★★★★★ (5 Stars)

I was very impressed with the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.  I was expecting a lot less having been to similar type of gardens in other places likes the Catalina Islands and in Santa Barbara.  I initially went to take a peek at the “Terrific Treehouses” exhibit running till December 7, 2008, but was quickly enthralled by the Japanese Garden and other exhibits.  There was plenty to see and it took me about 2 hours to look around.  In the end, I was too tired to visit the Texas Native Trail.  I’ll just have to save it for next time.

If you’re into the idea of a calm, relaxing stroll through interesting, natural plants and flowers, the San Antonio Botanical Gardens is perfect.

★★★★★ (5 Stars)

I went down to Market Square to get out of my apartment and grab a taco. Little did I know I’d end up at the Museo Alameda. I’d been wanting to see what they offered at this museum, but just hadn’t made time for it. Their signs said ‘Free Admission on Sundays,’ so I couldn’t help but to take this chance for a visit after I gobbled up my tacos.

I was impressed.  I was expecting some sort of shabby, inept museum and got the complete opposite.  It was really nice with full exhibits and reminded me of really good modern museums.  I also learned that it is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

Myths, Mortals, and Immortality: Works from Museo Soumaya de Mexico was an excellent exhibit.  I highly encourage anyone to visit while this is here.  It’s up until the beginning of 2009.  Artists in the exhibit include Rufino Tamayo, Diego Rivera, and Jose Clemente Orozco among others.

There was another exhibit upstairs, but I decided to make it a two-part experience and visit the next time I go.  The exhibit looked like it had more contemporary pieces.

★★★ (3 Stars)

Witte Museum - San Antonio

I went to the Witte Museum a couple of weeks ago and it was lacking. . .

The Witte didn’t hold my interest.  They are in between major exhibits and only had a few local flavor exhibits.  Having grown up in Texas, it wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen before.

If you have children, they have a fun little children’s area where they can learn about air pressure, pulley cables, music, weather, and more.  I even had more fun here than in the rest of the museum!

I’ll have to update this once I go to their next major exhibit.  I’m excited about it and hopefully it’ll be as good as it sounds: The Genius of Leonardo.  It’s supposed to be a “hands on” exhibit of machines built from Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings.  It’s going to take place between June 21st and September 7th of 2008.

Currently, admission is free on Tuesdays from 3 pm until 8 pm.