It was not our first time to San Antonio. We had previously visited (twice) doing one of our tier point runs to gain Gold Status with British Airways.
How we got there…
We booked to fly to San Antonio with American Airlines from Los Angeles. Having already flown into Los Angeles the day before, we had an early start to get one of the morning flights to San Antonio.
Qantas First Lounge
Our first stop (thanks to our Gold status with the British Airways Executive Club), was the Qantas First Lounge at the Tom Bradley terminal.
The Tom Bradley terminal wasn’t the one we were flying from so once through security we had to make a slight detour to it.
The Qantas Lounge was definitely worth the 10-15 minute walk. It was extremely quiet and civilised in this lounge. The waiting staff were so polite and efficient.
Once there, we enjoyed a thoroughly decent breakfast.
Given my love of yoghurt and honey, I had to try the Chobani (Greek) yoghurt . It came with local honey, grapes and pecans. It was a refreshingly delicious blend of sweetness, crunch and creamy yoghurt.
Alongside this we each ordered the Eggs Only Breakfast. We both went for two poached eggs with multi grain bread. The eggs were cooked to perfection. They had lovely runny yolks and not one bit of snotty white could be found.
To finish we couldn’t resist the buttermilk pancakes The fluffy light pancakes were soaked in maple syrup. The combination of that plus the topping of creamy ricotta, blueberries and toasted almonds was truly scrumptious.
According to my husband, the flat white coffee was quite possible the nicest coffee he had ever had. The cranberry juice I had was also very decent.
American Airlines Flight to San Antonio
After our extravagant breakfast, it was then on to our American Airlines flight to San Antonio.
We had opted to fly main cabin and our status as part of the one world alliance between AA and BA gave us a couple of extra perks.
We were already entitled to seat selection and free snacks. On top of this we also received early boarding and extra legroom.
Not that I’m sure that I would have used it but the WiFi wasn’t available on the flight.
I chose one of my favourite gins as my complimentary refreshment, the aptly named Aviation gin.
Here was the view from the plane.
Overall, the flight completed without any drama. Although we set off slightly late we arrived pretty much on time.
Where we stayed…
Our chosen residence whilst on San Antonio was The Thompson Hotel. Strangely this is the only 5 star hotel in San Antonio. We didn’t base our decision solely on the fact it was five star. The price we got via Booking.com with my genius discount meant that it was as competitive as most of the four star hotels. Plus using Gate 365 and Booking.com meant some more AVIOS were earned.
Normally when you arrive at a five star hotel, the people working there are falling over themselves to help. Not at The Thompson. It was like walking into a high end boutique, a little bit like the scene from Pretty Woman. I had to resist the urge to “I have money to spend in here!” This hotel was definitely giving off a moody ambiance. I mean with the low lighting everywhere (not the people on reception!).
Whilst checking in we were given water, which came in handy refillable bottles.. There were water refill stations on every floor, which I thought was a nice touch. Later on in our trip we improvised and used them as a cocktail shaker for our homemade Margaritas.
Once our eyes had adjusted to the dim lit lobby, we managed to locate the lift. On to the king room with city view. The room was very nice continuing the dark hues with a teal emulsion. Personally I would have preferred white walls. The theme was mid century modern verging on industrial. With a retro radio thrown in for good measure!
Most importantly, we had a lovely king bed with crisp white sheets and that is really all we needed.
The view of the city didn’t disappoint.
The mini bar was well stocked.
Here are the refillable water bottle, plus hotel branded notepad and pen.
The en-suite shower room had luxurious white marbled tiles. There was a large double shower and oversized vanity unit.
The bathroom was equipped with a funky grey dressing gown.
Plus as you would expect lavish shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. This was made by D.S & DURGA and was named BOWMAKER. Overall it has a spicy and woody fragrance and was gender neutral so could be used by both of us.
In the wardrobe, there were some lush black slippers and another funky grey dressing gown. Plus we had a steamer rather than an iron. That worked out quite well for us as we had bought our own portable steamer from the UK, which we found didn’t work with US voltage.
Another string to the hotel’s bow was their love of Surrealist art. They had many pieces scattered around the hotel and also provided a guide on where to find it. As I have recently started to take an interest in this genre of art, I thought it was quite cool.
What we ate and drank…
1. The Moon’s Daughters
On the first night, after a tiring day of travelling we planned to eat in The Moon’s Daughters in the Thompson.
It’s on the 20th floor of the hotel with exceptional views of the city.
Once seated, our host for the evening immediately put us at ease with his friendly manner. He also helped us with drink and food selections by providing recommendations.
