Going into my college years, I knew I would be meeting new people, making lasting friendships and creating memories. But I never imagined that I would find friends as sweet, caring, generous, selfless and fun as Caley, Jordan and Kristie. They are amazing and I know these will be friendships that will stand the test of time and distance. While on our trip, we all reminisced about how we met, the classes we took together, the mutual friends we have and about all the fun times we have shared. I hadn’t realized how much we had gone through together until then!
So to celebrate the end of our college era, we decided to jump into my car, stuff the trunk with more Vera Bradley than a normal person should own and drive down IH-35 to spend a girls weekend in San Antonio. It was just what we all needed! We spent three days and two nights in a house a few blocks from the Riverwalk, watching chick flicks, working out, finding fun restaurants on Yelp, walking around downtown and just enjoying ourselves. I love that we had this chance to be about-to-graduate-college girls before everyone gets real jobs and two of us get married. We spent the weekend laughing, being silly and letting loose all of the stress that has accumulated the past few months.
Our Place
As mentioned earlier, we found a ton of delicious places to eat at while on our trip. One of my favorite things about road trips and vacations is trying out the local fare. I hate going to chain restaurants (my one exception is Cracker Barrel… I could eat there every day) and I love apps like Yelp that help us make wiser decisions about where to eat. On our way to San Antonio, we stumbled across this restaurant that was fantastic! I love love love brunch, and Our Place had that and more! It was the perfect American comfort food restaurant, and I know I’ll be stopping there again next time I’m in Burleson.
And honestly, the best part about this restaurant was the outdoor seating. It has been so cold, snowy and rainy for too long here in North Texas, and for the first time in a while it was warm and sunny out. So we made good use of it and ate our lunch on the patio. We soaked the sunshine in while we could… and I’m glad we did because the rest of the weekend was spent under an umbrella and decked out in rain boots!
Dinner on the Riverwalk
I love the Riverwalk. There’s just something about the loud crowds, live music, seating by the water and all the different restaurants that makes it so special (and it always reminds me of when I was little and we visited during St. Patrick’s Day… the water was dyed green!). We found a Mexican restaurant (thanks again, Yelp!) that had de-licious food! We sat on the upper level of the patio and had fun listening to the mariachi band across the river and doing some people watching. We are creeps, I know. But the rain held off for the most part, so we were able to enjoy our time before going back to the house for movies.
Morning Run
One of my favorite parts of the weekend was going on a run down the Riverwalk with Jordan. We are both getting married this year, so we were quite motivated to get up at a decent time (on spring forward Sunday, I might add!) and get in four miles! I loved it because we were out during that sweet spot between rains, so the air smelled like fresh rain, the ground was wet, it was a bit foggy and everything was quiet. So serene! Running by myself is alright, but I’d much rather have a running partner. It’s nice to have the company, to talk about nothing, and it makes taking a wrong turn on the Riverwalk more fun and less… scary.
Mad Hatter’s Brunch
As I said earlier, I love brunch. Good news: so do my friends. After getting ready for the day, we all whipped out the umbrellas and walked about a mile The Mad Hatter’s for brunch. The restaurant had a lot of character and charm… and once again, the food lived up to its Yelp reputation. The coffee and waffles hit the spot, and my friends’ food looked (and smelled) just as good! It was so cozy in the restaurant and I liked that there were big windows to look out of. There’s something therapeutic about watching the rain fall as you sip coffee and catch up with friends.
Exploring San Antonio
After brunch we headed downtown to do some sightseeing. In my book, if you visit San Antonio and don’t at least walk by and look at the Alamo, you cannot consider yourself Texan! Isaac also informed me that the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo was just last Friday, which was another reason we had to visit it. To, you know, pay our respects to Davy Crockett, Daniel Boon, Jacob Bonham (my hometown’s namesake) and all of the other important Texan figures for what they did in the war. One thing I wish I had been able to learn about when I was in elementary school is Texas history. I have always found history to be so interesting and exciting, but since I grew up in South America, I never had the chance to hear about things like the Texas Revolutionary War, the Alamo, and so on. Luckily I’m engaged to a Texas history guru (at least to me he is), so I can learn from him!
While we were walking around, I kept getting left behind because I was taking so many pictures. I loved the lighting and the colors that popped out due to the rain and overcast skies. The grass looks greener, the reds are more prominent and, well… I love puddles (especially when I’m wearing my rain boots!). One of my favorite things to do when I visit another city is take pictures of the buildings, houses and landscapes. I guess you could say I was born to be a tourist!
Bakery Lorraine
After walking around the mall and downtown a bit, we headed back to the house to relax for a few minutes and figure out what to do next. We all decided it was time for our afternoon snack and that we wanted something sweet. For me, that’s the beauty of vacations… When you feel like getting something sweet, by golly- you go get something sweet!
So the way my friends and I decide where to eat is really based off of the pictures people have posted on Yelp, along with the reviews and star ratings they left. And when it came to deciding where we wanted to get our sweet treat, all we had to do was take one look at the macaroons served at Bakery Lorraine to decide where we were going! Every picture of their pastries and food was mouth-watering and we wasted no time in getting there.
The itself bakery was gorgeous! You know when you can walk into a place and it feels like you just entered one of your favorite stores? Well that happened to me when I walked into Bakery Lorraine. I felt like I stepped into an Anthropologie catalog. It was beautiful! They had terrariums on every table, cute t-shirts and marmalade for sale and this HUGE bookshelf holding all the fixins for coffee and water. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. I’ll definitely be using them as reference when it comes to decorating my future apartment!
As for the macaroons… oh my goodness! They had a ton of different flavors to choose from. I tried dark chocolate with cassis (okay, but I could have done without the cassis), lemon (yum yum yum) and raspberry (my favorite). And the coffee was perfection! I didn’t want to leave. The atmosphere was so relaxing and calming and it was so warm and dry in there. And you know… there’s just something about being in an aesthetically pleasing place that makes you happy!
We all loved it so much at the bakery that we decided to have brunch there before leaving the next day. So on Monday we came back and I tried their quiche lorraine with a side of porridge… It was divine. I love a good quiche and this one was one of the best I’ve had… it had a flaky crust, smoky ham and melted cheese that made my taste buds dance. I can’t wait to go back again for some more!
After brunch we hopped back in the car for our long drive home. We hit some pretty awful weather, but made it back safe and sound! It was definitely a weekend to remember, and I could not have asked to share it with anyone else.
Caley, Jordan and Kristie… thank you for your friendship, for the laughter, the memories and all the selfies. I love you girls!
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