfast burrito, but I was converted by these fantastic burritos. They had such fresh ingredients and delicious salsas. It made for the perfect breakfast snack.

After inhaling our burritos, we took a walk around the beautiful Klyde Warren Park. The park has a running trail, splash pad, book borrowing station, and food trucks. Unfortunately, the food trucks did not open until 11 and it was only about 10. Note to self, nothing is going on at 9:30 in the morning on a weekday in downtown Dallas. We walked around the block and tried to peek into the Opera House and Symphony Center, but everything was closed.

After killing time walking around downtown, the food trucks were finally open and we ordered incredibly delicious ice cream sandwiches from Cool Haus. I highly recommend the coconut almond chip cookies with strawberry ice cream. It was the perfect combo for a hot summer day in Dallas, if I do say so myself.

Next, we spent a few hours at the Dallas Musuem of Art.  I was highly impressed and definitely could have spent hours there. As you can see from this map of the museum, it is quite extensive. The best part is that the museum is free! I am a huge fan of free museums because I don’t feel the need to see every single exhibit, which I can find overwhelming and overstimulating. Instead, I can just focus on my favorite areas and the things that interest me most.

Some of my favorite exhibitions were the Sculpture Garden, the Decorative Arts and Design wing, which contained a lot of mid-century modern furniture, and the African art exhibit.

My favorite exhibit, however, was the Wendy and Emery Reeves collection which recreated Coco Chanel’s home at Villa La Pausa in Southern France in intricate detail. The Reeves donated the full collection on the condition that the museum set it up exactly as it was in the home. As a big fan of Coco Chanel, it was fascinating for me to see her home furnishings and decorating style and to feel like I was actually standing in her home. You may also enjoy the exhibition if you are interested in Winston Churchhill. He was a personal friend of the Reeves and stayed with them for extended time periods, so there are several mementos from his time at Villa La Pausa.

After a few hours at the museum, we decided to see a different part of town and took an Uber to the funky Bishop Arts District. I loved this neighborhood and could have easily spent the day wandering through the many interesting shops.

We browsed the modern furniture and fixtures at Simply Austin and the beautiful floral arrangements at Dirt (where you can also send your wedding bouquet to be made into a dried flower work of art!). Next, we sampled some chocolate at Dude, Sweet Chocolate and took home a delicious chocolate salami. Chocolate salami consists of ground medjool dates, dried figs, California marzipan, cocoa nibs, and dark chocolate rolled in powdered sugar and shaped like a salami. It makes a great, unique addition to a cheese board!

Before heading back to the airport, we had a lunch at El Jordan Cafe, a mom and pop Mexican restaurant. It was recommended by some of the locals we met while shopping in Bishop Arts District and did not disappoint. We thoroughly enjoyed our authentic Mexican lunch!

After a 30 minute Uber to airport (much shorter than the DART ride), we settled in to relax at the Centurion Lounge at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport before boarding our flight to Bogota. The Centurion Lounge in Dallas is one of my favorite lounges because of all of the great perks offered. Not only is the food fantastic, but you can use shower facilities or get a mini-massage or mini-manicure. Naturally, I had to do it all! If you’re looking for a great place to relax when you are traveling and have an American Express Platinum or Centurion credit card, make sure to look for the Centurion Lounge at one of these locations. You can also enter with any American Express card + a $50 fee per person.

Thanks for reading! I can’t wait to tell you about Bogota next time on the blog. It ended up being one of my favorite trips and another great experience in South America!

RECAP
Klyde Warren Park, 2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Suite 403, Dallas, TX 75201
Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N Harwood St, Dallas, TX 75201
El Jordan Cafe (Bishop Arts District), 416 N Bishop Ave, Dallas, TX 75208
Centurion Lounge DFW Airport, Terminal D, opposite Gate 17