San Antonio

Being a part of the international students group here presents some great opportunities to get out of College Station and see the rest of Texas. Yesterday, we took a road trip to the historical city of San Antonio. We left College Station for the two and a half hour journey around 8:45am and got to San Antonio around 11:15 having made only one stop at the famous Texan gas station Buc-ees.

Starting in the historic Market Square, we wondered the different indoor markets looking at all of the souvenirs and trinkets being sold – many of which stemmed from the heavily Mexican/Hispanic presence in the city due to its history. After grabbing some street food for lunch, we headed over to the site of the Alamo, stopping briefly at the beautiful Cathedral San Fernando, the main church in the city at the time of the mission.

We got to the Alamo and walked around the site, learning new things about the history of Texas and in particular the struggle for independence. From there, we walked along the river, popping in to small shops along the way. We also stumbled across an outdoor theatre that was getting ready for an Indian dance show. We got dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe located right on the river where we were about to watch as people floated by on the boats, bringing an end to a hectic but enjoyable day.

San Antonio is definitely up there with one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I’ve visited. I loved the culture and history embedded into the city and the River Walk is an amazing place to just chill out. It makes a nice change from College Station and the city-wide free wifi was a great bonus. I definitely intend to go back at some point in the future just to relax by the river. Well worth the journey!