Exploring... La Villita, Riverwalk, Alamo, Shops at Rivercenter, La Antorcha de la Amistad, Casa Rio, & the Tower of the Americas (San Antonio Road Trip Part 2)
By Lifeofpjern - October 18, 2018
While I was checking out the Hemisfair Park the day prior, I saw a sign about La Villita and wanted to check it out on Saturday.
Instead of eating breakfast at the hotel, my brother and I decided that we wanted to eat breakfast at a local restaurant. We stopped at the first restaurant we saw inside La Villita which was La Villita Cafe.
We ordered:
Breakfast Tacos
Potato & Egg Tacos, Bacon & Egg Tacos
Pan Dulce
Concha, Campechana
The food was good but I think a better option would have been to get the Taco Six Pack to share with one another. After eating our breakfast, we went to check out the Riverwalk.
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| Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel |
While we were checking out the Riverwalk, we saw several people passing by eating ice cream so we decided to get some as well. The first ice cream place we saw was Mr. Ice Cream.
Beef Patty, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, and Special Sauce
The burgers were decent but my favorite thing had to be the chili cheese tots, one can never go wrong with tots. After eating, we shopped around for some souvenirs and went over to find La Antorcha de la Amistad (The Torch of Friendship).
La Antorcha de la Amistad was a gift made by Sebastián that was given by Mexico to San Antonio as a gesture of friendship and shared culture between Mexico and the city of San Antonio (as well as the United States as a whole). Once we were done checking out La Antorcha de la Amistad, we went back to the Riverwalk. There, we decided to go ahead and eat dinner at Casa Rio.
We ordered:
Two Crispy Tacos with Shredded Chicken. Served with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans.
I love that we were able to sit by the Riverwalk and see all the riverboats pass by while we ate. The food was great and the view was even better. Once we were done eating, we quickly walked over to the Tower of the Americas since we knew we wanted to see what the Tower of the Americas had to offer before they closed.
When you buy a ticket to the Tower of the Americas, the ticket includes access to their Flags Over Texas: Observation Deck, Skies Over Texas: 4D Theater Ride, Tower Café, and Gift Shop. The Tower of the Americas also has a restaurant, Chart House: Legendary Dining, which one can make a reservation and enjoy some food while checking out the view of the city from up above.
I liked that you could see the view of the city in the Flags Over Texas: Observation Deck without having bars like the Reunion Tower in Dallas does. Unfortunately that meant that they had windows, and since most people would touch them, the windows were smudged, making it hard to see the city clearly in some areas. As for the Skies Over Texas: 4D Theater Ride, I love that feature. The Reunion Tower in Dallas doesn't have that so I was pleasantly surprised to see that they offered it and I like that they had 3 different types of 4D Rides: Skies over Texas, Rio, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Since we stayed for all 3, by the time we got done, they had closed so we weren't able to check out the Tower Café or the Gift Shop. Why do I keep comparing the Tower of the Americas with the Reunion Tower? Because the Tower of the Americas reminds me a lot of the Reunion Tower in Dallas, both having similar features like the Observation Deck and Restaurant.
Saturday was jam-packed, checking out what San Antonio had to offer. I know San Antonio is more than just the Riverwalk but honestly I love how there's so much to do in the Riverwalk and that it's center to many places that surround it.
We ordered:
Double Dip Waffle Cones with Chocolate and Nuts
Cookies 'n Cream, Southern Blackberry Cobbler scoops
Although the inside of Mr. Ice Cream wasn't so great, they did have a nice view of the Riverwalk so it was nice sitting down outside eating the ice cream while checking out the view of the Riverwalk.
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| Spirit of Sacrifice" (Alamo Cenotaph) |
When we finished our ice cream, we decided to go to the Alamo. I love going to the Alamo and every time I go, I always experience something new. In this visit, we mainly checked out the Church, the Long Barrack Museum, and the Gift Shop. We were able to buy some souvenirs and even checked out a documentary on the Battle of the Alamo.
After visiting the Alamo, we went to go eat lunch at Johnny Rockets inside the Shops at Rivercenter.
We ordered:
The Spicy Houston
Beef Patty, Spicy Jalapeños, Pepper Jack Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, and Smokin’ Chipotle Ranch
Bacon Cheddar
The Original + bacon
Single Patty + bacon
Route 66
Substitute Chicken for Beef Patty, Swiss Cheese, Grilled Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Mayonnaise on a Brioche Bun.
Chili Cheese Tots
Fried Grated Potato Tots loaded with Home Style All-Beef Chili and Creamy Real-Cheddar Cheese sauce.The burgers were decent but my favorite thing had to be the chili cheese tots, one can never go wrong with tots. After eating, we shopped around for some souvenirs and went over to find La Antorcha de la Amistad (The Torch of Friendship).
Beef Fajitas
Grilled Beef Fajitas with Guacamole, Sour Cream, Grilled Onions, and Peppers. Served with Tortillas, Mexican Rice, Charro Beans, and Pico de Gallo.
Crispy Taco Plate
I love that we were able to sit by the Riverwalk and see all the riverboats pass by while we ate. The food was great and the view was even better. Once we were done eating, we quickly walked over to the Tower of the Americas since we knew we wanted to see what the Tower of the Americas had to offer before they closed.
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| Inside the Flags Over Texas: Observation Deck |
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| The view from outside the Flags Over Texas: Observation Deck |
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| Skies Over Texas: 4D Theater Ride |
For the San Antonio Road Trip Part 1 click here
For the San Antonio Road Trip Part 3 click here
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