Face 2 Face concert in San Antonio

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Why did the day go by so fast? Didn’t we just arrive in San Antonio? All of a sudden, it was our last full day already. Worse, it was the last Saturday of our Spring Break 2009. I went to Starbuck to get coffee and breakfast for both of us while Lauren got ready. It was certainly fascinating that Starbuck had become part of our vocabulary. We don’t have to say Starbuck Coffee anymore (likewise, we don’t have to say Kleenex tissue). Also, how did we become so accustomed to paying over $3 for a cup of latte? Anywhere in the world!

Once we were ready, we decided to take the riverwalk cruise. It was around 10am and there was no line. I bought the tickets ($7.75 each for adult ticket) for both of us and hopped on immediately to a half filled cruise ferry. We picked our seats along the edge of the ferry - easier for me to take pictures. There were a few children but for the most part, the majority of the passengers were adults. Perhaps it was too early to drag children out of bed.

We had a great cruise guide who gave us a history of San Antonio’s Riverwalk. He also explained the history of some of the buildings/hotels along our route. We headed east till we reached San Antonio Convention Center before we turned around. As we headed west along the southern part of the river, we went past La Villita with its small outdoor stage where the movie Miss Congeniality was filmed. It was great to take this morning river cruise - it was not hot yet and there were not that many people walking around (thus blocking our view).

It was a short 40 minutes cruise to cover 2.5 miles. Before we knew it, we were back at our starting point - half a block away from our hotel. But the timing couldn’t be more perfect. As we were getting off the ferry, my cell phone rang. It was Martin! As mentioned in my earlier blog, it was our plan all along to meet up with Martin and Vicky in San Antonio. They took an early Saturday morning flight and had just arrived at the hotel.

Based upon the recommendation of the hotel concierge, we all decided to walk to Market Square for a unique San Antonio blunch experience (breakfast and/or lunch). Located at the corner of Dolorosa and Santa Rosa, Market Square is a reflection of San Antonio’s Tex Mex culture. A variety of shops and restaurants fill the pedestrian plazas within the three square block area. It was approaching noon already and Market Square was alive … the shops were full of everything Mexican - sombreros, piñatas, Mexican dresses, jewelry. A Tejano band was playing in the middle of the plaza and small food stalls were doing brisk business. Yes, everyone was out celebrating the warm and sunny weekend.

We headed straight for Mi Tierra Café and Bakery - a San Antonio institution since 1941. Serving authentic Mexican food amidst mariachi music, Mi Tierra is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. There was a short wait for our table and we all decided to go to the bar and ordered coffee/tea. Just as the waiter brought out our drinks, we were told that our table was ready. So we simply brought our drinks with us to the dining area.

Blunch was great and service was quick. I am sure they want to turn the tables as fast as they can. We certainly know our Mexican food … after all, we all live along the border. The restaurant seems to be a popular destination for both tourists and locals. Why not? Good food and good service at reasonable prices - can’t go wrong.

We thought about walking around the Market Square area after our meal. But there were multiple bands performing and they were very loud - it was hard for us to talk to each other. So we decided to head towards La Villita.

La Villita was San Antonio’s first neighborhood and was once the homes of Spanish soldiers stationed at the Alamo. Late in the 19th century, European immigrants from Germany and France moved into this area and introduced architectural styles that are preserved till today. La Villita’s restored houses are now occupied by restaurants and shops; artists and artisans.

It took us a little longer to reach La Villita. The walking tour guide - me - got turned around and led everyone to San Antonio Convention Center instead. No problem! All I had to do was follow the river and we eventually found our destination. The long walk gave us the opportunity to chat with Martin and Vicky. I’ve known Martin for over 20 years but we were both so busy that we hardly had a chance to visit.

There was an Indian fair in the middle of the small plaza at La Villita with Indian women performing a traditional dance on a small stage. Beautiful costumes! There were a number of small booths along the perimeter of the plaza selling Indian delicacies and some other small items. Too bad we just finished our blunch since I love Indian food.

We explored some of the shops around La Villita. An open dock door revealed a small candle making operation, with a retail store in front. Another store specializes in colorful Mexican art and craft. And yet another one specializes in hand made stoneware and porcelain pottery. We also saw a number of restaurants and cafes all around La Villita. One of them, right by the river, was hosting a small outdoor wedding. We slowly circled La Villita, took some pictures and then headed back to our hotel.

