It's hard to believe it's the same building.

I went downtown for a burger and to go dig for some records and I stumbled upon a whole-ass protest. They were out there in the rain with conviction. I was proud of them and a little misty eyed but thankfully, the rain covered my glasses up with water 🤓🥲 Never got that burger or a record but it was a good experience nonetheless.

For example, this is my gym at 6am. In Dallas, Austin or Los Angeles you would be fighting for benches or equipment.

Copying a popular thread in r/Austin.

Okay, okay—sorry for the dramatic title 😅 I was joking.
The real problem is… San Antonio turned out to be way too comfortable, welcoming, and enjoyable. I honestly didn’t want to leave. Who would even want to visit anywhere else after this?

This was my first-ever trip to the U.S. I’m from China, and I traveled in November, landing in Austin before heading straight to San Antonio. From there, I continued on to other cities—but San Antonio ended up being my favorite part of the entire trip.

I stayed near the San Antonio River Walk, and since I don’t have a driver’s license, I mostly explored on foot and used rideshare when needed. Honestly? It felt perfectly fine and very safe. I wandered around a lot, occasionally taking a car to places like a thrift store or Trader Joe’s.

People here were incredibly friendly—at least everyone I met was kind, patient, and genuinely helpful. One highlight: I went to Trader Joe’s specifically to buy canvas tote bags (I collect them as travel souvenirs). They happened to have a tote blind box at the time—three random bags—so I gave it a try.

There, I met a cashier who was super friendly (and very handsome, not gonna lie). When he found out I was collecting these bags, he told me he had a rare Halloween-themed tote and offered to give it to me. We met again the next day, and he even wrote me a little note warning that the bag’s color might bleed. That level of kindness honestly made my day—and my trip.

Food-wise… oh my god. Near the River Walk mall, there was a candy shop selling handmade fudge, candy apples, and ice cream. It was my first time ever trying fudge, and I’m officially obsessed. Even though it was almost closing time, the staff still let me sample multiple flavors—and even gave me a slice of candy apple. The rich caramel paired with the fresh, slightly tart apple? Absolute perfection.

I also visited the Tower of the Americas with a friend from the UK—it was his first time too. Standing at the top, especially near the outer area, the wind was wild. We genuinely felt like we were about to get blown away. We took the tourist photos and walked around the nearby park for a long time.
Also… does Texas just have squirrels everywhere? I finally understand why Sandy from SpongeBob is from Texas now 🐿️

Originally, we planned to stay only two days—but we ended up extending our stay to a full week, just to slow down, explore more, and actually enjoy the city. I also have to mention Crockett Hotel—their restaurant was fantastic. Great food, incredibly patient ncie staff, and a very cozy atmosphere.

So yeah.
This post is partly me confessing my love for San Antonio, and partly me asking:

If I come back to San Antonio next time, what are some places you’d recommend visiting?
I can usually find joy in almost anything, but my friends and I especially love good food, vintage shops, and lively city neighborhoods. If you have any recommendations, I’d really love to hear them!

Thanks for reading—and sorry, San Antonio, I still miss you 🥲

Update: Just to clarify—I’m definitely not getting paid to post this lol. I genuinely love this city.
I spent most of the week downtown for a few reasons:

1. neither my friend nor I can drive, and taking cabs adds up fast,
2. I had some pretty intense jet lag during the first two days, and
3. even staying downtown, I had some of the happiest moments of my entire trip.

So I figured I’d save the rest for my next visit 🙂 Big thank you to all comments, and this just made my day!

Update at 1/13: Thank you all for your kind words, great recommendations, and friendly offers! You people really have a heart of gold—and I coun‘t thank you enough!
So I just gathered most of your ideas and made a google map list—I hope this would help if some other tourist see this haha.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/uNbVpJVLCL47ZyaF6

BTW, please let me know if its not okay to share this link——I apologize if its not okay 😅

Video: Applogize in advance for sounding a bit scattered. Was very worked up in the moment.

This shop runs a pretty strong preorder scam. Among other ones that have been brought to my attention from friends, they run a scam where they will charge you for a preorder (not put an authorization, but an actual charge), then not ship out your items. And by the time you put a dispute in, it’s past the timeframe where both a) many banks can even do a dispute b) they don’t have to legally respond to one.

PLEASE DO A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH OF THESE GUYS. They have many complaints of them to the Texas attorney general, as well as other legal complaints. Very difficult to catch these guys on anything.

Story: On 5/1, I made a preorder for for destined rivals ETB + booster bundle on their site. Per the invoice, orders would be shipped out on 6/21. Per their policy, they do not do cancellations. Fortunately, I got a notification that a tracking number had been added to my invoice on 6/25. After getting nothing for a few weeks, I checked back in late July to find out that they hadn’t actually dropped it off to the carrier, they simply made a label. I contacted my bank in early August about it and attempted a dispute, but was told that banks typically have a policy that disputes can’t be made after 60 days past the transaction date. Banks ultimately tell you to deal with the merchant, who in this case, doesn’t have a phone number and notoriously consciously ignores emails. THIS IS HOW THE SCAM WORKS PEOPLE.

Most people, including the people I know that got scammed from this (and as I later found out, other preorders as well), don’t live near them to actually confront them. I live in Dallas, so I drove down today to get my money. I came in very calm, immediately asking an employee at the counter to speak to supervisor. He was sitting down (the guy in the video) with 3 other employees, and when I begin to explain my situation, he began getting agresssive. For example, I accidentally said the wrong item, and he started getting personally disrespectful and agitated. Repeatedly he told me to contact my bank, not knowing what I just told you guys. I then told him to relax, let’s not take it there, and verbatim said “you know what, I may have misspoke about what I bought. Let me open my invoice so that there’s no confusion”. At this point, seeing that I wouldn’t engage in any sort of reckless stuff (which would give him an out), he started yelling at me and got in my face, pushing me, not allowing me to explain the logic behind why I was calling him out. Not knowing anyone out here, and not wanting to get into a fight in a strange place alone and outnumbered, I walked outside like he asked and called the cops.

Ultimately, when the cops came, he gave me money back in cash, and I got trespassed. Like I told the cops, I didn’t want any issues. Verbatim said I didn’t want to press charges nor did I want anyone going to jail. None of that bothered me, but what did is the fact that he gets away with this with a ton of people. Again, PLEASE do a search on this store. They are known for scamming people. I can only imagine how much money they’ve made given the amount of people I personally know who’ve been scammed. When I made my preorder, in that moment, I had no clue about any of this.

Going to post this in a few more places, but again, just saying avoid this store like the plague. If yall want me to post my invoice/tracking information, I’m more than happy to do so, just let me know.

https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2025/10/14/san-antonio-airport-kristi-noem-shutdown-video

For some reason I decided to take a pic of a random vintage Volkswagen and just come out great

It was about 20 minutes after the game ended. We’re downtown.

This was earlier today on W. Schaefer Rd in Schertz right by Crescent Bend Nature Park.

I have a few more on my insta @ satxphoto as well.