San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio was our first planned destination in Texas.  In truth, the only reason we went there was because Sharon has this idea that all places that start with "San" are great places.  We honestly knew nothing else about it and I didn't have the heart to shatter her illusion by describing San Antonio's namesake in Ibiza to her!  Besides, when you're "free range" like we are at the moment, you can decide to go to places for random reasons like that if you want to.

In case you haven't heard though, Texas is quite big.  In fact, describing it as "quite big" is sort of like describing Ted Bundy as "a bit naughty".

It took us three days once we crossed the Texas border to reach San Antonio.  Here's an extensive montage of what we saw on the way:

OK good.  Well eventually, the combination of denser traffic, more frequent McDonalds locations and my rising road rage levels told me we were entering a city.  Confident that we hadn't made a wrong turn, since we hadn't in fact had to make any turns that day, it seemed we must be arriving in San Antonio.

We pulled in to an RV resort (gone are the days of slumming it at Walmart - after nearly a year we're all about the luxury!) and hopped straight on a bus into town.

We alighted in downtown and picked up the city's River Walk, a popular tourist attraction purpose-built to encourage economic recovery after the Great Depression.  They basically confined the San Antonio River into a narrow channel which loops around the city centre, paved and landscaped the banks and then garnished them with bars and restaurants.

 

It looks great and provides a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere.  You can catch a water taxi if you wish, or just stroll the pedestrianised banks.

I do question the wisdom though of putting so many bars in such close proximity to so much running water.  What happens when someone inevitably has a call of nature as they stagger home one night?

Fortunately, for now it was just my ever-demanding stomach that was calling.  We ate at a nice Mexican place on the edge of Hemisfair Park and after some food and a cheeky afternoon Margarita, wandered over to check out the park.

Another popular attraction,  Hemisfair Park was originally built to hold the 1968 World's Fair.  Here we found that the city's fascination with water doesn't drain away at the River Walk, with a labyrinth of cascading waterfalls being a prominent feature of the park.

 

It's also the site of the San Antonio skyline's most striking landmark, the 750 ft tall Tower Of The Americas.  Obviously, you can go into and up the tower, where you'll find various shops, restaurants and an observation deck.  We opted to come back another evening for some nighttime views.

The next morning we headed for the west of the city to check out El Mercado / Market Square.  It's a historic shopping district and the largest Mexican shopping centre in the city.  It boasts a "farmer's market", which made us imagine rows of interesting food stalls, but it's more of a crafts and clothes type market.

There's a food court which doubles as an arena for live performances (festivals, fiestas, dance troupes, etc) on certain days of the month.  It was a relatively quiet mid-week day when we visited, so we ate up and headed south towards the King William Historic District.

The King William Historic District is an idyllic neighbourhood of grandiose houses, many developed in the early 1800s and uniquely designed in a variety of different architectural styles.  We spent a good hour just wandering around, gawping at these mansions, some of which probably covered more floor area than every house I've ever lived in put together.

 

Sharon of course ear-marked several for future purchase.  When I sensed that my creative excuses about the terrible termite problems those old wooden frames must experience were wearing thin, I did my best to lead us back up the river towards downtown!

Next on our itinerary was The Alamo.  Now regarded as a symbol of Texan freedom, the Alamo was a mission, converted into a crucial fortification, that was defended against a Mexican siege in 1836 during Texas' war for independence from Mexico.

Texan volunteer soldiers, including famous frontiersman Davy Crockett, held out for 13 days and survived two attempts before the Mexican invaders overpowered them on the third.

The battle struck a chord with many Texans, who joined the struggle and got revenge later that year at the battle of San Jacinto.  "Remember the Alamo!" was their battle cry as they emerged victorious, ensuring Texan independence from Mexico.

We had fully intended to pay for a tour inside the gates of the Alamo, but unfortunately we succumbed to our own battle of wills on the way, failing to walk past the various "Happy Hour!" signs outside the bars along the river.  By the time we eventually wobbled our way to the gates, tours were done for the day so we simply admired from the outside.

 

We then meandered our way back to Hemisfair Park to appreciate nocturnal San Antonio from the top of the tower (and also to catch the last minutes of happy hour).

A stroll back along the river completed our trip the same way it started.  We came to San Antonio with no expectations whatsoever and were pleasantly surprised by everything we found, from its picturesque water features to its grand architecture and buzzing nightlife.

Next we would head north and cross off another "must-see":  A genuine, all-American rodeo!