6 Things To Do In and Around San Antonio, Tx

I have itchy feet. Always in the spring my feet begin to get really itchy and it’s not due to allergies. It’s a classic symptom of Travel Bug. Other symptoms include compulsively Googling flights and hotels in exotic destinations, big sighs when you hear about someone else’s upcoming trip, and twitching thumbs as you like every travel photo on Instagram.  To sometimes help with the travel bug, short of booking a trip, I look back on some of my previous trips that I’ve been fortunate enough to have taken.

The last time I had a bad case of the travel bug, I was able to take advantage of some Boxing Day seat sales and began planning my trip to San Antonio, Texas in February to visit my dear friend Selena.

I’ve been to Texas once before as a very young child, the last impression I had of the place was that the grass was really spiky as I tottered around and a dog ate my Barbie, obviously it was a traumatic trip.

I knew going back was going to be entirely different experience, but I was surprised by how much I actually liked the Lone Star State. I think I had a particular image (read stereotype) in mind of what I would encounter while in San Antonio and not only did it not exist it was even better than what I had anticipated. That said, I’m still slightly devastated by the lack of cowboy hats I encountered on a daily basis.

These are the things I most liked about my trip to San Antonio

Pearl Weekend Market

This place reminds me of one of my favourite places in Toronto, The Distillery District, except this place is much cooler and has a weekend market. The vendors are from within a 150 mile radius and sell local produce and artisan foods. There are also some trendy restaurants, retails shops and a fabulous looking hotel, all located within walking distance to the San Antonio River. We spent a good chunk of our day here, checking out all the stalls, popping into the stores, eating market food for breakfast and people watching.

Riverwalk

In the heart of San Antonio is The River Walk, located one story below street level along the banks of the San Antonio River. This area reminded me of the canal system in East London, but on steroids. It is certainly a tourist destination and very cool to spend time along, but be aware that it is more of a tourist trap than an authentic experience. That said, I had a great time doing a bit of bar hopping and walking the length of the "River Walk" area, watching the barges filled with people. It was Mardi Gras when I was there and a big party atmosphere, but I was told that this is a normal vibe for the walk.

San Antonio Rodeo

"Let's rodeo, San Antonio!" When Selena told me she got us tickets to the rodeo I honestly didn't know how I felt about it. I'm all for doing new things, but I wondered if I was going to have issues with watching. It was the same trepidation I felt when Eimear and I planned to see the Cholitas wrestling in Bolivia. Turns out I loved this too. It was exciting to watch, no animals appeared to be hurt or stressed and by the end I wasn't sure if I was cheering for the people or the animals. Mutton Bustin' broke my heart though, every single 3-4 year old cried when the fell off the sheep.

Mission Churches

First thing people asked when I told them I was going to San Antonio, was if I was going to go see The Alamo. The answer was obvious, I wouldn't go all that way and not go to the Alamo. But did you know there are actually five mission churches from the same time period and some in better condition. I spent an afternoon exploring each of them. It's possible to walk the 14.5 km Mission Trail from The Alamo to Mission Espada. I was short on time and had the use of a car. It made the trek much more enjoyable especially considering for one reason or another I could only get inside two of the missions.

New Braunfels

New Braunfels is a city northeast of downtown San Antonio, and has an interesting history. In 1845 Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, Germany established the town named after his home town, and organzied hundreds of Germans to immigrate to Texas. To this day the area maintains its German heritage, even hosting Wurstfest to honour the humble sausage. The popularity of this festival has certainly grown since its inception in 1961. 

I was already enamoured with this little city and then Selena brought me to Krause's Biergarten and Cafe and then I was in love. I felt like I was back in Europe and could see this place being a fun time on a warmer day. They even had many of my new obsession on tap, Austin Eastcider. OH WHY can't I get it in Ontario?!

Gruene Hall

Gruene is a historic district now part of New Braunfels and dependant on the tourist economy, but it's worth a visit. It's tiny but it packs a lot in there. We managed to only visit the General Store, Gruene Hall, Mozie's and The Grapevine. Had we had more time, I could have spent the afternoon at Gruene Hall listening to the music and dining at the old gristmill turned into a restaurant with a view of the river. 

Do you get itchy travel feet? What do you do to scratch that itch?

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Why You Need to Stay in Rydal, England

To be quiet honest I didn't know what exactly the Lake District was when I first heard about it. A whole region named after a distinguishing geographic element, all I could imagine was the most picturesque setting of sunsets over glistening bodies of water. After doing some research I discovered that actually the Lake District has only one true lake in it (Bassenthwaite Lake) but is home to plenty of waters, meres, and tarns to deserve its name. The fells and hills created the waters, and human interaction/interference created the modern landscape over the centuries.

Thousands of tourists visit the region each year, climbing the ridges and topping the summits to glimpse the rolling, rocky countryside, dotted with trees, waterways and wildlife.

The Lake District is spectacular and whether you are an expert fellwalker or an amateur hiker, there's a footpath or byway for everyone.

