SAN ANTONIO, TX – Our last two days in San Antonio were fast paced days, on Tuesday we took the Hotel shuttle downtown to The Alamo Plaza. We went over to the Grand Trolley tour office and got a couple of their Hopper passes which allowed us to get off and on the trolley all day long for two days.
We boarded the trolley and rode until it came to the EL Mercado (Mexican Market) where we got off and checked out all of the imported items they were selling. There were some unique items at good prices (the tour driver said always ask for a discount) and we only purchased a few small things. While we were at El Mercado, we decided to have lunch at one of the Mexican family owned restaurants, we chose La Margarita. We sat inside and ordered frozen margaritas, Debra got a strawberry and I had just a plain frozen lime one. They hit the spot for sure on a hot day and held our attention till the main course was served. We ordered a grilled chicken salad and a baked chicken breast in noodles with a cream sauce. Both were excellent. After we left La Margarita we stopped in the Mi Tierra Cafe and Bakery and picked up dessert to have later in the evening. Then it was back on the trolley and we returned to Alamo Plaza were I took several pictures of The Alamo Mission. Later we caught a cab back to the motel and called it a day. The Hotel was having a manager’s reception with light hors d’oeuvres and wine. The reception started at 5 pm so we went down and joined in the festivities and called it dinner.
The next morning we got up and caught the first hotel shuttle downtown at 9 am. We boarded the first trolley run of the day and got off at The Tower of the Americas. This is one of the few remaining structures from the 1968 Worlds Fair and is open year round. We purchased tickets to ride the elevator to the observation deck which is located at the 622 ft. mark (the total height its 750 feet). I shot several images and then we rode back to the ground floor. The elevator covers the accent and decent in about 60 seconds, so it’s moving fast.
After we again boarded the trolley, our next stop was the Mission San Jose, which is one is the oldest Missions in Texas having been founded in 1720. It still is used as a Catholic Church and has a congregation of over 1100 souls. The mission has been restored and much of the stone work is original but at times has collapsed and then been rebuilt. The Mission has quite a history and is one of seven Spanish Missions that were designed to convert the Indian tribes to the Spanish way of life. Of the seven that were suppose to be built, on six actually were built. Three are still standing and are in use by the Catholic Church. Our next stop on the tour was Mission Concepcion, this handsome stone church was dedicated in 1755 and appears very much as it did two centuries ago. It stands proudly as the oldest unrestored stone church in America. In its heyday, colorful geometric designs covered its surface but the patterns have long since faded or been worn away, however, original frescos are still visible in several of the rooms.
We boarded the trolley for the last time and returned downtown where we got a cab back to our hotel. It was quite a day of sight seeing, so we took a break and napped for awhile. Later on we discussed dinner plans and decided on Italian. I consulted Yelp and we picked out a local owned and operated Italian place called Luce Ristorante e Enoteca. It is owned and operated by an Italian family and all of their recipes are from the old country. From the salad to the desserts we were blown away by the richness and flavors of the meal. Service was outstanding and the ambiance of the restaurant was just what we had hoped for. Debra ordered Chicken Marsla which was a Floured and Sautéed Breast of Chicken, Mushroom and Marsala Demi-Glace, Tomato Risotto and Toasted Garlic Vegetables and I ordered Pappardelle con Polpette e Salsiccia, which was homemade Meatballs, Spicy Italian Sausage, Pappardelle Pasta Marinara. I can honestly say that I have never ever in all of my years had a better Italian dish. The meatballs were just so over the top unbelievable good that words cannot describe them. If I lived in San Antonio I would eat there every week just to get to taste them again.
After our dinner we returned to the hotel and started packing for an early morning departure to Carlsbad, NM which I will cover in the next installment. In the meantime, enjoy to pictures of San Antonio.
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So until next time………….
