Virtual Tour of Houston
Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a great week so far. If you are new, then welcome, I am excited to have you! If not, then welcome back– you already know the deal; we post weekly virtual tour content for small businesses.
This past month, I visited one of the most amazing cities in the United States. I would tell you to take a guess of which city, but we would be sitting here all night; so I will just tell you. I went to Houston, Texas!
Houston is so big, that it can go miles and miles out. Not only is Houston extremely huge, but the options of things to do and places to go are endless. So I thought, why don’t I just prove it to you by giving a Virtual Tour of Houston and I can just reminisce along the way? It is a win-win for both of us!
Houston is a perfect place to do some virtual tours since most of the spaces are big. Momentum 360 recently partnered with Marriott Marquis Houston and did an amazing virtual tour! Like come on, I am so tempted to jump in their gigantic Texas shaped pool.
Now, that was just a sneak peak of what you are about to see; but I think it is time to begin our Virtual Tour of Houston. I am about to show you the hot spots and the must see’s of this beautiful city. Here we go!
The Galleria Mall
I hope you have money, because we are going shopping! Ranking #7 in the biggest mall in America is the Galleria!
There are over 300 stores inside. It has almost every store you can think of! Personally, my hometown mall is ranked #3 of the biggest malls in the United States; but when I go inside the Galleria, it feels like they have way more stores.
When entering the mall, you are greeted by the valet parkers. Fancy! Too bad we did not drive.
Walking in, is the entrance of the second floor of the mall. You will notice how wide and spacious it is along with the amazing high glass ceiling that has a slight curve in the center of the Galleria. There are different stores along each side of the mall. On this floor level, you can find the majority of the luxury stores like Gucci (my favorite), Louis Vuitton, Versace, Hugo Boss, Balenciaga, YSL (another favorite) , and so much more!
Taking the escalator up to the third floor, there are even more stores! These ones are a little bit more affordable than the previous stores we have seen. Shopping establishments like Forever 21, Vans, Victoria Secret, Bath & Body Works, PacSun, and many others are located on this floor. Another interesting part of the third level of the Galleria is that there is a small section of small business boutiques to shop at! I absolutely love the fact how the boutiques are isolated from the mainstream stores so they can have their own recognition and have more of a focus on them. There are only a handful of small boutiques, but it looks like there are vacant spaces to open up more!
Oh, and one more cool feature about the third floor; there is a hotel connected! Yes, the Westin Hotel is attached to the mall too. There is an elevator that takes you from the third floor right to your room. Along the side, you can see patio’s of each hotel; that is a perfect place for people to watch! I’m shocked that this is even a thing… anyone can be like, “Be right back, I’m going to run downstairs to the Gucci store!”. Actual goals.
Going back down two levels, you would think this is called the “First Level” or the “First Floor”, but no. We are now standing on the “Rink Level”. Why is this called the rink level, you may ask? Well, take a look! There is a huge ice skating rink right in the center of the mall! Also, there are some shoe stores for all you sneakerheads, a travel shop that sells souvenirs, and of course– the food court. What is a mall without a food court?
The Galleria comes along with many restaurants; some for example:
- The Cheesecake Factory
- Grand Lux Cafe
- Chili’s
- Del Frisco’s
- Many more!
That is really it with the Galleria! I definitely recommend having a field day here. I needed two of them due to the size of it. I say we head to our next stop on our Virtual Tour of Houston… agree? Let’s go!
The Toyota Center
In the fine words of Houston native Beyoncé… London speed it up, Houston rock it! I welcome you to the notorious Toyota Center! This is the home of the NBA basketball team, the Houston Rockets. Luckily, during my time in Houston, I was able to attend a game (which they lost); but overall it was an amazing time. I would say let go see one right now, but unfortunately the Houston Rockets did not make the playoffs. Maybe next year!
The outside exterior of the Toyota Center is gorgeous and sits beautiful right in Downtown Houston. The building has a narrow square-round shape, with a perfect circle that sits on top. Right where the entrance is where the iconic Toyota Center logo with four tall flag poles waving over it.
As we walk inside, it looks like your typically home stadium entry; except this one is showing their Rocket pride. There are concession stands, sports gear stores, former and current players jerseys along the walls, and escalators/elevators to access the levels of the stadium.
Alright, this is what we all have been waiting to see; the Houston Rockets basketball court! Standing in the middle of the court, we are surrounded by rocket red stadium seats. In the middle, hanging from the roof is the giant jumbotron. There is the glossy wood detailing on the court floors along with red colors. In the middle of the floor is the famous team logo and along the side of the court are in big letters “Houston Rockets”; but most importantly, the basketball hoops! If you look way up high above the seats, that is club box seating; but I prefer the courtside. Just kidding, in my dreams. Catch me in the nosebleeds!
