October 30th
We arrived in Austin by late afternoon in time for dinner with Carla and Kathryn at a nice Mexican restaurant. Carla is a close friend of my grandparents and knows my mum from my grandparents’ time in Lahore, Pakistan, many years ago. It was lovely to reconnect after many, many years!
October 31st
It’s Halloween! My sisters Isa and Xan got all dressed up and joined the Jilani – Mercer family for some trick-or-treating in Austin’s Mueller neighbourhood. We know Sarah and Adam Jilani from my grandparents’ and aunty Carmen and Livia’s time in Lahore, Pakistan. Then Tim married Sarah and together they created special Isa and Noor. Interestingly, Carla also knows Sarah and Adam’s mother Ruth from Pakistan. We enjoyed walking around the superbly decorated Mueller neighbourhood.
Later in the evening, we headed to Sarah and Tim’s house for an amazing feast prepared by Sarah. Adam joined us too, making it a perfect way to wrap up the month. Thanks so much!
November 1st
We had a laid-back morning before heading to the mall to pick up a few last-minute things for the next leg of our trip. In the evening, we met up with the Jilanis and Carla for one final dinner together.
We started by briefly catching up with Carla again and my mother was very happy to introduce Carla to Sarah, Tim, and Adam. I think everyone enjoyed meeting each other and talking about their Pakistani connection. Unfortunately, Carla couldn’t stay long, but it was lovely to meet her.
After that, we headed out for ramen, but since there was a bit of a wait, we stopped by a nearby bar for some beers and fries.
The ramen turned out to be delicious and was worth the wait!
It was so wonderful to see the Jilanis in Austin, and we’re already looking forward to the next time we can meet up. (We will meet up with more Jilanis in March 2025 in Malaysia…)
November 2nd
We got up, packed up and had an acai bowl for breakfast — a treat I have to thank my bestie Evija for introducing me to back in Florida.
With our flight not until later in the evening, we spent some time at Adam’s stylish house.
My siblings and I went to see the new Venom movie, which was such a fun experience because the theatre we went to had catering! We had lunch and endless lemonade brought right to us during the film. Good call Adam!
Meanwhile, Adam and my parents had a bit of an adventure trying to unlock a new suitcase that my dad had accidentally locked by misreading the instructions.. haha. Luckily they also had a delicious late lunch organised by Adam. Thank you!
When the time came, we said our final goodbyes and headed to the airport, marking the end of this incredible first part of our journey. Next stop: Ghana!
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