San Antonio

We arrived in San Antonio in midafternoon. After visiting the city's huge gothic cathedral, we wanted to try to cram as much of the city's historic old town into one afternoon as possible. We didn't have a lot of time in San Antonio, but we did our best!

El Mercado

We started at Market Square, a historic city market and Works Progress Administration project built in 1938 to replace San Antonio's smaller and older market.

Mexican heritage in San Antonio

Today, the market is divided into two sections: El Mercado and the Farmer's Market. The Market is one of the centers of Mexican-American cultural heritage in the city, and is especially festive during Cinco de Mayo and San Antonio's annual Fiesta.

We weren't in the mood for shopping, but we grabbed a nice cold beer with a salted rim and a slice of lime, then headed off through the sunny afternoon heat to the Spanish Governor's Mansion.

the Spanish Governor's Palace

In all the times that I've visited San Antonio, I don't know if I've ever visited the Governor's Palace before! The palace is an early 18th century relic of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. It is one of the very few palaces in the United States, and the only surviving Spanish colonial mansion in Texas.

the governor's courtyard

Today, the palace is owned by the city, and is open for tours. It's been restored to look very much the way it did in the 1700s, when it was not only the official residence of the Royal Governor, but also the official capital of Spanish Texas as a whole!

inside the palace

The adobe building is made up of ten rooms and a grand courtyard. It's also alleged to be one of the most haunted buildings in San Antonio (but we didn't see any spooky activity!).

In 2018, in honor of San Antonio's tricentennial,  King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the palace on a tour commemorating the Spanish colonial history of Texas, and a modern-day flag of the Kingdom of Spain still flies outside the old palace.

colonial Spanish architecture

Finally, our time in San Antonio running short, we made our way to the River Walk for one of the city's famous guided boat tours. We bought two tickets, hurried to the boat, and started off down the river on a funny and informative guided tour all about the area's history, heritage, and architecture.

two tickets for the boat tour

If you don't have a lot of time in San Antonio, the guided boat rides are the best way to squeeze in as much of the city as you can in a short time. I wish we could have stayed a bit longer (we always seem to be rushing out of the cities on the way to our next adventures), but it was great to spend a bit of time in one of my favorite cities in Texas.

quiet afternoon on the River Walk