Get ready, because our last area that we will be looking at in the stadium, no one but exclusive people can access in here. This is the locker room for the Houston Rockets basketball players! So yeah, you are probably stepping in some of the players’ sweat right now. It is gross if you think about it, but exciting to know. Walking in, the ceiling is a white dome shape. Along the walls, each player has their own dark chestnut colored section to hang up their jerseys and put their personal stuff away. Above each player’s section has a tv screen of their name, picture and stats. Looking down at the ground is all velvet black flooring with the large iconic Houston Rockets logo in red. Of course there are showers in here; but I think we are getting a little too personal just by being in here as it is.
Not only are basketball games held at the Toyota Stadium. Many musicians come here to perform live shows also. It is pretty amazing when you can transform a basketball court to a stage!
That was a great time checking out the Toyota Stadium, but the game is not over yet. Off to the next stop of our Virtual Tour of Houston.
Lakewood Church
During my visit in Houston, I was in an uber on my way to the Galleria; I passed by this huge building that had the words “Lakewood Church” in front of it. I searched up on Google more information about it, and little did I know, it was Pastor Joel Osteen’s megachurch! Unfortunately, I did not attend any services when I was there since I noticed it was my last day in Houston; so I thought, how about we all go together now?
With a $95 million renovation cost of the entire megachurch, the outside architecture looks very modern and structured well, along with bright green grass in front of the building. Also, it has a perfect background of downtown Houston right behind
Heading inside, we enter the lobby area. Right in front of us are huge and wide all white stairs. It can get very crowded inside– so maybe having stairs like these is worth it! Also, right beside the stairs are escalators; maybe I will take them up since I am feeling lazy.
On the upper level is the Lakewood Bookstore. It is an area of the church where attendees can check out some interesting books. It looks like your typical bookstore, with a variety of books around the room and a cashier stand in the front.
Alright, the moment of truth, the room where all the praising happens. This megachurch is enormous; but you know what they say– everything is bigger in Texas. The megachurch is an oval-shaped room that is newly renovated which can now hold over 16,000 seats.
Looking up at the ceiling are all the production lights that have blue squares designs covering them on top.
All the way in front of the megachurch is the main stage. This has to be the most beautiful part. There is an elevated surface in the back where the band plays, Joel Osteen’s preaching platform, and right in front are just a couple stairs that lead up to there. One each side has more seating that is placed in a curved way; and not to forget, the giant screens for the people who cannot see the main stage as well.
Alright, that was amazing! I don’t know about you, but I never see megachurches often. Actually, I never see them at all. That was a first for me! I think it is time for us to go to our last stop of our Virtual Tour of Houston. Can you think where we are going? Let’s just say… we can swim on over and find out.
Downtown Aquarium
Welcome to the Downtown Aquarium in Houston! The outside of the aquarium gives a beautiful blue and gray tropical theme with palm trees surrounding the building.
Walking inside the entrance you will see more palm trees, a box office along the wall, and an amazing fountain with two giant swordfish statues in the middle of it. Some of the walls of the aquarium are a red-orange color that has a rocky texture.
The exhibits that are included in the Downtown Aquarium are:
- Texas Bayou– You can look at some bullfrogs, alligators, turtles, and more to see in this exhibit!
- Rainforest– Here you can see dangerous fish like piranhas and stingrays. Also included are boa’s, frogs, and some birds.
- Shipwreck– You can find living coral reefs, clownfish, tangs, groupers, and more here in this exitibit.
- Discovery Zone– This exitibit, you can be more hands on. There are bearded dragons, snakes, and many more fish you can find here!
- Sunken Temple– There are lionfish, tarantulas, pufferfish here. Also, including an electric eel and a Tiger Reticulated Python that is over 20 feet long.
- Underwater Rig– Here you can find more interesting kinds of fish. There are snappers, redfish and much more!
- Stingray Reef– Of course you are going to see some amazing stingrays here! What makes it even better is that you can touch and feed them–how awesome is that?
- Tiger’s of the Maharaja’s Temple– You can see some amazing tigers here!
What an amazing aquarium. I cannot even choose which exhibit I like the best, they are all so great! This is a beautiful aquarium to go to. There is so much to check out, and if you feel a little hungry, you can go to one of the concession stands to grab a bite to eat.
Final Words
Wow, what a tour that was. Thank you so much for coming along this fascinating Virtual Tour of Houston! I hope that gave you a little insight of what Houston is like; but of course, there is so much more to experience when in this amazing city.
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