We started out downtown at the Riverwalk. What a beautiful area!
The old buildings, the huge trees, flowers everywhere...just amazing. Every restaurant has an outdoor patio with wrought iron furniture and brightly coloured umbrellas. It was hard to take it all in.
After lunch, Tom had to meet a friend so we headed north of downtown. While he talked to his friend I sat in the car and looked up real estate listings, pretending I was moving there.
We really wanted to see the missions before it got dark but we didn't have time to see them all, so we chose Mission Espada for the aquaduct, Mission San José for the church, and the Alamo because, well, you have to see the Alamo, right? As Canadians, southern US history is just a story for us, but we wanted to learn as much as we could.
We were the only ones at Mission Espada. It was so quiet, we felt like we should tiptoe around.
We then moved on to Mission San José. Luckily, it is open a half hour longer than Espada. San José is much bigger, and has had more restoration work done.
There is a water-powered mill on the grounds, believed to be the oldest mill in Texas. We were lucky enough to see it working just before they shut the water gate for the day.
(click photo to enlarge)
The houses on those streets though! Huge mansions on even larger properties. Some of the houses have walking tours throughout the day.
I also took pictures of a couple of the outdoor patios. We don't have outdoor areas you can use year-round in Ontario, so to see them is always a novelty.
This one was on the second floor, linking the main house to the guest house.
We headed back to the Riverwalk again and stopped for BBQ. I ordered beef ribs - wow they are huge! There were tons of fish in the river, begging for bread scraps. This one came up to say hello. He looks a bit grumpy, doesn't he? Maybe because the bread was so good I wouldn't share.
The area was still really busy, even for being nearly 10 o'clock at night. We were pretty beat by then, and we still had a long drive back to Houston, so we started the trek back to the car. We ended up walking past the Alamo again so I got another shot of the chapel, this time all lit up.
We had such a great time that we are determined to come back, for longer next time. I want to stay in this hotel with a room overlooking the water.
Do you live in San Antonio? Do you go downtown very often? I'm guessing the locals avoid the crowds, but I don't know if I'd be able to tear myself away.
4 comments:
I was fortunate enough to be able to visit San Antonio last year when I traveled to Texas for my son's Air Force basic training graduation. I fell in love with the Riverwalk area! So amazing, almost like being in a different world! I, too, want to go back for a longer visit and that hotel you showed looks like the perfect place to stay!
~Donna
I"ve wanted to go to San Antonio ever since I heard about the river walk. Thanks for taking us along on your tour of the city - it looks gorgeous. Love those houses and all the old stone buildings in the missions.
You should go! I never imagined I would ever go to Texas (it's so far from Ontario), but now I'm in love with the place.
I can't stop telling people about it!
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