This may be my longest entry so far... we found plenty to do!
Hotel Room
It smelled of cigarette smoke, most of the lights didn't work, it didn't have enough beds, the toilet flushing sounded like a jet taking off. Some of our other accommodation was bad in an amusing way; this one was bad in a bad way.
1 / 10
The Alamo
We remembered it.
5 / 10
River Walk/Cruise
Despite being in the middle of the city, you can take a walk along the banks of the San Antonio river. Grab some lunch or a drink at one of the many restaurants and bars that line its banks. Or just relax and take a guided cruise along the waterway, which is really more of a series of canals than an actual river. We did all of these things, and it was all lovely.
7 / 10
Ripley's Haunted Adventure, Tomb Rider 3D, Guiness World Records Museum,
To pass some time one afternoon we got ourselves a combo ticket to these three attractions.
The Haunted House is pretty great, but a bit over-the-top when it comes to darkness; there are some parts where you actually can't see anything and have no idea where you're supposed to be going next. The spinning room which makes you feel like you're going to be flipped upside down is brilliant!
8 / 10
Tomb Rider is terrible. It's like a laser shooting game, but you sit in a cart and get driven through a course where you can shoot various things to score points. But with 3D glasses on, it's terribly difficult to aim at anything, and it took some of us half the course to work out what exactly we were supposed to be shooting.
2 / 10
Guiness World Records is about what you'd expect. Lots of displays telling about world records. Just read the book.
4 / 10
Fiesta
We happened to be in San Antonio for their annual fiesta. A yearly event that runs for a week or two and is made up of a collection of different events and activities each day. The two events we were there for were the River Parade and NIOSA:
River Parade
The river hosts a parade of floats covered in lights, bands, entertainers, costumed people and other happy people and objects. People line the river banks enjoying meals and drinks at their pre-booked tables. Other hundreds of people line streets, bridges and building windows to watch the festivities. General excitement and happiness fill the air. And when it's over, the cleaners come through on their boats, and the streets clear out pretty quick as everyone heads home... it's a school night after all.
8 / 10
NIOSA (Night in old San Antonio)
Crowds of people flocking to stalls selling food, drink and etc. Pretty much the same as the multicultural festival in Canberra, except with much better food, much better organisation, much better entertainment and much better atmosphere.
4 / 10 (yeah... do the math on that, multicultural festival!)
Tower of the Americas
Another tall building with an observation deck for checking out the city from the sky. I think every city has one of them these days. Always interesting to check out, but San Antonio is not the most thrilling city to look over.
4 / 10
The tower and festival in one photo - good work Erin!
"The Skies Over Texas"
A movie shown at the Tower of the America. Our first experience with a 4D Movie (we got plenty more of these in Orlando). The 4th dimension is physical special effects in the theater - such as wind blowing, bursts of air or water, and/or seats that move and shake. Best effects go to the snake (a short burst of air hisses onto the back of your neck just as the on-screen snake strikes towards viewers) and the rodeo bull (a spray of water on your face as the on-screen bull snorts at the viewers. Yummy).
6 / 10
"Alamo: The Price of Freedom"
Texans are a patriotic people. Not just to their country, but to their state as well (which, I suppose you could argue is the same, given that Texas used to be it's own country). This IMAX movie about the famous battle at the Alamo is a shining example or corny patriotism at it's best. They ham it up with plenty of cheese and corn on the side (wow, I never realised how delicious an over-the-top movie could sound). I spent the entire time laughing at it, until I was reminded we were in Texas where someone might take offence and shoot you. I don't care, I'm still laughing at it.
2 / 10 for quality of film-making
9 / 10 for entertainment value
Buckhorn Saloon and Museum
Want to be surrounded by lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of dead animals stuffed and mounted while you enjoy a meal and a drink? Then come on down to the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum. The photo below is the main dining area - Katie and I went into the attached museum as well where you can see room after room after room crammed with more and more and more animals. Mammals, fish, reptiles; animals from all over the world. Name an animal, they've probably got a dead one of it. Unfortunately we had to cut our visit a bit short to rescue Erin from a creepy bum.
8.5 / 10
