This is my first time in Texas and I really didn’t know what to expect. I’ve moved to not really looking up what a place has to offer (apart from the basic maps, directions, safety info) so that I can kinda wander and get a feel for the place before looking up the Insta-famous locations. Otherwise, I find it becomes a check mark travel situation where the popular places keep getting a lot of traffic and hidden gems get missed.
Coming from Australia, Texas is synonymous with cowboys, BBQ and…guns. I was expecting to see everyone wearing cowboy hats and sporting a gun while munching on brisket. Not what it’s like at all, here in San Antonio. I believe it’s legal to carry firearms out in the open here but apart from police, I didn’t see a single person with one that was remotely obvious.
While there were a few people in cowboy hats, it wasn’t the norm. There were a decent number of BBQ places around but less than I expected. In fact, the whole city is quieter than what I imagined, especially considering it’s the 7th most populous place in the US!
Part of the reason it feels so sparse is that unlike Australian capital cities and New York/San Francisco, the downtown area isn’t as core to the city. If you check Google Maps, it seems like attractions are spread out in the areas nearby. As someone who decided not to get a rental car, I’m probably missing half the experience!
I have to say that the Riverside Walk area is quite gorgeous. I’ve walked along it so many times now that I don’t need to look at maps to get back to the hotel from most parts of the city! The other thing that surprised me about San Antonio is just how CLEAN it is. There’s hardly any graffiti or rubbish anywhere. I didn’t see any bottles/cans floating down the river. In fact, there were a lot of ducks, turtles and fish in the water!
I was lucky that my hotel was around the corner from the Alamo. I’d heard so much about it and it was great to be able to visit the grounds and learn about the history of Texas. I didn’t realise that it was an independent state for a little while before seceding to the US.
And before you get the wrong idea, I WAS at the lectures most of the time. The reason I like this group’s seminars is that they start super early but also finish early in the afternoon, giving you time to explore the surrounds.
It was overall, a pretty chilled out time. I wanted to use the time to catch up on some other projects but realised that jetlag really gets to me these days. I’ve been napping and generally being super lazy and only just got into the rhythm recently only to have to leave tomorrow and reset back to being in Melbourne.
Til next time Texas!