Full Day in San Antonio

On Saturday morning, we got on the city bus right outside the campground (another thing we like about Travelers World), and rode to downtown San Antonio.  We got off at Commerce Street and walked about 1/2 mile west to the Historic Market Square -- one of the largest Mexican markets outside of Mexico.

We arrived around 10 am and it was not very crowded...yet.

The market is filled with the colors, crafts, music, tastes and smells (from all the food) of Mexico.  One of the first food vendors we walked by was handing out tripas for us to try.  Everyone except Ken got talked into trying one.

Guess what tripas are?  Cow intestines.  Eeek!  They were edible -- barely -- but we needed something to drink immediately to wash the taste out of our mouth.  Fortunately, the food vendor next door was selling fruit drinks.  We bought a big pineapple drink that tasted like you were drinking a pineapple and was not as sugary-tasting as regular pineapple juice.  It was much better than the tripas.  

 Bonnie and I walked in Mia Tierra Bakery and Cafe to check out some of the mexican pastries.  We decided on a empanada which is similar to an apple turnover.  It was delicious!

The market was so colorful!

As we walked on a little further, I noticed a vendor selling funnel cakes and one of my favorite desserts:  fried oreos!  Not exactly a Mexican dish but they sure are good!  Ken, Bonnie and Chuck thought so too!

We also looked at a lot of the vendors selling clothes, hats, crafts, jewelry, toys, and just about anything else...except camera straps.  I am trying out a new camera but I forgot to put the camera strap on before we left.  I think we went in every little shop but no one had a camera strap.  I finally found a very colorful strap of some sort that Chuck and the nice saleslady were able to make the strap work by tying it through the loops on the camera.

We decided to have one more taste of Mexico before we left the Mexican market so we split a plate of four tacos with a little bit of spicy salsa.  Chuck and Ken also ate part of a jalapeno pepper with it.  Yeow!  Hot but tasty!

By the time we were ready to leave the Mexican market, it was getting much more crowded.  We were glad we had come here early.  What a great morning at the Mexican market!

After leaving the Mexican market, we walked back to the Riverwalk.  One of the things we had noticed when we were here previously is the amount of old historical architecture in downtown San Antonio.  The Cathedral of San Fernando was original built between 1738 and 1750 however it is only the walls of the church that make it the oldest cathedral in Texas.

It was enlarged in the late 1800's in a Gothic style under the direction of architect Francois P. Giraud.

San Antonio's government buildings are unique and beautiful in their architecture as well.

Bexar County Courthouse (completed in 1896)

San Antonio City Hall

The Health Department Building was old but interesting.

We walked down to the Riverwalk and were amazed by its beauty and construction.

Who's that up on that ivy-covered bridge?

We decided to take a boat tour to learn a little more about San Antonio.

We went by the historic arts village of La Villita where along with shops of local artists and craftsmen they also have music and dance performances.

We could see the Bexar County Courthouse from the riverboat cruise.

We went by the Tower Life Building whose lower levels almost make it look like a big ship.

It was originally known as the Smith-Young Tower after the businessmen (Smith) and their attorney (Young) who built it complete with gargoyles that served as gutters at the top.

It even had these scary faces along one of the lower floors of the building.  Unfortunately, Smith and Young lost the building almost as soon as they built it with the market crash of 1929.

We continued out into the actual "river" part of the Riverwalk where it is about 25 feet deep instead of the average 3 feet deep.

The U-shaped Riverwalk was constructed partly for flood control and as a diversion for the water.  When they get too much rain, these gates come down to prevent flooding to the Riverwalk areas.

The landscaping along the Riverwalk is absolutely beautiful!

Next, we rode by the Omni La Mansion del Rio which was formerly a Catholic school and university before being converted into a hotel...

...and this skyscraper that still serves as a hospital for downtown San Antonio.

We rode by the office building of the architect of the Riverwalk:  R. H. H. Hugman..

...and the first restaurant along the Riverwalk, Casa Rio, which was started in 1946 and is still owned and operated by the same family.

The boat cruise now took us near the Hemisphere where we could see the Tower of the Americas...

...and the Lila Cockrell Theatre...

with its mosaic entitled "Confluence of Civilizations in the Americas" by Juan O'Gorman.

One of the last buildings we rode by was the Hilton Palacio del Rio which was built for the 1968 World's Fair in a record 202 days by the H. B. Zachry Company.  The way they were able to construct it so quickly is that all the guest rooms were individual modular units completely furnished down to the Bible on the nightstand as our tour guide explained.  They built the core of the building and then just stacked the modules together.  

By the time our Riverwalk boat tour came to an end, we were ready for another Mexican lupper and what better place to eat than the Riverwalk's first restaurant:  Casa Rio!  

After a relaxing and delicious lupper, we walked over and toured the Alamo.  

We had been to the Alamo in November of 2013 (see Remember the Alamo!).  After walking through the Alamo and looking at the exhibits, we walked the nicely landscaped grounds surrounding the Alamo.  

There was a cactus that was blooming with beautiful yellow flowers on the grounds.

After finishing our tour of the Alamo, we walked back to St. Mary's Street to catch the bus back to the campground.  Another great day in San Antonio!