San Antonio is blessed with cultural wonders and visitors to the city can explore Missions National Historic Park which has the largest collection of Spanish Missions in the United States. Today we will visit three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, to learn about the lives of indigenous people and early Spanish settlers who founded this city.
After breakfast, we depart our hotel for our 10 a.m. guided tour of the Alamo. The Alamo, founded in 1718, is known as one of the most important battle sites in the country. Guided by Alamo History Interpreters, our walking tour, The Alamo: A Story Bigger Than Texas, explores the heroes and events that have made the story of the Alamo captivating for generations of Texans. The tour takes you through the area that was the original footprint of the Spanish mission complex, today Alamo Plaza, and describes the events leading up to and including the Battle of the Alamo. After this 45-minute tour, we will have time (an hour) to see the Alamo Church and the Ralston Family Collections Center where we will see more than 500 artifacts on display from three important collections. Another highlight is the Alamo's living history encampment behind the church. Here we will see hands-on demonstrations of daily life at the time of the Texas Revolution. We will discover what people wore, how they took care of their health, what skills they developed, and what firearms they used.
After lunch, we will head south to our next destination, Mission San Jose that turned 300 years old in 2020. It is known as the Queen of the Missions because it is the largest of the missions and was almost fully restored to its original design in the 1930s by the WPA (Works Projects Administration). Spanish missions were not churches, but communities with the church as the focus. Mission San José captures a transitional moment in history, frozen in time. The complex includes a church, a convent, a granary, and housing for Native Americans, along with a restored Spanish Colonial gristmill. This afternoon we may even see a park ranger demonstrating a skill like the atlatl a musket, or spinning wool.
Our next stop is Mission Concepcion, which looks much as it did two centuries ago when it was first built making it the best preserved Spanish colonial structure in the U.S. It stands proudly as the oldest unrestored stone church in America. In its heyday, colorful geometric designs covered its surface, but the patterns have long since faded or been worn away. However, stunning frescos dating from the 1700s that use symbols of both the indigenous people and the Catholic religion can still be seen in several of the rooms. The most famous fresco, located on the convent room ceiling is a possible depiction of God as a mestizo.
We will take a relaxing drive through the scenic King William Historic District, San Antonio's first suburb and the very first historic district in Texas. Settled by German immigrants, the neighborhood was named after Kaiser Wilhelm of Prussia and represented their achievements as they prospered and built opulent mansions. Some of these homes, like the Wulfe House, the Sartor House, the Groos House,67, Villa Finale a grand Italianate home that welcomes visitors to explore its gardens and others, are notable for their architectural style.
Tonight we will have dinner in this quaint historic enclave at a restaurant that was once the home to Benedictine nuns in the Order of St. Scholastica.