The lager I tried was “Weathered Souls Dale Shine Mexican Lager” which is brewed at The Pearl Brewery in San Antonio. It was a smooth and light lager, which was right up my street. My husband had one of the IPAs, I think it was the “Freetail American Pale Ale”. He also enjoyed it. We liked the added touch of the lime on side.
After the beers, we moved on to have cocktails. My husband had the “All That’s Nice”. This was Serrano Infused El Jimador, Pineapple, Lime, Agave. We were warned that it was spicy and the host recommended that extra syrup was added. Nothing prepared us for how firey it actually was. My husband had to request even more syrup to make it bearable to drink.
I had the “Yarrows Rosa”. This was Grey Goose, Elderflower Liqueur, Aperol, Lemon, Nectarberry Salt. Thankfully for me it was fruity, sweet and refreshing. I would highly recommend.
The food at The Moon’s Daughters is inspired by the Greek goddess of the moon. All the dishes were small plates of Greek tapas. We could have ordered pretty much the whole menu. It all sounded delicious!
We took the advice of our waiter and went for a small number of dishes. This actually turned out to be enough for us.
First up we had the “Between Us”. This comprised of Roasted Beet Hummus, Fresh Pomegranates, Arbequina Oil, Baba Ghanoush, Olives, Feta, Paprika, Artichoke Hummus, XO Sauce, Fresh Pita. The Pita was puffy and soft. The dips were exquisite. I liked the addition of the olives sunken into the hummus.
Then came the Certified Angus Bavette. The Top Sirloin Flap was a perfectly cooked medium rare steak. It was exceptionally tender. It lay on a bed of deliciously sweet and vibrantly orange saffron carrot puree. This was topped was Shatta, ground green chillies combined with salt and olive oil. The flavour combination was amazing.
The final dish we had was the Chicken Souvlaki. These were succulent chicken thighs on skewers. The chicken was marinated in a honey harissa glaze, yogurt drizzle, and was accompanied with a refreshing orzo salad and mint cilantro chermoula.
When we came to the end of our dishes, we had a lot of sauce left so we ordered a portion of the Freshly Rolled Pitas. This came with Herb Arbequina Oil, Harissa Aioli
There were so many other things we could have ordered, which would have included (but not limited too)….
a. Burratta – Speck, Pesto, Marcona Almonds, Honey
b. Lamb Slider – Pressed Lamb Patties, Tzatziki, Local Tomato, Mozzarella, Feta
c. Veal Meatballs – Oven Roasted Meatballs, Yellow Curry, Labneh Drizzle
d. Gambas – Sauteed Red Shrimp, Preserved Lemon, Chili Oil, Hummus
2. Larder at Hotel Emma
On our second day, whilst we we were walking around The Pearl we stopped at Larder for some hot drinks. Larder is within the old fermenting cellars at Hotel Emma. The place has an industrial vintage interior and sells specialty groceries along with hot drinks, cakes and sandwiches.
The coffee and the hot chocolate were both of a high quality. The hot chocolate was extremely good, the sort that ends up giving you the chocolate sweats.
3. Texas Barbeque at Pinkerton’s
Before we went to San Antonio, we had decided that if we did nothing else during our visit we would at least sample a Texas barbeque. We had selected three choices of places we could go, which included Pinkerton’s Barbeque. The two other places, which had been recommended via guide books and magazines were not open at the time we wanted to go. So Pinkerton’s by default became the place we had to go to. During the day, on route to the Historic Market, we went to check it out.
Even at 11am in the morning we could smell the smoke of a Texas barbeque. We were a little concerned that if we went we would end up smelling of fire. After much debate, we threw caution to the wind and decided to go. We went late afternoon/early evening as we had read reviews which suggested that queues out the door could occur. We don’t like ago queue if we can help it.
The format at Pinkerton’s Barbeque is canteen style. You go up to the counter. First you order the sides. We went for a ridicules amount due to our (constant unqualified) fear of starvation. We had the Grant’s Potato Salad, Tangy Coleslaw, Rosemary Bacon Mac & Cheese and South Texas Beans. With this you also get offered (which obviously we didn’t decline!) two slices of white bread and some pickles. You can chose small or large sides. We went with small on everything but the potato salad.
Next up was the meat. We chose the prime brisket sliced. Along with regular sausage and the glazed pork ribs. The former and latter were definitely the best.
4. Local Coffee at The Pearl
On our last day we went for a coffee and hot chocolate at Local Coffee, at The Pearl. I felt the people serving seemed to care more about themselves than the service that they provide. The drinks were nothing special, fairly average.
