A Long Weekend in Texas
Day 1
Pool day—Our Airbnb in the Dignowity Hill Neighborhood, San Antonio
Our first day was a long morning of travel so we picked up our rental car and checked into our airbnb. First, we ran to the grocery store and the liquor store so we had some things for the weekend. Thursday was 95 degrees and humid so we decided to spend some time cooling off at our airbnb pool. We made some fresh pico to have with our poolside drinks. After our first day, we finally understood why people say you need a pool if you live in Texas...and this was in October!
Dinner on the Riverwalk—The Esquire Tavern
Night number one, we headed to the riverwalk for dinner and drinks. Our airbnb host suggested the Esquire Tavern on the riverwalk and we were sure glad she did. All their food was made from scratch in house and they had the most unique hand crafted cocktails. My boyfriend, Jesse, had an old fashioned and I had a paloma. We shared the fried pickles with homemade ranch and the chalupitas. We were very happy with our first meal in Texas!
Day 2
Wine Country—Texas Hill Country
Our second day wasn’t exactly what we had in mind...the temperature dropped to 40 degrees! We didn’t bring much to prepare for cold weather but that wasn’t going to stop us from wine tasting in Texas wine country! We bought a Texas Hill Country wine passport since October was wine month. We visited 5 wineries that I will list and describe below.
William Chris Vineyards—This was an hour long educational tasting that I would definitely recommend making a reservation for to ensure a time slot and a more intimate experience.
Kuhlman Cellars—Our favorite! We did a food and wine pairing and it was a delicious and educational experience. We also couldn’t resist getting a jar of their marcona almonds soaked in olive oil and rosemary before we left...luckily, they survived the plane ride home.
Grape Creek Vineyards—One of the most beautiful vineyards in Texas Hill Country. This one was definitely more focused on serving their members and we couldn’t even be in some areas if we weren’t members. It wasn’t our favorite experience because our tasting was very short and felt rushed.
4.0 Cellars—Amazing customer service and tasting experience. This winery came to be by three wine growers with their own separate vineyards in Texas. They joined together to create a new winery in Texas Hill Country to feature their own wines and new wines that they made by combining their grapes.
Barons Creek Vineyard—Most beautiful winery I have ever been to. It looks as if it should be in Italy and not in Texas. The prices were pretty steep even compared to the other vineyards we visited here. We paid $30 for two glasses of wine but it was almost worth it for the views.
Altstadt Brewery—We had to stop at this brewery because it looked so cool from the highway! No surprise, the inside was just as impressive. We got a flight of beers to split and an amazing bavarian pretzel with mustard and cheese. There were actually a handful of breweries along the wine road 290 so we had to try out at least one!
Day 3
The Silos—Waco, Texas
Saturday was Jesse’s birthday and also the day we planned to make the drive to Waco to visit The Silos. Something that had been on my bucket list for many years and had many expectations ended up exceeding them all. Any explanation or photos don’t quite do it justice but it is a place you just have to visit to find out for yourself. It’s almost like a big compound with a bakery, a market, a garden with a seed and supply store, a dozen food trucks, a turf area with outdoor games, photo ops, and the infamous silos. We had a gourmet grilled cheese and mac’n’cheese from the Cheddar Box food truck for lunch. Dessert consisted of waiting in a long line at The Silos Baking Co. for a strawberry cupcake and classic cinnamon roll...worth the wait. We were sad to leave but we drove by Harp’s Design Co. from the show Fixer Upper on our way out of town.
Food Trucks—
The Silos Baking Company—
Shopping—
The Grounds—
Jesse’s Birthday Dinner at a Brewery—The Hoppy Monk
Jesse chose a brewery for his birthday dinner so we decided on The Hoppy Monk. They had 99 beers on tap...perfect for Jesse, haha! The drink menu consisted of 13 full pages! The food menu was only one page but it was all made from scratch so we couldn’t go wrong no matter what we chose, and we didn’t.
Day 4
Farmers Market—The Pearl District
Jesse and I both agreed that a farmers market in the Pearl District is a must if you’re in the area on a Saturday or Sunday morning or afternoon. It was a big courtyard area with restaurants on every corner and the vendors were set up all around the perimeter with a big grassy area in the middle to hangout and relax on a sunday morning. We tried cheeses, savory breakfast crepes, mimosas, French macarons, breads, and other offerings. We only planned to stop by for a little while and ended up staying until it ended at 2:00.
The Alamo—Downtown San Antonio, TX
We knew we had to visit the Alamo while in San Antonio so we saved it for our last day touring San Antonio. It was a lot smaller than we imagined but very cool to see such a big part of Texas history that dates all the way back to the 1800’s. We didn’t have time to wait in the long line, but you can also tour the inside for free!
A Day on the Riverwalk—Downtown San Antonio, TX
Our first day we saw the riverwalk after dark so we wanted to explore it during the day before we left. The riverwalk was beautiful and had so much greenery. At the end of the riverwalk there is a big mall with many shops and restaurants to visit. We got some chips and guac on the riverwalk for our last meal in Texas. They also offer boat cruises on the river that run every 15 minutes.