For our trip to the Lake District, we didn't mess about and went straight for the middle to a small village in Cumbria. Rydal is found between Ambleside and Grasmere and made up of a small cluster of houses, a church, and a large hotel. It might not seem like much upon first view, and you might miss it if you aren't careful, but hear out my reasons why you too need to pick Rydal as your Lake District hiking base.

Rydal Hall

This Grade II listed building and spectacularly Grade II listed gardens. It's now a hotel with some beautiful interiors (go in an have a peek). The Old School Room Tea Shop located on the grounds is a great spot to stop after wandering around the formal gardens. The Grot and waterfalls were even the subject of a William Wordsworth poem published in 1793, 'An Evening Walk'.

Coffin Trail

This trail runs from Grasmere to Rydal and is so named because it was the path used to take the dead from Rydal to the consecrated church grounds in Grasmere for burial. The path winds on the high ground, through tress and across fields. From this route you can spy Rydal Water below and the hills above. The Lake District is full of great walks, but really this little route is not one to be missed.

Rydal Caves

Rydal Caves aren't actually caves but rather disused slate quarries from 200 years ago located in Loughrigg Fell. Man made or not, this cave is beautiful. There's a stagnant pool that runs into the shallow depths of the cave walls. Climbing on top of the cave there are views of Rydal Water and the rolling hills around. It's a great spot to stop and have a packed lunch.

Badger Bar

The Badger Bar is a proper oldie worldie pub in the Glen Rothay Hotel. Kind of a funny name for a pub (scratch that, this is England, so actually it's a completely normal name for a pub), but it's really a literal name as come dark you can head out to the back garden as watch real live badgers feed. They also have 4 locally brewed ales, 40 whiskeys, food, board games, welcome dogs and loos built into the rock face. But did you hear me? Badgers! And if you can't get enough of them live you can watch them feeding on the webcam.

Rydal Mount and Rydal Church

Rydal Mount was the home of poet William Wordsworth from 1813 until his death in 1850 and today it's run as a museum and gardens to the poet. It is a beautiful and pleasant setting and even offers an afternoon cream tea in the old saddlery above the coach house.

We visited the gift shop but didn't actually go inside. We did, however, go into its neighbour down the street, Rydal Church, build in 1824 and where Wordsworth worshiped when he lived in the village. Next to the churchyard is Dora's field, originally planted by Wordsworth and his wife with hundreds of Daffodils to memorialize their daughter who had died in 1847. Today the field is still filled with hundreds of Daffodils and we even spotted a deer strolling through.

Rydal Water

It's not a very large lake, but sits in the centre of the Lake District and its glittering shores can be seen from many of the surrounding fells. There's a path that follows around it which passes the caves and the two homes Wordsworth lived in; Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount. But you can only admire these calm waters from the shore as only residences of Rydal Hall are permitted to navigate the lake.

Rydal Lodge 

Rydal is dotted with houses and many of them are actually hotels, bed and breakfasts, and lodges. We stayed at the Rydal Lodge located right on Rydal Road. It was super convenient the bus we took in from Kendal train station stopped right outside the hotel. Rydal Lodge is made up of several constructions some of it even dating back to the 16th century! As you can imagine, wifi was a bit spotty in some of the older bits (#firstworldproblems). The gardens of the lodge are lush and back on to the River Rothay. There are several spots perfect to rest after a hike and enjoy a book.
I love an English breakfast and the one served at Rydal Lodge ticked this box perfectly.

Close to Ambleside

Rydal is conveniently located between Grasmere (if you found a need or want to go to Grasmere) and Ambleside. Taking some of the paths, you can walk to Ambleside in an enjoyable 35 minutes. Once there, you have your pick of restaurants and pubs, and honestly, we didn't have a bad meal while there. Along with food and drink there are a few things to do in Ambleside; visit the Roman ruins, pop into The Bridge House, there's the Armitt Museum and Library, and even a relaxing spa.

The village of Rydal is tiny, but really it's at the centre of it all. To me, it's the perfect spot to start and end a day in the Lake District.

Do you agree? What do you think of Rydal as your Lake District home base?

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Spending a Perfect Day in London

I had just over 24 hours to spend in London on my last trip to the UK. I knew I had to make the most of my time there.

I prepared myself.

I made a list of the things I wanted to do, see, and eat. I made arrangements with friends to visit and anticipated a long (blissful) day spent in my favourite city.

I started my day off with a lovely stroll around Little Venice. It was a great slow way to begin my day as I ambled along the canal, admiring the sun drenched houseboats and marvelling at the spring buds on the trees. There was even a cute little boat cafe, but I had no time to stop for a coffee as I was heading to meet a friend for brunch.

On my way to Sketch (the instagram famous restaurant) I stopped in at Oxford Circus Topshop, and my old job at Lola's. My mouth watered in the memory of the delicious cupcakes. It was probably a good thing no one was behind the counter cause I would have done some damage. On to Sketch and connecting with the beautiful Selena and of course I was already late.

We munched our food, we chatted, we consumed our tea and we slipped off to the loos for a selfie. As you do.

Next we decided to pop over to Kensington and see what was on at the Saatchi Gallery. Any day that I get to spend some time with an interesting exhibition is a good day in my books.

Eventually, it was time for us to part ways. Cue the tears.

