The River Walk, also known as Paseo del Rio, is a major attraction in the City of San Antonio. The most popular section of the River Walk is located in downtown, within a short walking distance of the Alamo.
We said goodbye to Bryan, Texas early Saturday morning and were set up in our spot at Fort Sam Houston’s Family Camp by mid-afternoon. After taking care of the dog’s needs, we wasted no time heading downtown. Seeing the Alamo and strolling the River Walk was first on our list of things to do.
The Alamo
After paying $20.00 to park in a downtown lot, we followed signs pointing us to the Alamo. On the way, we passed by the historic Emily Morgan Hotel, seen in the background of the picture below, towering over the Alamo.
We visited the Alamo over 20 years ago and were surprised at all the changes to the area surrounding the mission. If I could locate a picture taken during the previous visit, it would show a road beyond the yellow curb instead of the extended plaza.
Many improvements to the plaza were made under the Alamo Plaza Restoration Project. The mission itself is also undergoing restorations in several areas. Unfortunately, we could not go into the buildings we had entered in our previous visit. Hopefully, we will be able to visit again after the restoration project is complete.
Downtown River Walk
After walking the grounds of the Alamo, we located the nearest steps to the River Walk and headed towards Market Street and the Rivercenter.
We were hungry and hot when we arrived a little after 6:00 pm. The food court was crowded, and we couldn’t find an open table. After checking with a woman seated next to a couple of empty stools, we sat down at the end of a counter overlooking the staircase. It was a great people-watching spot.
While eating our meal, we watched people decorating paper lanterns at various tables. Noticing that the woman seated next to me was embellishing one, I asked her about it. She told us about Wishing Lanterns, an annual event where lanterns are cast into the river in honor of loved ones, hopes, dreams, and wishes. She was decorating a lantern for her brother, a fallen vet. We also learned the launch would begin at 8 pm.
It was about 6:45 pm when we returned to the outdoors. Wanting to see the launching but not wanting to stand around and wait, we decided to go for a stroll along the River Walk. There are maps along the walkway, showing the current location and the route around the downtown area. Starting at the Rivercenter at the end of Market Street, we began our stroll towards the loop. We didn’t take a picture of the map; however, the map below is very similar. The yellow highlight is the route we took.
There are several tunnels along the route.
The colorful umbrellas are present at many restaurants along the walkway. These umbrellas are near Losoya St.
We enjoyed the view at the top of the steps overlooking the Arneson River Theatre in the historic neighborhood of La Villita. Rosita’s Bridge and the steps are popular destinations for wedding photographers. There were several photoshoots in progress while we explored this area.
We were nearing the top of the loop and would be taking the stairs soon to cross over to the other side of the river. We knew the tour boats took this route, and it helped to know we were going in the right direction.
The Love Lock Bridge is located near the stairs we took to the street level.
Back down to the river, we continued our walk, enjoying all the sites along the way. It was about 20 minutes to eight when the picture below was taken. Wanting to be back at the Rivercenter before eight, we quickened our pace.
The Wishing Lantern event had attracted a large crowd. We kept walking, trying to get a view of the lanterns floating on the San Antonio River.
Below, we are overlooking the portion of the river where the lanterns end their journey. Stretching across the river is one of the nets that keeps them in the Rivercenter area.
The next day we went to the Pearl Market and the Tower of the Americas.
