Before leaving, I was a bit nervous. I am not afraid to fly, but I had not been in a plane since 2002! It was just a year after all of the security measures were tightened up post 9-11, but since then things are waaaaay different. Let's put in perspective how long it has been since I have flown. The last time I flew:
- George W. Bush was president.
- Cost of a gallon of gas was $1.61
- Kelly Clarkson won American Idol.
- The first of too many Ice Age movies came out.
- I flew without a cell phone because people did not have then chained to them at that point. It wouldn't have mattered if I did have it though, because at that time no one texted and barely anyone had a camera on their phone.
- I did not have a digital camera. On this trip I took pictures the old fashioned way -- with a camera that required this strange thing called film.
I had a lovely flight. When we were allowed to turn our phones on in airplane mode, I got some pretty pictures of fluffly clouds.
When I got into San Antonio, I was instantly in love. The people are friendly, the architecture was beautiful, and every thing just seems so festive. Places like the Riverwalk cannot be found anywhere else in this country. Unfortunately, I did not get to do all the touristy things I would have done had I not been there for work, but I did see quite a bit. The only problem was that it rained most of the time, so my pictures did not turn out so great. Most of the native Texans said, "It never rains here." Well, I am convinced that it did because I entered your lovely state. Anything to make my trip a little less perfect. haha...
Here are a few of my cloudy/wet pictures...
The needle was outside my hotel window. Look at those ominous clouds. It proceeded to pour all day and all night that day. Did I mention that I forgot to bring an umbrella? I was nowhere near a store that was open and sold them in downtown San Antonio on a Sunday. Soooo, I was at the mercy of the hotel gift shop. I am not going to say how much money I spent on an umbrella, but I WILL say that it was painful -- especially for someone cheap like yours truly.
The Alamo in the rain. It still was darn beautiful at night. The wet pavement also make it look like there is water in front. Nope, those are puddles. It was cool to see something so historic in the middle on the hustle and bustle of a big city.
The Riverwalk was awesome. This is the best picture I could get, and it is not that great (my one regret) while in San Antonio. When I actually went to explore the Riverwalk, it was dark and rainy. None of my pictures turned out. Boo.
This is one of my favorite pictures that I took. I believe this church is called Saint Joseph? Anyway, I was talking a short walk in between my sessions and saw this lovely view. I snapped a pic and I love the way the trees framed it.
Another part of San Antonio was THE FOOD. Every trip I take is paved with good intentions. I wish I could say that I shied away from dessert or that I passed on the margaritas. I didn't. I ate whatever the hell I wanted. It was bad. It was delicious and marvelous at the time, but the consequence is that I feel like total crap this week as a result. I went to the store yesterday and restocked the house with good foods, so I am back to eating the way I should be.
This is one of the margaritas I had on my trip, courtesy of Rosario's. This combined two of my favorite alcoholic beverages -- sangria and margaritas -- so, naturally, this was called a Sangria Margarita. It was so good. I had something called a peachberry margarita the night before at a place called Pappasito's. It was also delicious. This was my favorite though.
I ate a delicious Gorgonzola-alfredo pasta dish with shrimp. It was out of this world. It is the first real pasta I have had in weeks and weeks. It tasted good going down, but that white flour made me feel sick that night and into the next day. Worth it? It seemed like it as I was shoving it in my mouth, but afterwards? Not at all.
Mi Tierra was also one of my favorite restaurant visits -- not so much because of the food, but because of the atmosphere. The decorations are awesome, and the food is very traditional, Mexican fare. My favorite part was their lovely bakery. They are famous for their pecan pralines. I had one that took me a couple days to finish because they are so rich and big. It was really good though.
All in all it was an awesome trip, and I look forward to returning with Tim someday. My biggest fail was the souvenirs that I bought. I went to this jewelry stand that I thought was handmade by the salespeople. I thought, "What a cool souvenir!"...and the necklaces were so stinkin pretty. It wasn't until I purchased them and got back to my hotel room that I noticed the "made in China" sticker. FAIL! womp, womp.... Oh well, those Chinese folk made some pretty necklaces. <sigh>
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