We also had some time on our big Texas adventure to explore San Antonio and Hill Country. After we left Austin, we drove southwest to Boerne, where the wedding was to be held.
Along the way, we stopped at Dry Comal Creek Vineyards for a wine tasting. For $7 each we got to taste 10 Texas wines and munch on some crackers and spicy pepper jam. 
The wines were all very interesting: I called them “Texas party wines” because they were all smooth and drinkable and seemed like they would be great to enjoy on a hut day with a backyard barbecue. But at $17 a bottle, we felt they were a bit overpriced.
The rest of the day Friday was spent hanging out with family, but early Saturday we all piled into cars and made our way to San Antonio to explore. We started at the Alamo – actually we were the very first people inside when it opened at 9am.
The rest of the day Friday was spent hanging out with family, but early Saturday we all piled into cars and made our way to San Antonio to explore. We started at the Alamo – actually we were the very first people inside when it opened at 9am.
It was a lot smaller than we had all anticipated, but the tour was informative and we enjoyed learning about the history of the building and the famous battle. We took a quick walk through the very overpriced kitschy gift shop and then wandered around the gardens. We spent more time strolling around the beautiful grounds than we did inside the actual building.
From there we headed to the Riverwalk. I had been very excited to see it and I have to say, it was a bit disappointing. Someone in our group commented that it was very Disneyland and we all agreed that there was something “It’s a Small World After All” about it.
There were tons of bars and restaurants lining the Riverwalk, along with souvenir shops selling the mandatory cowboy hats and humorous shot glasses and t-shirts. We browsed around for a while, walked up and down the Riverwalk, and then began our search for a place to eat that would satisfy all 9 of us. I had read that many of the Riverwalk restaurants were touristy and overpriced, but after a while we just wanted to eat (and figured they were mostly the same) so we picked the next Tex-Mex spot was saw – the Republic of Texas – which actually turned out to be quiet tasty and reasonably priced. They even had a special deal – a small portion of nachos and two beers or margaritas for $8. Several at our table took advantage of that, while Dan and I split an order of quesadillas.
On Sunday, we headed back to San Antonio. We had really wanted to eat at Dough, listed in Food and Wine Magazine as one of the best new pizza places in the country, but it was closed on Sundays so instead we headed for more Mexican at La Margarita Oyster Bar in Produce Row, a little pedestrian block full of shops and restaurants.
On Sunday, we headed back to San Antonio. We had really wanted to eat at Dough, listed in Food and Wine Magazine as one of the best new pizza places in the country, but it was closed on Sundays so instead we headed for more Mexican at La Margarita Oyster Bar in Produce Row, a little pedestrian block full of shops and restaurants.
We shared some fajitas and a cheap and refreshing pitcher of margaritas and then checked into our inn, the King William Manor.
The inn was very cute and the staff was helpful. We picked the place mainly because it had a pool (which we didn’t end up using) and was in our price range at $90 a night. I’m so glad we stayed there as it ended up changing our opinion of San Antonio to be much more favorable. The inn is located in the King William area of the city – a residential area of tree-lined streets and stately mansions that are on the register of historic places in Texas. We had a map of the more notable ones and spent some time admiring them as we walked along the quiet riverside (which, at some points, was looking pretty funky and stagnant) until we got back to the Riverwalk.
We took a quick spin around and then headed back to hit the hay – we needed to wake up at 5am the next morning for our flight.
Returning the rental car was a nightmare. After several wrong turns, two stops to ask for directions, lots of cursing, and with only 20 minutes to make our flight, we finally got back to Avis, tossed the keys to the agent, hopped on the shuttle, ran through security, and made it to our gate with about 8 minutes to spare.
We didn’t spend much time in San Antonio, so I feel bad making a judgement about it. But overall, I wasn’t too impressed. I really liked the King William area and would consider coming back to tour some of the houses (they open to the public in December) or explore more away from the Riverwalk. But my preference would be to spend more time in Austin instead.
Returning the rental car was a nightmare. After several wrong turns, two stops to ask for directions, lots of cursing, and with only 20 minutes to make our flight, we finally got back to Avis, tossed the keys to the agent, hopped on the shuttle, ran through security, and made it to our gate with about 8 minutes to spare.
We didn’t spend much time in San Antonio, so I feel bad making a judgement about it. But overall, I wasn’t too impressed. I really liked the King William area and would consider coming back to tour some of the houses (they open to the public in December) or explore more away from the Riverwalk. But my preference would be to spend more time in Austin instead.
1 comments:
Really beautiful....!
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