|
|
|
|
|
Check out the photos I took on my trip to Austin Texas on this link! |
||
|
|
||
|
Check out the following link for a History of Texas, a Map and Geography of the state. |
||
|
|
||
|
Continue on to read about how I met Viviane, the CinnaMan Villa and CinnaMan Desert Catering Business |
||
|
|
||
When Viviane and I met in April of 1999 on a cruise at the tip of
South America, from Chile to Argentina and Patagonia, little did we
realize we would end up
being
 friends and traveling together.
After a few years Viviane, who was living in Beverly Hills at that time, called me in 2003 and asked if I wanted to become a business partner of her senior residence she was buying in Woodland Hills. I was retired so I thought why not! I ended up getting a California State Administrative license to run our Astoria Senior Residence. The photo on the right is Astoria Senior Residence with Viviane at the front entrance and also a photo of myself with a personalized Astoria T-Shirt - Mr. Administrator! The photo on the left is my 2003 State of California Community Care Licensing! Viviane sold the business in 2010 and then decided to sell her house in Beverly Hills and move to Austin Texas. There she bought a beautiful French style four bedroom house over looking downtown Austin. Read on about the bed and breakfast villa, the CinnaMan Desert Catering business and an overview of the Tower Suite for a relaxed visit to Austin! |
||
|
|
||
|
Viviane is editing the following for the Austin Examiner
about my visit!
World traveler Chuck Buntjer is making his first visit to Austin and CinnaMan Villa in May. Welcome dinner at Rudy’s BBQ sets the tone for a fun-filled 4 days including AMOA’s “New Art in Austin: 15 to Watch”, the rooftop member’s lounge at the Arthouse, I♥Art Congress, a swim at Big Stacy Pool, Barton Springs, LBJ Library, Capitol, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the bats at Congress Bridge.
Chuck’s friend Jeff Fisher, a
lawyer at the 9th District court of appeals said: “I love
Austin . My friend Julie worked at the Austin Museum of Art
as their grant writer/director. She probably knows Viviane.
Take your cowboy boots. The LBJ Library is nice, and there's
the Johnson ranch about an hour outside of town.”
Chuck is an avid “film noir”
collector and his friend Patti recommends the Harry Ransom
Center on the UT campus, with its collection covering
Hollywood ’s golden age (1930-1950). No worries if some
items Chuck wants to see are not on public view, we’ll
arrange for a private tour with our good friend Luba
Sinclair who is a docent at HRC.
Austin’s (in)famous happy
hours will be a great opportunity to introduce Chuck to the
best margarita in town, but the culinary highlight of the
visit will be the legendary CinnaMan brunch complete with
mimosas and … you guessed it cheesecake for dessert! Follow
Chuck's adventures in Austin on his website
www.charlesbuntjer.com
|
||
|
|
||
|
CinnaMan Villa Viv Check out the CinnaMan Villa experience and if you are in the area, stay at the residence to relax in comfort and perhaps sit on the deck and have a cocktail while overlooking downtown Austin as the sun sets over the city. It is at a great location and if you would rather not drive, it is easy to get around the city using public transportation. Use this link to view the CinnaMan Villa experience with photos of the villa, rooms for rent and contact information: |
||
|
|
||
|
CinnaMan Desert Catering
 From Austin to the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles and back to Austin Michael Hurd, also known as CinnaMan, has delighted friends, co-workers, and catering clients with his dazzling desserts. He has spent 30 years refining his self-taught baking skills, and his cheesecakes have become legendary. However, his cakes, cookies/bars, and other dessert creations are equally delicious. Check out the web site for a view of his famous cheesecakes and other desert delights. Check out this link to view Michaels deserts and to order them: http://www.cinnamandessertcatering.com/ |
||
|
|
|
As our VIP guest you will:
Enjoy the
chic “Tower Suite” with a sweeping view of the UT Tower
and beyond from the balcony. Unwind in the spacious
bedroom (king-sized bed), well-appointed bathroom, and
separate living room (queen sofa-sleeper) with fully
equipped refreshment center. Appreciate the elegant
villa with WiFi throughout; business center with fax and
printer; media room with 50” TV, Blu-ray player,
state-of-the-art sound system, and extensive DVD
collection. Relax on the terrace overlooking the city
while sipping a favorite beverage ... and indulging in a
CinnaMan treat.
The elegant
Villa features WiFi throughout; business center with fax
and printer; media room with 50” TV, Blu-ray player,
state-of-the-art sound system, and extensive DVD
collection. Relax on the terrace overlooking the city
while sipping a favorite beverage ... and indulging in a
CinnaMan treat.
