Tuesday, November 24, 2015

San Antonio, Eats and The Saga

 

One thing that San Antonio does not lack is restaurants.  Walking up and down the River Walk, there is a seemingly endless chain of restaurant after restaurant.  D and I made mental notes of what was there and I researched them on Yelp during my downtime.  For dinner, we settled on The County Line.

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For checking into Yelp we received a free appetizer plate of sausage.

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We also ordered a side of the homemade wheat bread which was quite good.  However, we needed to save room for the main event, the bbq!

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We ordered the five meat platter, which included brisket, sausage, turkey, a beef rib and baby back ribs.  I realize this picture is not very appetizing, but it was pretty good.  I should also mention that our waitress was particularly nice which made the experience even better.  However, the mosquitoes also had a feast on my legs while we dined outside, so that was not fun. 

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View from our hotel room.

After D fulfilled his work duties the next day, we went to an area of San Antonio called The Market Square, which has a bunch of Mexican restaurants and shops.  I would not recommend walking there at night, as it is a bit sketchy, but during the day it was fine. 

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We ate at Mi Tierra.  I ordered the lunch special of chicken with zucchini, rice, beans and a side of tortillas.

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D ordered the beef enchiladas.

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D also felt the need to order this red soda.  I forgot the actual name, but when D asked the waitress what it tasted like, she said it was like “Big Red”.  That was not helpful since we were not familiar with Big Red either.  I had one sip, but was not a fan.  I think it is like cherry Dr. Pepper. 

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The restaurant had a lot of atmosphere, and we could not believe what a bargain the food was!

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Of course, we had to make a stop at the bakery counter afterward. 

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San Fernando Cathedral…more on this later.

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This is the courthouse. 

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Chillin’ out with our guava and lemon pastries—yum!  For dinner, we went to the Awards Banquet at the Wyndham.  We excused ourselves to make the 9:00 p.m. showing of The Saga, which is an art installation by Xavier de Richemont which is projected onto the façade of the aforementioned San Fernando Cathedral.

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This is what it looked like at night, before the show began.

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The show lasts about twenty minutes, and there is music to accompany the lights, which tells the history of San Antonio.

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The production, which is free to the public, is so amazing!  I am glad I was able to convince D to go.  It was a wonderful way to wrap up our trip!

Monday, November 23, 2015

San Antonio: Riverwalk Cruise and Alamo

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In the morning, we had a nice breakfast and D manned the Mazda table. 

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In the afternoon, we took a short narrated cruise on the Riverwalk.  This is a must do when visiting San Antonio!  Well worth the $8.25 admission.

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One interesting tidbit is that the river is only 3-4 feet deep in most parts.  Also, the majority of the river is natural, with just one bend being manmade!

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There are some intricate mosaics integrated into the architecture. 

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There were some Christmas decorations up, but we missed the lights on the trees along the Riverwalk.  I bet that looks spectacular!

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Gargoyles!

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We were also able to visit the Alamo during our first afternoon.  It was nice being able to walk everywhere.

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The garden of the Alamo has koi fish!

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We caught a short recitation by a school group in front of the Alamo.

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However, the real crowd started gathering to see this guy:

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Ozzy Osbourne!  Apparently, he was making a public apology for urinating on the Alamo a while back.  Classy.