While the Blog took the simple flight-only route from Europe to NPRA, others took the more scenic Texas road trip, driving from Houston to San Antonio and taking in a few culinary and shopping diversions on the way.
The ICIS news guys from Europe piled into a rental car and drove the back roads via the Shiner Brewery (free beer!) where they picked up a local recommendation for a Texas barbecue place by name of Kreuz in Lockhart. It was here that the lads were defeated by a meal of "One pound of shoulder clod, one pound of pit ham, a pound of barbecue pork ribs, and three jalapeno cheese sausages, a stack of bread, some tortillas and some crackers."
Others took the shopping route, at least those with euros or swiss francs to spend. At the Kolmar party on Saturday evening all talk was of the San Marcos Mall, midway between Austin and San Antonio, where a couple of the Swiss-based trader guys had bought 4 pairs of handmade shoes (buy 3, get the 4th free), a pile of Ralph Lauren beach towels, Tumi suitcases, ruby jewellery, and handbags in a seven hour shop-till-you-drop foray.
Another trader based in Switzerland was buying up Swiss watches at La Cantera, where he told colleagues the dollar prices were half what he would have paid in Switzerland.
That display of barbecue meat is enough to turn anybody vegetarian.