To console myself the only thing to do was have dinner with my favourite dinner companion at a super cool taco joint. Down to Soho's Bodega Negra we went with its tantalizing peep show/porn shop facade and delicious tacos below.  To cap the day off I had booked a table at Cahoots. A novelty bar at its finest.

The next morning, before heading on to adventures in the Lake District, I insisted on having breakfast at Dishoom (and I was pleased to find that the London location at King's Cross was just as good as my first visit to the new Edinburgh location).

The bottomless house chai tea is my soulmate.

London is my most favourite city in all the land, spending any kind of time there and seeing friends would make any day a good day. But this day in particular will go down in the books; most perfect day in London.

How would you spend your perfect day in your favourite city?

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7 Unusual Things to do in London

London is an exciting city and it's not hard to find a plethora of great things to do at any time of day or season. 

Having lived in London, I have checked off many of the major touristy attractions from my bucket list and still there are so many more tempting and fun things to occupy and entertain me for days. 

Here's my list of some of the more quirky and different kinds of things on offer in the Big Smoke. 

1. An Opera in King’s Head Theatre

Located in a back room of the King's Head Pub is the King's Head Theatre. With a rotating list of productions in a variety of genres, it is possible to see an opera in a pub. I saw a rendition of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, set in an American high school and it was super brilliant! Check out the theatre's listings and you too can see an opera in a pub.

2. Goat Race at Spitalfields City Farm

Easter weekend is not only an important holiday in the Christian calendar, it is also the weekend where the rowing clubs of Cambridge and Oxford Universities go head to head on the River Thames in a race that's been taking place annually since 1859. Now you could go watch that on the river side with the throngs of other people OR you can pre-book your tickets and head down to Spitalfields City Farm for the Goat Race taking place at the same time! If you like puns and farm animals, this is really where you should be on this particular weekend.

3. God’s Own Junkyard at Walthamstow Central

I knew what to expect when I headed to 'God's Own Junkyard' thanks to the many Instagrams out there already, but despite that I was blown away by this warehouse in Walthamstow Central. The warm glow of the numerous neon lights was like nothing I'd experienced before and I would highly recommend checking it out for yourself. Not enough of an incentive to head into E17, there's a licensed cafe inside and a brewery next door.

4. Secret Cinema 

A super immersive experience of your favourite films. Imagine this. A whole 1950's Hill Valley has been built, everyone is in costume and there are scenes from Back to the Future taking place all around you. Each year, the organization picks a different iconic movie and go whole hog. Tickets can be a bit pricey, but really it's totally worth it. Shhhhh! Remember, it's a secret.

5. Cave Drinking in Gordon’s Wine Bar

London has some amazing pubs and restaurants. Some boast a successfully done theme like Cahoots, others have an interesting history or unique atmos. Gordon's Wine Bar is believed to be London's oldest wine bar, established in 1890. It's rickety tables dot the cavernous room and you have to duck down to avoid hitting into the stone walled cellar. There's a massive selection of excellent wine and perfect, little, intimate corners to enjoy it in.

6. Camden Beach

London is not really known for it's beaches, particularly in Camden. But last summer Camden Beach was the hottest ticket around. North Londoners, Camdenites, and regular punters could be found here with their toes in the white sands, lounging on deck chairs, schmoozing in rented beach huts and enjoying a summery cocktail and bbq'd foods. It's an urban beach that pops up each summer and I hope it never goes away.

7. Niche Museums

I'm a self confessed museum junkie. London is just the place for a person like me. Once I had seen all the national museums (more than once) I set my sights on seeking out more niche museums. I'm a huge fan of the Transport Museum and the Geffrye Museum. The Fan Museum is on my bucket list for my next visit. A day spent in a museum is a great day in my books.

Did I miss your favourite quirky thing to do in London? Tell me in the comments below.

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My Favourite Place: Toronto Island

Of all the travelling I do, there's one place that holds a special draw for me and I find myself returning to it time and again. 

If you've been hanging about this little blogspot for a while you might know of my love affair with London town, however that's not the place I'm talking about today. 

This magical place is a lot closer to home and requires a ferry to access it. It's a little piece of quiet just off the shores of the hustle and bustle of Toronto. 

The Toronto Islands are made up of 3 main ports; Ward's Island, Centre Island. and Hanlan's Point.

A ferry hits each point with Centre Island being the most popular, for good reason. Want to rent a bike, a canoe, play a game of frolf, have a picnic, go to the beach, hang out at an amusement park, view the Toronto city skyline? All these things and more can be done right here.

Hanlan's Point is the location of Toronto formerly infamous nude beach (it's still a nude beach, but now legally so) as well as the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and the historic Gibraltar Point Lighthouse.

(there is more than one beach on the islands)

But honestly, my favourite spot is Ward's Island. It's where the people of the island live. Nothing inspires my imagination more of hunkering down and writing a novel on a blustery fall day than walking the lane ways of this little oasis.

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And each time I'm hit with this view of the city I love and I'm enamoured with the Toronto Islands all over again.

I mean, what a skyline!

What's your favourite close-to-home-place to visit?

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