We have encountered some pretty tasty breakfast options on our trip so far (again, all were included in the stay) but the Hotel Gibbs took it to another level. Their spread included warm tortillas, carne asada, green salsa, eggs, bacon, sausage, black beans and more. So we were set as we ventured out to explore. One other cool feature of our hotel which we discovered last night was that they serve $4 glasses of wine each evening.
I remember spending a lot of time at La Villita the last time we were here, which is full of adorable shops right on the River Walk so we headed there first. La Villita was originally settled nearly 300 years ago as one of the city’s first neighborhoods. In 1939, La Villita Historic Arts Village was established and the neighborhood was adapted into a center for teaching regional arts and crafts and to serve as an artists market. There are shops that sell paintings, folk art, textiles, sculptures, copper wares, jewelry, and more. We didn’t find any treasures that we needed to buy so we continued to explore.
We had toured the Alamo 10 years ago so instead, we just enjoyed seeing it in morning’s light and then again each evening. But seeing it then had sparked an interest that led me to learn a lot about the history/mythology since my visit a decade ago. Three Texas historians have written a book called, “Forget the Alamo.” which challenges the conventional wisdom of the myth. Since Texas was a nation before it became a state, the Battle of the Alamo has become one of the key stories that is more imaginary than real. Sadly, the truth (as so much of American history) was based on a conflict over Mexico’s push to abolish slavery. Over the years, pieces of truth have filtered out as the story had become more nuanced. But as you can imagine, in Texas today, nuance and truth are not comforting if one wants to hang on to a familiar mythology.
In the time leading up to the battle, San Antonio had grown to become the largest Spanish settlement in Texas during the 1800s. It was designated as the capital of the Spanish, later Mexican province of Tejas. From San Antonio, the Camino Real was built. Mexico allowed European American settlers from the United States into the territory; they mostly occupied land in the eastern part. And then Mexican President Santa Anna abolished the Mexican Constitution of 1824, so violence ensued in many parts of Mexico. This led to battles where the Texan Army forced the Mexican solders out of the areas around San Antonio. The Battle of the Alamo was in 1836 and the Mexicans won.
After that, many Texans continued to want to join American even though Mexico still considered Texas as part of its territory. It was during this time that sectional politics over slavery was preventing annexation because Texas would have been admitted as a slave state, upsetting the balance of power between Northern free states and Southern slave states. So for a time, it was the independent Republic of Texas. But eventually Texas joined the Union in 1845.
The Menger Hotel is across from the Alamos. We also visited there in 2012.
Today, San Antonio in general is one of the first growing cities in America. I am sure that the promise of 77 degree days in January is part of the appeal. There are also numerous military bases in the area and according to Wikipedia, the population is 64% Hispanic.
After we left San Antonio, we made a brief stop in the capitol of Texas, Austin. Next time through, we will make that our primary stop and check out the music scene and the bats. Once we returned from this trip, I heard on the news that the ice storm that came through south Texas left many Austin residents without power for days. Looks like we had good timing.
Your description of the Texas breakfast made me think of chirizo, the sausage served that is so good. This made me think of my partner Mario who told me to order menudo, (tripe, or chitlins). which to this day is one of the few foods that I won't eat. Mario thought it was so funny when I sent it back for a burrito.
First, I wrote a post years ago about our visit to see the bats in Austin 😊 Second, I learned so much about the complexity of Texas history when living in Texas. There are so many myths, but the information is there.