Beyond my biking and kayaking adventures I had some time in the evenings to walk around town and enjoy the sites, food, and other attractions. The main attraction in San Antonio is the Riverwalk. The river is the very same, San Antonio River, that I kayaked but just further north. Most of the hotels and restaurants, along with other businesses are built around/along the river. There is a walking path on each side which allows for a lengthy walk or run if one was to travel the whole distance. In fact the Riverwalk appears to be like a city of it's own.
Another way to see the attractions is to take the boat tour. I ended up walking most of the river so I felt like the boat ride was overkill. But it's a very popular attraction during sunshine or rain.
NEVER FORGET THE ALAMO! One evening I had the opportunity to walk about 0.5 miles to see the main attraction in all of Texas. There are 2 guards that constantly stand watch, guarding it. My understanding is that this is not the original location but the adopted place.
Along with the many attractions, there are also many places to dine. The first place I ate dinner at is called the Iron Cactus. It serves Tex-Mex food. For the appetizer I had the Tableside Guacomole with tortilla chips. For the entree I had the Southwest Paella.
On the way to dinner I saw the Haggen-Dazs ice cream parlor. One of my favorite flavors is the Rum Raisin. So it was nice to enjoy a tasty dessert on a hot evening.
The next day I read some good reviews about a restaurant called Luke which serves French and German inspired cuisine! I was also thrilled to see a nice selection of clams and mussels. So I ordered mussels as my appetizer. It came with 3 sauces: the cocktail, horseradish, and mignonette. The mignonette was a delicious taste of chopped scallions and vinegar.
For the entree I had the Fried Quail served with peach and pepper marmalade. This combo just melted in your mouth.
An opportunity presented itself to get away for lunch, so I decided to go back to the Riverwalk and check out a Texas Bistro called Boudro's. It was quite busy and I glad I was able to get a seat shortly. I had the Grilled Shrimp and Bacon Sandwich. I couldn't imagine this combination tasting good but it was actually very delicious. On the side I had some of my favorite vegetable chips.
After scanning the restaurant list I found a favorite southern place that we have enjoyed on two other occasions in Florida, Joe's Crab Shack. It was a get-down-and-get-dirty place where they actually give you a large bib that covers you nicely from your chest to the knees. This time around I had the Arctic Bay Steampot which included queen crab, shrimp, a whole Maine lobster, and smoke sausage tossed in a garlic butter bath and topped with Old Bay Seasoning. It was all finger lickin' good. No meat went to waste.
I had the wonderful pleasure staying at the Marriott at the Riverwalk. It's next door to the Marriott Center. It was a convenient location, because it was cross the street from the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center where I spent a great number of hours getting educated. I had great accommodations: a nice outdoor/indoor pool, a nice gym, 2 restaurants, and a Starbucks.
Background: Marriott Center (right), Marriott Riverwalk (center), Hyatt/Conventions Center (left)
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