It was a bit surreal waking up on my 30th birthday in San Antonio, Texas. We stayed in a lovely hotel, costing us 4 times the average cost of the rest of the nights on our trip so far, we splashed out a bit. I didn't dread turning 30, I'm happy with my achievements at this milestone in my life. Fraser gave me his present when we woke up, a beautiful set of jewellery featuring sapphires to match my engagement ring. We chose it together, so I knew what I was getting. We went to brunch with Amy and Sam, and they gave me a lovely bangle from them and my other sister and her husband, so I felt very lucky.
We walked down the Riverwalk to find a place to eat and found somewhere that wasn't mexican, our waiter was obviously flustered and dripping with sweat as he took our orders, and even apologised for his appearance, it was a bit strange. Breakfast was okay, the poached eggs were pretty much hard boiled, but the huge coffee I had was tasty. (I would point out though that my perception of good coffee is changing, as everything in the US is pretty bad compared to good coffee like our old local favourite, Nude Coffee in London).
As this was our full day in San Antonio we wanted to see the sights, and headed to San Antonio's most popular historical attraction, the Alamo. On our way we came across the Veteran's Day ceremony and parade outside the Alamo, so stopped and watched for a bit. The Alamo wasn't quite what I was expecting, I knew that it was an old fort, but what is actually left to see is most of the original church building that was built for monks, and over the years was turned into a fortress. Most of the rest of the fortress had been lost in battles and over time.
There aren't many other big tourist attractions in San Antonio, so we had plenty of time to just meander around and relax in the sun. The weather was lovely and warm compared to up north where we'd come from. We decided to have a boat ride tour around the canals in the historical centre of San Antonio and learned from our boat driver about the hotels and buildings built around the channels, and also the flood protection systems when the river rises. The boat ride also took as past this little island in the canal that is called Wedding island, this is because the island is naturally shaped like a heart, and there are about 3 weddings per day in summer performed on this island. There wasn't a wedding on when we went past though. We checked out the Market square with a covered market place and had a look at the trinkets and gift shops. Most of the trinkets were mexican type trinkets, rather than cow-boy trinkets like we saw in Fort Worth.
Wade, a guy that Sam played rugby with a couple of years back is from near San Antonio, so he met us near the markets to catch up and we found a place for lunch. It was mexican, and Wade ordered cheese dip for a starter to share. It was a large plate of melted cheese for us to dip our taco chips into, it was delicious, but the most cheese I've eaten in one sitting. As it was my birthday it was also necessary to have frozen margaritas with lunch. After lunch Sam and Wade went to a german beer festival on the outskirts of San Antonio and Fraser, Amy and I wandered back along Riverside to have a rest at the hotel. On the way we were fortunate, or unfortunate depending on whether you're Fraser, but we saw a wedding being set up on Wedding Island, so we stopped and waited for the bride to arrive. We weren't the only people stopped to watch the wedding, it's a rather public place to hold a wedding, but fascinating for Amy and I.
After a rest in the late afternoon, Fraser and I met up again with Sam, Wade and Amy for a nip of tequila before setting out for a romantic dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. I had a lovely memorable 30th birthday in San Antonio and hope that it sets the tone of the adventures still to come in my 30s.
We walked down the Riverwalk to find a place to eat and found somewhere that wasn't mexican, our waiter was obviously flustered and dripping with sweat as he took our orders, and even apologised for his appearance, it was a bit strange. Breakfast was okay, the poached eggs were pretty much hard boiled, but the huge coffee I had was tasty. (I would point out though that my perception of good coffee is changing, as everything in the US is pretty bad compared to good coffee like our old local favourite, Nude Coffee in London).
Wade, a guy that Sam played rugby with a couple of years back is from near San Antonio, so he met us near the markets to catch up and we found a place for lunch. It was mexican, and Wade ordered cheese dip for a starter to share. It was a large plate of melted cheese for us to dip our taco chips into, it was delicious, but the most cheese I've eaten in one sitting. As it was my birthday it was also necessary to have frozen margaritas with lunch. After lunch Sam and Wade went to a german beer festival on the outskirts of San Antonio and Fraser, Amy and I wandered back along Riverside to have a rest at the hotel. On the way we were fortunate, or unfortunate depending on whether you're Fraser, but we saw a wedding being set up on Wedding Island, so we stopped and waited for the bride to arrive. We weren't the only people stopped to watch the wedding, it's a rather public place to hold a wedding, but fascinating for Amy and I.
After a rest in the late afternoon, Fraser and I met up again with Sam, Wade and Amy for a nip of tequila before setting out for a romantic dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. I had a lovely memorable 30th birthday in San Antonio and hope that it sets the tone of the adventures still to come in my 30s.
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