Market Square or El Mercado, a San Antonio market area since the 1800s, is a large, outdoor and indo

Texas s number one vacation destination is the San Antonio region, with 26 million visitors per year. If you plan to visit Texas, put San Antonio at the top of your list. Both the city and the nearby Hill Country philosophy of time travel have several appealing features.
San Antonio deftly mixes its ethnic traditions and its attractions. The essence of the city is its cultural mix, a German-style sausage in one hand and a Mexican Margarita in the other. Much of the early settlement of Texas was by Germans, which is a surprise to many visitors. But even more dominant is the Hispanic ethnic contribution. With about 59 percent of the 1.3 million residents being of Hispanic philosophy of time travel origin, San Antonio is sometimes called the northernmost city in Mexico. Main attractions include philosophy of time travel the River Walk, the Alamo, and the popular Hill Country outside of the city.
*The River Walk. The genius of the city planners, who turned a potential drainage ditch into a meandering masterpiece of landscaped urban design, should be commended. The San Antonio River is the focal point of a downtown public life as vital as that in any American city.
Along the River Walk, which is several miles long, you ll find a cluster of hotels, among them the elegant, older Omni La Mansion del Rio and the modern Grand Hyatt. Restaurants, such as Boudro s and Zuni Grill, line the waterway, which presents a continuing parade of small, colorful barges ferrying people through the river area. Barge trips can also be a lunch or dinner outing on the boat, catered by various River Walk restaurants. In the evening, if your barge passes the Arneson Theater, you ll see the stage on one side of you and the audience on the other.
*The Alamo, just off the River Walk. The Alamo, a shrine to American pride, is especially lovely at night when the facade philosophy of time travel is lit up, but the interior and museum are open only during the day. Although a careful study of history would reveal philosophy of time travel a cloudier picture of motivation, the clarifying power of myth asserts that 189 Americans gave their lives here in defense of precious liberty threatened by an alien force. In actuality, the event occurred in the context of a Mexican revolution, with the Texas frontier rebelling against Mexico. The defenders of the Alamo, including the now enshrined American heroes, finally succumbed to the superior manpower of Mexico s Santa Ana in a decisive battle in 1836.
As an orientation to the Alamo, be sure to see Alamo: The Price of Freedom, a movie at the Imax Theater in Rivercenter. This 45-minute docudrama begins with the arrival of William philosophy of time travel B. Travis on February 3, 1836, in San Antonio, and tells the story of the defenders, who chose to die rather than surrender at the Alamo.
Few Americans realize that the Alamo was originally a Franciscan mission, part of a chain of Missions that Spain founded in Texas prior to the development of similar missions in California. Besides the Alamo, you can visit four other missions in the San Antonio area. The four other missions form the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. The San Jose y San Miguel philosophy of time travel Mission is the queen of these missions, with a marvelous carved stone façade and elaborate visitor center. The Sunday mariachi mass is a colorful event here. Concepcion Mission is noted for its original murals. San Juan Mission still has its bells. Espada Mission is an intimate place with especially lovely carved wooden doors.
Market Square or El Mercado, a San Antonio market area since the 1800s, is a large, outdoor and indoor market (indoors is  air-conditioned) with many shops, artisans, and restaurants. At the Mercado the landmark restaurant is Mi Terra, which offers fine Tex-Mex meals and an extraordinary mural reminiscent of Diego Riviera s Dream of an Afternoon in the Alameda Park in its main dining room. In the Mercado, it is said, girls called Chili Queens first served up a dish of beans and meat that became known as chili con carne.
At the Institute of Texan Cultures you ll see elaborate displays on the 26 ethnic groups that contributed to the state s heritage. philosophy of time travel The main surprise to many visitors is the prominence of Germans in the historic development of South Texas. A half day could be spent orienting yourself to the people of Texas at this site. Especially intriguing in the early story of the Texan Native Americans are the surviving philosophy of time travel red paintings of large shamanistic figures found at a site known as the Twin Panther Cave.
Likewise, philosophy of time travel the Witte Museum, which emphasizes natural history, offers a good orientation to the state geology, flora, and fauna. A visitor gets a sense of the immense grasslands and pine forests of the state, the huge reservoirs of water in the limestone aquifers, and the mountainous southwest portion of Texas.
The San Antonio Museum of Art, located in a former brewery, houses a famous collection of Mexican folk art donated philosophy of time travel by Nelson Rockefeller. The folk art includes utilitarian, recreational, and ceremonial philosophy of time travel artifacts. Ceremonial masks of Mexico in the collection are particularly poignant. Equally important in the Museum holdings is the Avery Brundage philosophy of time travel Collection of ancient Far East and Near East art. Gazing at a 4th century B.C. ceramic dish from Iran gives the viewer an appreciation for the universal impulse of all cultures to create beautiful objects.