CinnaMan Villa is in South Austin just minutes from all
the capital city has to offer. The vibrant SoCo scene is
around the corner; historic downtown, UT and the
creative East Side are across the river; the bike trail
is at our doorstep taking you to Zilker Park , Barton
Springs pool, and Lady Bird Lake . Michael aka CinnaMan,
a UT alumnus and Austin “connoisseur”, will be glad to
recommend his favorite spots for dining, live music, and
Longhorn ambiance.
Discount for weekday and extended stays with full
prepay. All guest rooms on 2nd floor, no elevator.
Breakfast included.
Viviane & Michael look forward to hosting your perfect
stay at CinnaMan Villa.
|
||||
| link. | ||||
|
Daily Diary of My Vacation: |
||||
| San | ||||
|
Flight from San Francisco to Austin Texas |
||||
| San | ||||
|
May 10, 2011
|
Day 1:
Fly Southwest to Austin with a stop in San Diego, no plane change! I got to the CinnaMan Villa late in the afternoon and we were able to have a nice long talk before deciding to to to dinner. They said Rudy's Barbecue Restaurant was great and about half an hour away. We got on the freeway and over 100 police cars were on the side of the road plus stopping all traffic turning onto an overpass route. We got to the restaurant and there were about 15 or more Highway Patrolmen having dinner. We got back on the freeway but had to drive out of our way to get back across the freeway by finding an underpass. Finally got home and relaxed before a very busy three more days. I think I saw as much in three full days as one would see in a week. |
|
||
| San | ||||
|
Tour of Austin |
||||
| San | ||||
|
May 11, 2011 |
Day 2:
A visit to the state Capital and some
museums
I toured the State Capital in Austin while Viviane spent time at the Austin Museum of Art where she is volunteering. She was working on a monthly tour of the main street, Congress Avenue where the art galleries have wine and exhibitions to interest people in visiting downtown Austin. I also went to the Texas Historical Museum and it has three floors of very interesting information on Texas. It includes artifacts from the 1500s, Spanish, Native Americans, Slaves and Settlers. Then on to the Blanton Museum with an exhibition of Buenos Aries art after the dictator of Argentina was kicked out of office. We also went to see the 800,000 bats fly out from under the Congress Bridge at sunset. A busy but interesting day. |
 |
||
| San | ||||
|
Touring Austin |
||||
| San | ||||
|
May 12, 2011 |
Day 3:
Visit the LBJ Presidential Library -
Henry Ransom Center - I Love Art walk on Congress There was a terrible rain, wind and hail storm but we went to tour the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library. Lots of interesting things to see. Then to the Harry Ransom Center on the grounds of the University of Texas Austin. Lots of great things and archives of famous authors and artists. We especially liked the movie scripts and photos from the book, play, and movie - A Street Car Named Desire! Then to the AMoA Austin Museum of Art and the Congress Avenue walk to the art galleries participating in the monthly festival. Wine and interesting people plus Margaritas to relax with. |
 |
||
| San | ||||
|
Touring Austin and Flight back to San Francisco |
||||
| San | ||||
|
May 13, 2011
|
Day 4:
D Brunch and a visit to the Laguna Gloria Villa
before my flight home to San Francisco Today Michael wanted to prepare a nice brunch for us and a friend from the Austin Museum of Art. The weather turned out to be nice in the morning so we had brunch on the deck overlooking the backyard and downtown Austin. We had our eggs, salad, fresh fruit and of course champagne! Then we drove to see the famous Laguna Gloria Villa built by Clara Driscoll. She was instrumental in saving the Alamo and other historic landmarks in the early 1900s. She picked a location on the wooded side of the Colorado River to build the villa in 1916 since it looked like Lake Como in Italy. She went to school in Paris and had a back ground in the arts. Her husband passed away and she had to move to run the families businesses and left the villa to the museum for safe keeping. Michael and Viviane drove me to the airport and I left for Los Angles where the plane was tied up for over an hour due to traffic in San Francisco. We finally took off and I got home around midnight. Tired but having really had a great time in Austin and had seen so many things in only three full days! |
|
||
| San | ||||
| San | ||||
| San | ||||
| San | ||||
|
Charles W. Buntjer |
Published on: 2011.03.28 |
|||
| San | ||||
|
San Francisco |
Updated on: 2011.05.16 |
|||
iane
has turned the house into the
CinnaMan Villa bed
and breakfast residence. 
