Down Town Dallas

My run in with Mr Con Man may well prove to be a valuable lesson especially with South America and South East Asia still to come on this trip. Nothing bad came of it, just an awkward half hour or so and a couple of dollars out of my pocket. It could have been a lot worse, that's for sure!

I did eventually get to the 6th Floor Museum, alone. Formerly the Texas Book Depository, famous for being the sight where Lee Harvey Oswald "supposedly" shot down President John F Kennedy in 1963 from the aforementioned 6th floor. Its a totally unispiring building from the outside, indeed the whole area surrounding it, including the infamous grassy knoll is just a sight where something happened once upon a time. Tourists mill around the place and their presence is the only thing to really tell you there is anything special about the place.




The museum is fairly well done but its one of those you need to be in the mood for reading to get the most out of it. Fortunately I was in one such mood although I can imagine the whole thing being a tad dull if you aren't! Of course its worth the entry fee alone to have a peak out of the window from which those famous shots were fired.


Its strange to think that there is much build up to Dallas and the JFK stuff but when you're actually here it somehow seems to drift into the background as if no one is quite sure what to do with it. There's certainly a few museums dedicated to the events and the conspiracies attached but I felt like the 6th Floor Museum had all but covered that for me and for anyone other than a hardened conspiracy nut.

In reality this is just about as touristy as Dallas seems to get. It comes across as a City that isn't quite used to the tourists and with its infamous shopping malls seems to have its financial gains covered elsewhere. Its a City not short of impressive structures and buildings but many of the attractions seem sparse and spread out. I allowed my feet to do the wondering for a few hours, no real aim in mind other than to just explore the City. Its also a City that seems to love its fountains!





I have to admit to being disappointed with Downtown Dallas. It has some impressive buildings but its Skyline falls flat when compared to New York or even Chicago and there feels like there's even less to draw you here than Downtown St Louis!

The feeling that this place wasn't really for me dawned on me quickly. I knew the evenings would be hard. The last train back out of here to South Irving was at 9.30pm, making staying Downtown for an evenings entertainment all but impossible. I knew that once I returned though there was even less to do back at the hostel. If I hadn't had a flight out of Dallas Fort Worth in a few days time I would have taken off somewhere else already. As it is, I would have to stick out a few days, have a few beers Downtown before it was time to go home and just catch an early night or two. Probably time to catch up on some sleep and some washing anyway!