SATX2

I walked a bit over 10 miles a day in San Antonio. I probably wandered into some neighborhoods that I shouldn't have but noone gave me crap. I also found out that when you are starting to get heat exhaustion, you stop sweating. There is also some numbness in the hands. Cool, huh?

Beyond that I found the Alamo. Quite unimpressive given its impressive history. No need to visit this site, its simply not worth waiting in line in the blazing heat. Take a virtual tour from the comfort of your living room. Your cooler living room.


The Alamo

I noticed this building from afar and kept walking until it wasnt afar. It turned out to be the Emily Morgan Hotel. I'm fascinated with triangular buildings. Flatiron and that kooky building on Market near Castro in SFO were always favorties.





Emily Morgan Hotel

The Emily Morgan Hotel aside from being one of the few examples of Goth Revival architecture this side of the MS River, has an interesting but uncertain history. Built in the 20's as a medical arts building, it morphed into office space in the 70's then became a hotel in the 80's. Ealier, although this is not clear, Emily Morgam was lady for whom the song The Yellow Rose of Texas was written. The story goes that she distracted the Mexican General, Santa Ana, at the battle of San Jacinto allowing Texas revolutionaries to defeat the Mexican Army. I kinda don't believe that since there is no real historical evidence that I've seen. Plus it would be ironic and then some that the "Yellow Rose" was a black lady. I guess it makes for good storytelling just the same.

The other interesting find was a neighborhood south of downtown called the King William District. I could have stayed here all day, the homes and grounds were fascinating.









King William District

I'll definitely return to San Antonio. Next time I will keep my walks a bit shorter and perhaps earlier in the day.

SATX1

San Antonio, Texas

We could call this my second "white-boy in a sea of Latinos" trip in less than a month. San Antonio's population is 80% hispanic. Spanish conversations dominate their English counterparts. Tourism, military (Air Force) and Groceries (HEB - Texas' largest) make up a large chunk of the economy. San Antonio proper has more people than Dallas proper. Its hot here, damn hot.


Water Park, Dolorosa St.



Above Riverwalk, Commerce St.
There many reasons why people visit San Antonio. Most tend to zombie along with the other touristas in the Riverwalk area, that mecca of sub-street dining and shopping clinging to the banks of the San Antonio river. Its actually very nice as far as those kind of centers are concerned but I had seen it once 15 years ago so I didnt feel the need for a return.



Mosaics, Market St.

There are literally thousands of Mexican restaurants in San Antonio. Unfortunately most of them do not serve Mexican food, rather its Tex Mex. Nothing wrong with Tex Mex unless you would rather not have your food choked lifeless by pounds of Jack cheese then embalmed by sour cream, guacamole and over-salted refried beans.


Guajillo's

Fortunately there is a large enough population from Mexico to merit a restaurant that serves real Mexican food - Guajillo's. Guajillo's is a small family run venue started 8 years ago by two brothers. I met one of the brothers after he parked his Harley outside the restaurant and did his meet and greet tour of what seemed to be very regular patrons. Humble, personable and sincerely surprised to hear that his restaraunt got hundreds of rave reviews on the internet.

What to order? It was hard to decide but I picked Sopa De Fideo; a wondermous soup made with a tomato-garlic both served over pan-fried vermicelli. Then I tried Albondigas, which are meatballs stuffed with egg and rice, served with a stunning tomato-chipotle sauce. If you ever find yourself in the area, these two things are memorable. This was the best Mexican meal I've had in or out of Mexico.


Guajillo's
1001 NW Loop 410 @ Blanco Rd.
San Antonio, TX. 78213
210.344.4119


(As you might guess there will be a SATX2 tomorrow :) )