¡Hola, San Antonio!
Friday, December 4, 2009
I have to admit: First impression of Texas? NOT GOOD.
When we arrived into town last night, it was after 11 p.m. here, and after midnight at home. We worked all day, then endured two flights, totaling about six hours of travel. I don't think I have to say that I was tired. We just wanted to get out of the airport, get our rental car, and get to our hotel. So we could SLEEP.
First, we were stuck waiting for our carry-on luggage at the gate. This is always annoying, but it's especially irritating when it takes EIGHT MILLION YEARS. I have flown countless times in my life, often with carry-on luggage. Sometimes the overhead compartments are small and you have to gate-check your luggage. It's not new to me. Not ideal, but no big deal. You get off the plane, you get your bag back. Yet these airline workers were THE SLOWEST human beings I have ever encountered. Ridiculous.
Then... oh my. My blood is still boiling over what happened next. Of course, our gate was located at the end of the Earth within the airport, so we had to drag all of our belongings a mile or two before we reached the curb to catch the shuttle to the rental car lot. We waited while the National Rental Car shuttle was stuck in a huge line of shuttles/buses/vans/taxis before it could get to us. It was the most ass-backwards process I have ever seen. (Are we noticing a trend yet?) We were FINALLY able to pile into the shuttle with twenty other people, and we arrived in the National Rental Car lot.
I'll cut to the chase here and tell you the short version of the rest of this story. We reserved and paid for an economy car. It's just the two of us, we don't need much else. Well, when we arrived at the lot, we found that there was not an economy car available for us. In fact, the economy section was completely empty. As was the compact section. Confused, we asked the attendant, and she told us that they were out of economy cars, and instead to pick an SUV. We walk over to the SUVs and they're all enormous. Everyone else with us who was supposed to have an economy car was happy with the "free upgrade" and jumped in SUVs to take off.
Not us.
We didn't want an SUV, for a number of reasons. 1) Gas mileage. We have no interest in paying three times as much in gas for our little 4-day trip. 2) We're in a new city. We have no idea where we're going. It's much easier to maneuver an economy car when you have to change lanes last minute, turn around when you miss your turn, etc. 3) WE RESERVED AN ECONOMY CAR.
So, again, cutting to the chase... I had to get a little testy with the people working the counter at National Car Rental. Ultimately, they found a couple of economy cars out back and we drove off satisfied in a Hyundai Accent. Must've been "magic," I tell you.
ANYWAY.
Thankfully, Texas has done a good job redeeming itself since then.
This morning, we got up and got the day started. We drove around for a little bit to get our bearings, and finally decided that we were too hungry to wait much longer to eat. We decided to get an early lunch at Mi Tierra.
One thing I immediately fell in love with about San Antonio: The entire city embraces Christmas. Like seriously embraces it, y'all. There are Christmas lights everywhere. Decorations everywhere. Christmas music playing everywhere. I love it.
Mi Tierra is no different. It actually looks a little bit like Christmas exploded inside of Mi Tierra.
We were greeted by a lovely Mexican server named Gloria. She was very matter-of-fact and I liked that about her. We were immediately served fresh tortilla chips (still warm!) and salsa. (And consequently, Mi Tierra won a piece of my heart. What can I say? I'm easy to please.)
Michael and I ordered off of their lunch specials menu (so cheap!), and it was the greatest Mexican food I have ever had. No doubt about that. I even went as far as to say that it might've been the best meal I've ever had. Ever.
YEAH. I know.
Have I told you yet how cold it was today? If there's one thing I've learned, it's that 30 degrees in Texas feels the same as 30 degrees back home. In other words, it's FREEZING. We were inappropriately dressed. I totally should've packed my winter coat (instead of my fall one), as well as a hat and gloves (I ended up picking up a hat, gloves and scarf at Walmart this afternoon).
So, even though it was cold, we braved the elements to explore the Alamo and the surrounding grounds.
First, we stopped at Walmart for a couple of essentials. (Did you know that the Holiday Inn no longer supplies conditioner? Just shampoo and body lotion. My hair was not a fan of NO CONDITIONER, folks.) We also picked up a 12-pack of beer and a disposable styrofoam cooler.
Soon, we were back at the Riverwalk. For dinner, we decided to eat Mexican food again (it's so good, how can you not?). This time, we chose Casa Rio, based on its location right on the Riverwalk, and the recommendation from one of you lovely blog readers.
Armed with my new hat, gloves, and scarf, we had a little bit of a wait for a table and decided to wait around outside. In the meantime, I took a few photos of the lit-up Riverwalk.
After dinner, we walked over to the Rivercenter and went to see A Christmas Carol in 3D at the IMAX theater there. Even though we have one at home, we never go because it's a good 30-minute drive from our house and there are so many other regular movie theaters in between! I had only been to an IMAX theater one other time, and it was at a museum so it was a documentary-type film. Michael had never been at all. And neither of us had ever seen a movie in 3D. We obviously knew the story, but it was a really cute version (though I could see how some children might find it a bit scary at times) and we couldn't get over how cool the 3D was.
5 comments:
Wahoo!!! I'm glad you liked Mi Tierra's. Sorry about the airport, the one in Austin is SOOOO much better, promise! :) Have fun, and welcome to Texas!!!!
We never did see the Austin airport because we flew back home out of San Antonio. :)
Mi Tierra was my favorite!
I LOVE the Riverwalk at Christmastime. And I second your comments about the SA airport. p.s. It's so fun looking through your pictures ... makes me miss my temporary home. :)
How do you get such great night shots? I love Mexican food and would eat it every day!
Becky--It's all about slow shutter speed!
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