Elizabeth, her neighbourhood and the Birdhouse were really really wonderful.
The Birdhouse is clean and quaint with enough room for two people and full on travel luggage. The Neighbourhood was yuppie-free and close to bike rentals, killer food and bars, but far enough away to sleep easy in a quiet neighbourhood.

Make no mistake, the Birdhouse is about the same size as your average hotel room in Japan and small by American standards but with enough room to sleep well and relax a bit and tour around Austin.

Two blocks away from the Birdhouse sits a small gas station / corner store which i found Elizabeth to be a bit fanatical about; and i understood why. The staff there is super nice and it is a snob free craft brew heaven that also sells locally made pickled asparagus and has a broken mirror mural of Ghandi on the side.

The whole experience in and around the Birdhouse is basically like what would happen if Mexicans and NPR listeners started it's own tiny country complete with hotels and farmers markets and piñata stores and a serious BBQ culture.