The mission south of the Alamo is neat. San Jose mission is complete. If you go to sunday mass, its still got a practicing church, or right after it, you can hear the Mariachi band play. They always play a few songs outside afterward. Pretty authentic stuff.
Two miles east of the Alamo is the Mexican Market. There's lots of shops with Mexican souvenirs there. There's also two great Mexican Restaurants there. Right on the river is a good Mexican restaurant, Casa Rio. You can eat outside on the river walk there. Its an economical restaurant that is good. They have a margarita machine in the upstairs outdoor patio too. Many of the other restaurants on the river are good, but some of them are kind of touristy too. Just see what you like or stick with the original Casa Rio. The Irish pub at one end of the river walk and Dick's Last Resort at the other end are some really fun bars with singing and stuff if you're into that.
I will be out of town Aug.24th or I would meet up with you. I leave tomorrow and come back Sept. 5th, if you're still here after that.
The Lone Star Brewery has a great display of trophy animals and fish from all over the world. Its got lunch, but not dinner. I recommend any of those 3 Mexican restaurants.
There is a web page for San Antonio with all the places to see, if you have lots of time. For a day or two, I recommend the Alamo, including the talk in the courtyard they give, the San Jose Mission, because its complete with wall grainery and church and is still active, and the river walk and the Mexican Market. The Alamo has a souvenir shop to.
There's botanical gardens and the Japanese garden a little north of downtown if you have people into that in your group.
If you've got more time, about 1.5 hours north of San Antonio on 281 is a state park and a national park for President LBJ that is free. Its neat, you get the feel of Texas there. Ladybird has a slide show narated by her with all the wild flowers, they have a bus tour of the ranch.
The riverwalk flows through the Hyatt hotel accross the street from the Alamo, that's neat to walk to the river from the front of the Alamo, you can see that then. The Hyatt has a jazz band on the river level.
Find the San Antonio tourist web page if you want more info. or when you get here go accross the street from the Alamo. The visitor information center is there, with big signs. They have all kinds of broshures and information on different things to do here.
There's a decent, pretty good, old time German restaurant on the river at street level, Shilo's but its mainly lunch too, on the street level.
There's a steak place n the river, Italian. Take the barge ride on the river, they tell you a lot of the history and you see the whole river walk without having to watch where you step.
