I’m pretty sure I visited San Antonio for the first time very soon after arriving in Texas. It was one of the few parts of the state that I had heard about back in the UK and which was also close enough for a day trip. My biggest surprise on getting there, however, was the fact that the Alamo was right in the very heart of the city, surrounded by hotels and office blocks. It’s still there and still worth a visit but most of the businesses now appear to have transformed into the same collection of tourist traps you find around pretty much any world-famous western landmark – Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not”, a Guinness World Records exhibit and other attractions with no connection to the Alamo or Texas or whatsoever.
For the technically inclined...