San Antonio Tour

As I told you yesterday, we were going to explore San Antonio today.  We were picked up at the RV park at 8.30am, after picking up a few other people we headed to the tour operators office in the center of SA (not South Africa).  The tour started with the Riverboat Ride, which is cruise down the romantic San Antonio River, with sidewalk cafes, lush tropical foliage and charming boutiques. Onto the Japanese Sunken Garden which is built in the old stone quarry.  We were then off loaded at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and Texas Ranger Museum and left to our own devices to explore that and the Alamo.

For those of you who don't know about the Alamo, here is a short summary.  The Alamo is the Cradle of Texas Liberty, established in 1718 as Mission San Antonio De Valera, the first of five missions built along the San Antonio River, where Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Colonel Travis and 186 valiant men sacrificed  their lives fighting for Texas Independence.

After lunch, we went to Mission San Jose' and Mission Concepcion.  The Mission San Jose' is the finest example of a completely restored mission in the USA renowned for exquisite stone carvings including the famous Rose Window.  The Mission Concepcio'n is the oldest unrestored stone church in the nation today. it was where Friars Christianized the Indians.  Some of the original frescos are still visible within the rooms of the mission.

Then the last place to visit, and the most uninteresting, was the local market.  It was fine if you liked loud music, beer and useless trinkets, meant to separate the tourist from his money as quickly as possible. This week is the Fiesta week, with parades and dancing to celebrate the heritage of San Antonio.

All in all it was a very interesting day, organized as only the Americans can organize history and museum tours. Colleen.

The last picture shows me with the 6 significant flags that have flown over Texas.
Let me tell,
1. Spanish
2.French
3.Mexican
4.Texas(Lone Star)
5.Confederation.
6.The Stars and Stripes.
Now you know.. Dirk