Day 24 - San Antonio

28 January 2012

Mission Concepcion
Mission Concepcion

We spent the morning visiting the four former Spanish missions along the Mission Trail, starting with Mission Concepcion.

The traditional paint work inside the Mission Concepcion
The traditional paint work inside the Mission Concepcion
The inside of the mission's church
The inside of the mission's church
The restored paint work in church's dome
The restored paint work in church's dome
Mission Concepcion
Mission Concepcion

Next up was the Mission San Jose which was a square mission with apartments lining the walls on three sides and the church on the fourth.

Mission San Jose
Mission San Jose
Apartments in the wall of the Mission San Jose
Apartments in the wall of the Mission San Jose
The church at the Mission San Jose
The church at the Mission San Jose
The interior of the church at Mission San Jose
The interior of the church at Mission San Jose
Mission San Jose
Mission San Jose

The third was Misión Espada which was not as well maintained, though the church was still in use.

The church at Misión Espada
The church at Misión Espada
The bells in the church at the Misión San Juan
The bells in the church at the Misión San Juan
The leaning walls of the Misión Espada
The leaning walls of the Misión Espada

And finally the Misión San Juan, which was being restored.

The bells in the church at the Misión San Juan
The bells in the church at the Misión San Juan
A cross in the courtyard of Misión San Juan
A cross in the courtyard of Misión San Juan

We then headed north of the city to Brackenridge Park and the Botanical Gardens.

The Texas Hill Country exhibit in the San Antonio Botanical Gardens
The Texas Hill Country exhibit in the San Antonio Botanical Gardens
Feeding ducks in the San Antonio Botanical Gardens
Feeding ducks in the San Antonio Botanical Gardens
The chair tree, endemic to Texas
The chair tree, endemic to Texas

We finished the day with dinner on the Riverwalk, which looks even nicer at night.

The Riverwalk at night
The Riverwalk at night
The Riverwalk at night
The Riverwalk at night
The Alamo at night
The Alamo at night