Remember The Alamo

San Antonio

The main attraction here is The Alamo where 200 Texan defenders, including Davy Crockett, were slaughtered by the Mexicans in 1836. No matter Texas won its independence shortly afterwards, it's the big defeat that still gets all the attention. The site is free and there's plenty to see including a shrine to those who died which features flags representing every state and country the soldiers came from. Turns out hardly any of them were actually from Texas, in fact there were almost as many from Britain as from these parts. If there's a military embarrassment you can guarantee we'll be involved somewhere.

San Antonio is the ninth biggest city in America and the council's made a big effort down the years with some innovative civic planning. There's a walk downtown stretching around a two mile crook in the river with lots of cafes and bars, it's very touristy but pleasant. More pointlessly there's the Tower of the Americas, at 750 feet the tallest building in Texas and third highest free standing structure in North America (behind the CN Tower in Toronto, which it predates and closely resembles). It doesn't cost much to get up, but then there's not a whole lot to see from the top unless the big hotels and wide freeways that make up the downtown area are your idea of picturesque.

The sap from the pecan trees had turned the hostel pool green by the time I got back but I went for a swim anyway. Sadly it didn't make me glow in the dark.