Texas!

Hubby had a conference down in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago, and since I'd never been I decided to tag along and see what it's like down in the deep south!
Well, of course I didn't actually get to experience the real south since I was in a major tourist center, but I sure had fun!
A local friend took us over to this very cool cool bar in the Hotel Havana called Ocho. It's mostly a night time spot, but it was really nice during the day with the sunlight streaming in through the old conservatory windows.

I LOVED the design! The color scheme, the velvet upholstery and mirrored and mosaic tables on the threadbare rugs and brick flooring was SO much what I love! And check out that chandelier- HUGE! And there were two of them!

And in case you forgot you were in Texas for a second there, just grab a gander at the horns on those chairs- so very cool!

For dinner that night our friends took us to a fun BBQ chain called Rudy's.

With us all dolled up for dancing later, they were a bit hesitant to take us to a place that had an order counter and family style picnic tables, but we were game!


Rudy's also sells gas,


But mostly they sell meat:


Lots and lots of meat!

After dinner Hubby and I headed over to a salsa club that our cab driver had recommended called Arjon's.


The place was great! Since our hosts that night had to get home and release their babysitter, we ended up getting to the club just after 9:00, so we were one of the first one's there. But by 9:30 a bunch of people had arrived and the band began to play and the dancing was on!


It's always fun going to a place where they dance in a really authentic style since just about everyone up around us learned ballroom style (as did we!) There were some very good dancers at that place, so we watched them for a bit to remember some moves before we got up and busted ours out! We left shortly after midnight when the music switched over to club style and the younger crowd took over the dance floor.


Haris was really tempted by the Taco truck that had opened right in the parking lot outside, but after all that barbecue there was no place left to put it!

After spending a day exploring the Riverwalk (very cute, but pretty crowded!)

and Market Square (great place for souvenirs!), I ventured onto the public transportation via the #7 bus, Sightseer's Special.
First I went to the San Antonio Zoo.


Where it was mostly me and a whole bunch of school kids!


And the animals of course!


I finished up there around lunchtime, and a nice woman at the gift shop (everyone down there was nice!) tipped me off about a good lunch place called Joseph's about a 10 minute walk away. Well, it was about 100 degrees out, but if there was something to eat better than zoo burgers, I was willing to do the walk!


I'll be frank- I didn't have high hopes for a sandwich shop on the outskirts of San Antonio where the bus had driven past mostly porn shops and taco restaurants, but I was pleasantly surprised!


I made myself an iced coffee, which they were fine with (some places discourage that!), and ordered the club sandwich and fruit cup, all for about $7. The fruit cup... well, I'd pass on that next time! I could see it had some kind of dressing on it, (Italian, I think) but when I dug under that to find some clean looking pieces I realized that the whole thing had also been salted! But the sandwich... oh that bacon! I've never had such good bacon- ever! Thick, crunchy, smokey... YUM!

I also loved that the seating was a big ol' mish-mash of old dining tables and chairs!

After lunch I walked back up the road to see the Japanese Tea Garden.

I had allotted myself a couple of hours to explore the garden, hang out and be zen...


But it only took about 15 minutes for the heat radiating off all those rocks to make me dizzy!


It was really pretty, though...

And I got a kick out of seeing this girl tromping around in a HUGE ballgown and cowboy boots posing in different places for a photo-shoot of some sort. I'm thinking quincinera, maybe?

There's days 1-3, I'll try to share 4-6 with you later this week!