San Antonio, Texas: Part 2

When this plate of waffle was set down before me, all I could think was, "Don't Mess With Texas." This was one of my favourite meals on our trip-- mostly because of the aesthetics. How can you not love a Texas shaped waffle!?

Alamo memorial erected on the 100th anniversary of the battle of the Alamo. 

Our hotel was directly kitty corner to the Alamo, but we waited until Tom arrived before we hit any of the historical sightseeing stops. Tom is a notoriously bad shopper, so we got all of our shopping out of the way before he got there. The Alamo is not particular large, and is located in downtown San Antonio. Fun fact: Alamo is the Spanish word for "cottonwood."

The Alamo.

A brief history of the Alamo goes like this:

The Alamo, constructed in 1724, was originally named Mission San Antonio de Valero. It served as a missionary for nearly 70 years before it was converted into a military station. The Spanish, Rebel and Mexican military occupied the Alamo until the Texas Revolution.

In  December 1835 a group of Texians and Tejanos forced Mexican troops out of the city and occupied the Alamo. On February 23, 1836, the Mexican army retaliated and a 13 day siege began.  The Texian commander of the Alamo sent couriers to neighbouring communities asking for help to stave off the Mexicans, but few came to their aid. The Mexican soldiers attacked on March 6. After an epic day-long battle, nearly all the Texians (numbers conflict between 180-250) were killed. Although 400-600 Mexican soldiers were killed, they ultimately emerged victorious. The only remaining survivors were a few wives and children of men from the Alamo.

Shrine on the grounds of the Alamo.

Cactus within the Alamo grounds.

Us at the Alamo.

Following our tour through the Alamo, we took a 30 minute boat tour on the river through the downtown. The tour guide told us about various buildings and architecture in the city. Afterwards, we made our way back to the Riverwalk for an authentic Mexican meal. Enchiladas, nachos and tacos were enjoyed by all.

Tom enjoys an Alamo Golden Ale with lunch.

After lunch we headed towards the Market Square. Along the way we stopped to view the San Fernando Cathedral. The cathedral was founded in 1731 and features detailed carved sandstone and stained glass windows.

San Fernando Cathedral.

In the Market Square, we watched Mexican dancers swirling their dresses to lively music, and wandered through the stalls of tacky tourist souvenirs. One of my favorite photos of the trip is featured below-- a wall of colourful miniature guitars.

Guitars in the Market Square.

There was also a wall of luchidore (wrestlers) masks. We didn't make any purchases, but browsed through the rows of shops for a few minutes.

Luchidore masks.

To close out our trip, we visited the 750 foot tall Tower of the Americas in the heart of San Antonio. We road the ever-so-slow elevator the lounge where we ate dessert and drank cocktails. We had a beautiful view of the city lights from our vantage point, and although we don't know why, we even saw some fireworks being set off.

Tower of Americas.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in San Antonio. The locals were friendly, the weather was amazing, and it was a much needed change from routine. If you're looking for a new city to visit-- keep it in mind!

Thanks to Ashley and Steve for sharing their pictures. They are interspersed with my own!