| Subject: San Antonio |
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Visit the Mercado (market), which can be accessed by tram from downtown and
the Riverwalk area. In addition to things to bring home, there are two well
known restaurants there owned by the same family. They are next door and of
similar price (moderate) but with a different ambiance and menu. I prefer
La Marguerita to Mia Terra, but you can get excellent sweet rolls to keep in
your hotel room at the latter.
In the Riverwalk area, we like Santa Fe (moderate) and Boudro's (more upscale). For entertainment in the evening, go to the Landing in the Hyatt Regency (Riverwalk) basement if you like classic New Orleans jazz and swing. Jim Cullum has a really world class group. Personally, I go to San Antonio just to hear them. I was there in October for a conference, found out they were out of town and left to spend the rest of the weekend in Austin with our daughter. Downtown is kind of surreal. The regular downtown is one of the poorest, if not the poorest, of its size in the US. Because of the importance of tourism, it is well patrolled by the police, but many parts of it are literally vacant. However, the Riverwalk is teeming with life. Despite the somewhat (but not, IMHO, excessively) higher prices on the Riverwalk, it is a joy to dine al fresco and people watch. You also need to make a ceremonial pilgrimage to the Alamo, which is a block from the Hyatt. Also consider side trips to some of the German towns in the area like New Braunfels--not many people outside the area realize how strong the influence is in that part of the state. There are also three shopping malls on I-35, 2 at exit 200 and 1 and 187 (approximately). We stock up on Ralph Laurent at the former. If you have a little more time, go to Austin which is about 80 miles from San Antonio. Ira |