Hmmm, slightly disappointing. That's how I'd sum up San Antonio. I was in town for almost two days and I saw all I wanted to in that time. The Alamo was okay but since I already knew the history before I got there I didn't learn much from it and I couldn't get into the Texan pride thing of 'Remember the Alamo'.

The mall was an okay shopping centre, except that it didn't have a book store. In fact the whole of downtown San Antonio didn't have a book store. What do these people do for knowledge! I shudder to think that everyone gets their education from cable. As I was walking around the mall some guy from a stall said "Hey buddy" as if he knew me. I went over and, fortunately, he didn't think he knew me. I say 'fortunately' because I thought I would remember talking to a black guy with a cool afro. He was a very interesting guy. He and his buddy run an oils business - that's cologne type oils. I was there talking to him for about 40 minutes about all kinds of things from politics to the reasons people in America, and Britain, are getting fatter. I didn't buy anything but he was happy with that.

The absolute best thing about San Antonio was the riverwalk. It's a mile or more U-bend coming off the main river that is lined on both sides with restaurants and bars, with the narrow river running through the middle. The whole affair is located below street level so it is really a recluse. I absolutely loved it, especially in the evening when it was lit up with so many lights on the trees.

I was lucky enough to be in town at the same time as Jack and Sam - the two English guys I met in New Orleans and previously in Savannah - and we spent an evening together. It doesn't look like I'll meet up with them again as our paths diverge from here on.

Aside from the Alamo, mall and riverwalk, there were a few other really touristy attractions, and also the Buckhorn Saloon, an 1881 saloon with walls covered in hunting trophies in which I had a very nice lunch. I walked around a bit and saw a few other buildings but nothing worthy of my praise.

I used this place as a rest stop because I was feeling travel weary, so I had a nice break in the mornings before going out in the hottest part of the day - not necessarily the smartest plan but the most enjoyable. I was supposed to get a 12 hour bus ride from Natchez, Mississippi to here but the first bus was late causing me to miss my first transfer and wait three hours at Baton Rouge. Then the second bus ran late causing me to have to sit in Houston for three hours. The worst part was that I had finished my book. I survived Baton Rouge by watching a Red Sox game on the TV but in Houston they had CNN on and they were rehashing the same story about Hillary Clinton. I would have gone mad with having nothing to do except I remembered I still had Police Squad episodes on my MP3 player so I watched them until the bus departed. Despite arriving in San Antonio six hours late it worked out for the best because instead of arriving at 4;30am and waiting around until it got light, I arrived at 10:30am and was able to check into my hotel early and crash.

One final good thing was the bowl of Texas chili I had here. Mmm, delicious!