Mission San Jose

Another full day. Breakfast on the Riverwalk again - different restaurant, not as good - then walked the other way along Riverwalk to La Villita National Historic District. It was developed by European settlers along the east bank of the San Antonio River in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It has gone in and out of fashion, but became revitalized in the late 1930s by artists and craftspeople and the San Antonio Conservation Society. Today it is a lovely area of boutiques, craft shops and restaurants, resembling a Spanish/Mexican village, with shaded patios, plazas and brick-and-tile streets. After that we went for a boat ride on the river, followed by lunch. Then in the afternoon we took the trolley out to two of the missions along the San Antonio River. The Alamo was just the first of five missions established by the Franciscans along the River to Christianize the native Indian population. The four other missions, which now fall under the National Park Service, are still active parishes. But the missions were more than just churches, they were entire communties. The two we visited were San Jose (shown) and Concepcion. San Jose, which was established in 1720, was the largest, best known and most beautiful of all the missions and has been reconstructed to give visitors a complete picture of life in a mission community. Then we ascended the Tower of the Americas to the observation deck. The 750 ft tower was built for the HemisFair in 1968. The area around the tower is beautifully landscaped with fountains and cascading water, which were unfortunately all dry, due to the prolonged drought they are experiencing. Before dinner, we decided to have a drink in the bar of the historic Menger Hotel and saw the Alamo by night.