On the way back to the hotel, Lauren and I described to Martin and Vicky the taxi situation after our NBA game at AT&T Center the night before. We didn’t want to get caught in a similar situation again. At the recommendation of Vicky, we decided to drop off one of our rental cars around the arena so that we did not have to wait for a taxi after the concert (as mentioned in the earlier blog, we went to San Antonio to watch Elton John/Billy Joel’s concert). That was such a good idea. And fortunately, we were able to find an empty parking space across the street from AT&T Center.

Back at the hotel, Lauren and I decided to get a drink at the Rooftop Café at the top of Watermark Hotel. It was around 4:00pm and we still had time for a short Happy Hour before dinner. Why not enjoy some of the hotel facilities, right? I promptly notified Martin and Vicky who came and joined us. With the view of San Antonio skyline and only a few steps away from the small rooftop hotel swimming pool, we shared our stories and experiences. Martin and I have this ongoing friendly race on the number of countries that we had visited. I am still ahead now but I am sure Martin will start pulling closer and closer.

Dinner reservation was at 5:30pm at Las Canarias at Omni Mansion del Rio - across the river from our hotel. We all dressed up for the concert - after all, we were going to see the flamboyant and flashy Sir Elton John - and black and white seemed to be the color combination of choice for the evening. No more margaritas tonight though! We ordered a nice bottle of red wine and enjoyed our corner table with a view of the Riverwalk below us.

Our mini adventure started when we finished dinner and walked out to the front of the hotel. We were told by the bellman that there were no taxis available. We tried calling the local taxi companies but nobody picked up the phone. A couple standing in front of the hotel said that they had been waiting for their car for over 40 minutes (there was only one multi-storey parking garage for a number of downtown hotels and traffic inside the garage was completely backed up). The parking garage was actually in front of us and we could see the line of cars spiraling downward - waiting to get out. So we could not get a taxi; we could not get our rental car out of the parking garage; we could not walk to AT&T Center. What should we do? Should we try to get a horse-drawn carriage? We thought about getting a limo but was told that there wasn’t any either.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. We started checking every passing taxi. We realized already that we were going to be late. And fortunately, we finally found one empty taxi. Lauren and I jumped in, together with the couple who had been waiting for their rental car for almost an hour by now. Martin and Vicky were able to commandeer a taxi with a lone passenger a short while later. Martin was able to convince the passenger to share the taxi, drop him off at his destination and continue on to AT&T Center. Way to go, Martin!

But we were not out of the woods yet. Traffic into AT&T Center was backed up. And I could hear from the radio that it didn’t matter where we were coming from … traffic delays into AT&T Center were expected. I found out that there was an NBA old-timer party at Alamodome that evening. So we had the concert, the NBA old-timer and Spring Break in San Antonio. It was the perfect storm!

We were about 20 minutes late by the time we got seated. Billy Joel and Elton John were both performing and we figured we missed about 3-4 songs. The arena was not full yet even though it was a sold out concert. I was sure we were not the only group who got delayed due to lack of transportation. How weird to see the floor though! We were watching an NBA game the night before and the arena had now been transformed … with a big stage on the floor, two pianos facing each other and the band on one side. Martin and Vicky arrived about 10 minutes later.

It was a great concert. Two legends - both around 60 years old - performing together. They sang a few songs together, followed by solo performances by each singer and then they both came out and performed together again. The couple in front of us danced and drank almost the entire concert. Billy Joel was full of energy - dancing on top of his piano, running along the perimeter of the stage and joking with the crowd. Elton John? Well, he was great with his piano but the wear and tear from 40+ years of performances was showing. Lauren and I had seen Elton John’s Red Piano concert in Las Vegas. This Billy Joel/Elton John’s Face 2 Face concert definitely had a very different energy - thanks to Billy Joel.

It was a very long concert and we all enjoyed it very much (thanks to Martin and Vicky for including us in their plans). And the best part was the fact that we had our rental car parked across the street. Traffic was still bumper to bumper but we were able to get back to the hotel in a timely manner. No drama! We stayed up to pack - certainly having enjoyed our long weekend in San Antonio.

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Photos

Our guide
Morning is the best time to take the riverboat cruise

Watermark Hotel
From our riverboat cruise

Riverwalk cruise
Approaching Bexar County Courthouse

Village Weavers shop
At La Villita

La Villita
With the outdoor stage behind us

Happy Hour
At the Rooftop Cafe of Watermark Hotel

View of San Antonio skyline
As seen from the Rooftop Cafe

Las Canarias
It was a black and white evening.