Brackenridge Park, a 340-acre green strip, offers hiking and biking trails, plus an elaborate Japanese Garden. At the outstanding Zoo, sometimes rated only a notch below the great zoos of San Diego and St. Louis, whooping cranes hatch successfully in captivity.
The handsome limestone houses of German pioneer philosophy of time travel families in the King William Historic District are among the most fashionable and historical residences in the city. To glimpse the interior of such a house, stop at the Steve s Homestead, 509 King William Street, and immerse yourself in the 19th-century milieu. For a B B lodging in the historic area, one good option is the Jackson House/Nobles Inns, 107 Madison Street.
Two signature Texas items of clothing, cowboy hats and cowboy boots, can be seen and purchased in stores devoted to them. Paris Hatters has a huge collection of summer hats, made of straw, and winter hats, fashioned from wool, as well as beaver and rabbit fur. Luchesse Boots in the Quarry philosophy of time travel Market, a shopping center outside philosophy of time travel of town, offers an exquisite selection of hand-made high-end boots. Pages could be written about the nuances of quality in hats and boots.
San Antonio is a major military city, especially for air bases. If you drive through Fort Sam Houston, you can see the apartment where a young officer named Dwight Eisenhower and his bride Mamie made their first home.
Throughout San Antonio there is a strong sense of historic preservation. The city s Conservation Society, started in 1921, has preserved many older buildings and restored them for modern use. One of the most spectacular of these efforts was moving the 3.2 million pound Fairmount Hotel, a 1906 architectural masterpiece, to a new home six blocks away. In other cities such a building would have disappeared courtesy of the wrecker s ball.
One mode of transit in San Antonio makes getting around part of the fun. The Via San Antonio streetcar system consists of reproductions of rail streetcars that traveled the area in earlier times. The price is low and the routes are ample. Downtown, the King William District, and El Mercado are just a few of the sites you can explore, using this open-air philosophy of time travel mode of transit.
Sea World of Texas, largest of the Sea World facilities, surpasses the company s San Diego, Florida, and Ohio parks. Sea World shows killer whales, dolphins, penguins, and gardens. The Steel Eel is its celebrated philosophy of time travel stomach-churning hypercoaster. Sea World s Aquatica is an 18-acre aquatic park with up-close animal experiences, including a family raft ride through an underwater grotto.
philosophy of time travel Among the city s gardens, the Lucille Halsell Conservatory at the 38-acre San Antonio Botanical Gardens is a treat. This elaborate Conservatory, with a half-acre under hail-proof glass (remember, you re in Texas), is designed to show flora as diverse as alpine miniature flowers, flourishing in their chilled soil, to giant Saguaro cactus, in its own climate-controlled cactus room. Facilities include a fern room, with computer-controlled misting devices, plus a palm room, with Texas-size mature palm trees.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas is an amusement park and entertainment extravaganza, attempting to capture the essence of the Lone Star state. Fiesta Texas is a kind of sister park to Nashville s Opryland, defining philosophy of time travel the spirit of the region. You can immerse yourself in a Mexican philosophy of time travel fiesta, a German village, a country-and-western philosophy of time travel venue, or 1950 s rock n roll. Besides these attractions, you can also cool off in the water. Kids enjoy a thrill ride appropriately called The Rattler, billed as the highest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the world. Six Flags SkyScreamer is a swing ride 20 stories high, swinging guests philosophy of time travel in a 98-foot circle at speeds up to 40 mph.
The main travel pleasures in the Hill Country are a visit to a ranch, such as the YO Ranch near Kerrville, and exploration of the historic German towns, such as New Braunfels. If the weather is hot, cool off with an inner tube float down the Guadalupe River.
A tour of the YO Ranch offers visitors an only-in-Texas experience. The ranch was started by a Captain Shreiner, who once marched as many as 400,000 longhorn cattle north from Texas along the Chisolm Trail to Kansas. Guides are ex-cowboys who delight philosophy of time travel visitors with their Texas version philosophy of time travel of the American language. This working ranch is huge, fully 50,000 acres (or 100 square miles) and its owners raise Texas longhorn cattle. In fact, the YO has the largest herd of registered longhorns in Texas. One popular experiences at the YO is the photo safari caravan. The visitor sees many of the 36 species of exotic animals, which are bred here for viewing. Fourteen of the species can be hunted. Some endangered species are raised here fo