San Antonio Riverwalk and The Little Town of Pearl

March 24, 2017

Ah, the Riverwalk... In San Antonio, visitors can walk along the Colorado River, which runs through downtown. I found one of the entryways and decided to explore!

The path is right at the waterline, so it's a romantic feeling to see the tour boats drifting by and people walking, holding hands in front of you.

Video of the Riverwalk:

This is the staircase to La Villita, which is coincidentally the area where I parked the rental car. It's an artists' village with boutique shops, and you can also access the Riverwalk from its courtyard.

Some more sights along the Walk.

I was hungry and I stopped at Boudro's, which is a highly-recommended eatery with seating right on on the River. I got the Prickly Pear Margarita and the cup was rimmed with chili salt. So refreshing and delicious!

I also got the seared tuna salad, which was cool and crisp, and it had supremes of grapefruit ! This restaurant is famous for making the guacamole right at the table (I didn't order it this time), but I took a video!

There are live mariachi bands along the river as well! Check them out:

I continued around the Riverwalk to head back to my car.

After leaving downtown San Antonio, I drove a few minutes to the hidden town of Pearl. Pearl used to be a brewery, complete with a stable and hotel. The famous Hotel Emma is the centerpiece of the town, named after the founder, Emma Koehler, who, along with her husband Otto, kept their Pearl Brewery running through the Prohibition, and continued paying all their employees.

Some photos of the brewery:

One of the buildings has been converted into a Culinary Institute of America outpost. What makes this little town so interesting is its cluster of boutique shops, bike rental stores, and artesinal eateries, it's a hispter's utopia.

This is the hanging sculpture at the CIA's Bakery Cafe. They sell what the students make here!

This building, the Stable, was once used to actually stable horses and to deliver the beer produced at the brewery.

I happened upon it on the day of an open house, where potential couples and customers could check out the reception hall and outer walkways. This is the interior:

And the walkways:

This is what it used to look like (almost identical!):

It was about 3:30pm by then and I wanted to take a ride along the Riverwalk. I rented a bike from Bike World for an hour's ride. I went from Pearl to downtown San Antonio and back (about 3 miles r/t) and dodged tourists along the way. The sidewalk is definitely bikeable on one side, but I had to dismount a few times for stairs. It was such a nice ride! If you go, just keep in mind that pedestrians often will not realize that a biker is coming up behind them and move to the side, even if you tell them which side you're on.

Back in Pearl and hungry, I found the one kosher restaurant, Green, to grab a bite. The menu is completely vegetarian and dairy with vegan options:

I ordered the Cauliflower Hot Wings, which are breaded in hot seasoning and fried to perfection. They were delicious! Just spicy enough for me and a good-sized appetizer portion.