San Antonio Texas

Everyone has been getting excited about arriving in Texas so we wondered if it was all hype and we would be disappointed. This has happened in the past on more than one occasion because different people look for different things in a town. Often how good a town is is based on the night life. I'm pretty sure the night life is great here but that isn't what makes a town for us.

One of the first things we did when we arrived was visit the Alamo. It is one of those places that everyone knows how it looks but we were surprised at how small it was having got use to everything else here usually being bigger. Another thing that surprised us was it is smack bang in the middle of downtown, surrounded by all the shops and attractions. I just expected it to be a bit in the middle of nowhere. It was good for us that it wasn't though as it meant we could walk from the arena and I visited more than once.








After visiting the Alamo we went over to the Imax movie theatre and watched the film Alamo... The Price of Freedom. This was made extra special for us as we went with Alex and his dad Marco, who was actually in the film. I wish we had seen the film before we visited the Alamo, I think it would be better that way. I did go back another day and it seemed a bit of a different place. Later in the week we also watched Toy Story 3D at the Imax, which is a brilliant film.

Also on the first day we went on a Riverboat tour which covers 2 ½ miles of riverwalk. This was a really good way to see all of it and get a bit of history before exploring it on your own. The Riverwalk runs beneath the city's main streets and is full of shops bars, restaurants, a theatre and gardens.. It is a really nice fun place with the added bonus of keeping you out of the direct sun. Right next to, actually above Riverwalk is Rivercenter Mall full of shops and the Imax theater.




Not far from downtown was Splashtown Waterpark. Willow has never been to a waterpark before so was very excited to go and had a brilliant time. There are no photos from here though as we were all to busy getting wet and having a good time.

The Alamodrome arena is pretty much in downtown which is really handy as it gave us a chance to really explore. Though a lot of the time I did this on my own as it was way too hot for Willow. She does seem to be adjusting a little to the heat though and squirting her with water has also helped.



At the back of the arena was a Bill Millers BBQ place, the food was good and cheap but the best thing was the pecan pie. Willow would have eaten there everyday just for their baked potatoes.

Hemisfair Park was a nice park with a large wooden play ground.





It is also the home of The tower of the Americans.





There is a large water feature here but it was a bit of a wind up as it was so hot and you weren't allowed in it. It was pretty though and cooled you a bit with splashes.

Next to Hemisfair Park is the historic Art Village La Villita, San Antonio's oldest surviving neighbourhood. It is a really nice area of San Antonio but was very quiet when I went there, though you can tell why it would be an ideal setting for various events and celebrations throughout the year. There is also a walking tour here you can do to learn about the area which dates back to 1750.




Another 'historic' area is Market Square which is rich in Mexican culture and boasts to being the largest Mexican-style market place in the country.



On the walk to Market Square you pass San Fernando Cathedral and Bexar County Courthouse, both pretty impressive buildings. The Cathedral is the resting place of some of the defenders of the Alamo.



This is definitely a tourist town though and there where lots of things we could have done but didn't have time to or have done similar in previous cities. Along with all the history they have here like a tour of the missions (which I would have liked to do) they have a mirror and laser maze (which I would also have liked to do) and a Seaworld, a children's museum, a zoo, a dinosaur quest, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Ripley's Haunted Adventure, Six Flags, Tomb Rider 3D, a waxworks, various museums and a Guinness world records museum.

So did it live up to the hype? Lets just say one week was not enough.