San Antonio - River Walk
The River Walk was the second stop of our day in San Antonio. Steve and I had been to the River Walk before on separate visits, but they were 30+ years ago and very brief, so it felt like our first visit.
The River Walk sits below street level. It is accessed by staircases, so there are no scooters or bicycles, only pedestrians. It was midday on a Saturday, and the River Walk was already buzzing with people.
We had lunch at the Iron Cactus, where we sat outside and watched the people and boats. Our meal was delicious, especially the freshly-made guacamole!
Then we took a river cruise, where our guide entertained us with stories about the history of the River Walk and some of its notable buildings and bridges. The San Antonio River was destined to be drained and paved over in the 1920’s, but the Conservation Society saved it, and architect Robert Hagman, inspired by the French Quarter in New Orleans, designed a preservation and beautification project that became the River Walk. One notable building was the Hilton Palacio del Rio, which was built modularly in only 200 days for the 1968 World’s Fair. The hotel rooms were pre-assembled and pre-furnished offsite, and then put into place like Legos!
After our cruise, we took a stroll and got a closer look at some of the interesting things we had seen from the boat. In some sections, both the sidewalk and the river were quite narrow. Thanks to rain the previous week, the flowers and plants were especially beautiful. We even saw a wedding on the river - so fun!
It was easy to see why the River Walk is so popular. We didn’t indulge in any 64-oz margaritas or high-end shopping, but we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon on the river.