What we did…
1. The River Walk
The River Walk was one of the best parts of our trip to San Antonio. Our hotel was conveniently located right on it and we spent a far amount of time doing different sections of it. The River Walk has two parallel nicely paved sidewalks which wind along the river. There is a central part to it which is lined with restaurants and shops. From our previous experiences we know that this gets extremely busy in the summer. When we visited in November it was much quieter.
I personally particularly like the part which you take down from The Pearl to The Thompson. It’s such a peaceful, beautiful and relaxing walk. You also get to see The Grotto, which is an artificial cave with water features & stalactites. On this section you also see the San Antonio River Lock & Dam, which captured our attention.
2. The Alamo
You really can’t go to San Antonio and not at least stop outside The Alamo. It has such significance to the history of San Antonio with a lot of drama related to it’s ownership and restoration . The chapel of the Alamo Mission is known as the “Shrine of Texas Liberty”. Since July 2015, The Alamo has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
3. The Pearl and the Farmers Market at The Pearl
We visited The Pearl twice during our stay in San Antonio. Having already been on the Friday, we also decided to go back for the Farmers Market on the Saturday too.
The Pearl is definitely an area worth visiting. Along with the Alamo and the River Walk, it was one of the best things that we did. It’s particularly good on a Saturday when the Farmers Market is there.
Even without the Farmers Market, there is a good number of places for food and drink.
The Farmers Market also had a really good range of vendors. The standout one for us was The Beignet Stand. They were serving french square donuts. If we hadn’t been airing on the side of caution due to our afternoon flight we definitely would have tried them! They looked scrumptious.
Whilst at The Pearl we also saw the “You are my sunshine ” mural above created by @_mmcreative and @don_mos. It really stood out on the grey day we were unexpectedly experiencing.
4. Street Art in San Antonio
As well as everything else we did, across the 48 hours I had to squeeze in some street art.
A lot of the information I gathered about where to find the murals and who the artists were came from San Antonio Street Art (SASAI) and Alamo City Moms.
This first mural we could see from our hotel room window.
It was produced by Los Otros Murals (Nik Soupè and Shek Vega) for Luminaria in 2014 and is on the side of 1111 Navarro St.
SASAI started an initiative in 2018 to create the “Largest Outdoor Gallery in Texas” . Phase 1 of this began under the highway at St Mary’s St & Quincy St. This next mural was the first of a number of pillars to be painted.
It was by artist @paulgarson13 and is very beautiful tribute to the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The holiday is traditionally celebrated by people of Mexican Heritage and is when all souls of the dead are believed to return to the world of the living.
In this location there are many other great artworks to view.
Continuing up St Mary’s Street, this next mural by @dlc_art1 can be found. It’s a fantastic representation of Freddie Mercury on the front of The Amp Room.
There is a second piece of street art by the same artist on the other side of the doors.
Further up St Mary St, there is some artwork that is part of Phase 2 of SASAI. This is where we saw the following:
“The King Of Country” by @matt_tumlinson paying homage to American singer and songwriter George Strait.
Next to this on E French Pl is the striking Blackbirds by @anatronen1971.
Next to this on the same street was this Los Otros Murals artwork of Nick Long from @lonelyhorse_sa.
On the opposite side of the street was this on the side of a fence. I don’t think this was part of the SASI Phase 2 project.
From what I understand it was created by @messican_art and @zooeylynnn It depicts four people @brooksinthesky @zooeylynnn @amlilleberg @the.mermaid.farm. I’m not sure whether all four of them were involved in the creation.
Another one on the St. Mary’s Strip by @losotrosmurals
This next one also on St Mary’s St was created in 2022 by @spookysznco
This Beastie Boys mural was the whole reason I wanted to walk up to St Mary’s St.
Created by the genius Nik Soup @souplaws. He is the second half of the mural duo @LosOtrosMurals. It was created in honour of Adam Yauch (MCA), one of three Beastie Boys who died in 2012.
The full original wording is no longer there but I have found a picture of when it was first produced. Here is what it used to be:
“I want to say a little something that is long overdue. The disrespect to women has got to be through. To all the mothers & sisters and the wives & friends. I wan to offer my love and respect to the end” – MCA
The final bit of street art that we saw on the St Mary’s Strip was this one by @DeletedTX. Called Tranquiliteal, this is surreal and fun at the same time.
Lastly, on our way back from the Farmers Market at The Pearl, we stumbled on El Camino. This is an eclectic mix of food trucks and a bar.
It was too late for us to sample anything there as we were on route to the hotel to get our cases and head to the airport. However we did see this interesting mural.
This was the end of our couple of days in San Antonio. It was time to return to Los Angeles with the hope of some sun!