An Afternoon in Downtown Houston

I did not bring a camera.

But, yesterday, I took a walk around downtown Houston with some friends and this is what we saw there.

Just behind the Wortham Center, there is a bridge over Buffalo Bayou.  It is a nice bridge, with beautiful columns with what appears to be children's art cut into metal panels.  

I don't know how the art was selected, or what the children were asked to draw, or how old they were: the drawings included, among many things, musical instruments, a drawing of the med center, a 'say no to drugs' poster, and a computer monitor on tractor treads (that's what we decided it was, anyway).  

Under a pair of these columns is a little brick alcove -- only accessible by foot or bike.  In this alcove is a red button.  (This alcove is at the corner of the bridge closest to the Wortham Center.)  Push the button, and then run out to the middle of the bridge, and look down.  The button bubbles the water! It is not nearly as exciting as it sounds, and yet it was delightful.

Back up and across the street is a small park called Sesquicentennial Park, with a statue of James A Baker (I don't remember which one) and a monument to all of the James A Bakers who served Houston and the United States (which is all of them).

At Market Square, there is a clock.  A real, mechanical clock, but it was not running.  City of Houston, why is the clock not running?  There is even a window where you can see the mechanism, and everything!  

But right next to the clock is a tapas restaurant, called Batanga.  When one of my friends saw the phrase "Platanos Maduros" on the menu, he pushed the other two of us into the restaurant.  We shared 5 plates and a dessert between the three of us.  All of  it was good.  The highlights for me were the Eggplant Fries and the dessert.  The eggplant fries were not like french fries.  They were chunks of peeled eggplant fried in batter and topped with mint, honey, cumin, and cheese, and it was so good.  The dessert - I don't remember the name - was dollops of chocolate mousse with olive oil and flaky salt and toast.  It was a peculiar combination, but very, very good.  Also, the service was excellent.  Our waitress joked around with us. The whole experience was very pleasant.

And then we walked back to our cars in the rain.