U.S.A. Everything really is bigger in Texas
We have some good friends who live here in Kenya who are originally from Texas. (Actually, you have met them before in this story) Our conversations always go like this:
Texans: "You should visit Texas. You would love it!"
Us: "Why do you think we would love it?"
Texans: "Because everything is BIGGER in Texas!!!!"
Well, I was sold. I'm all for bigger.
Also, an old friend of ours from when we were all in Kasarani together many years ago, now lives in San Antonio and he invited us down. Thanks for having us, Amuoks! We arrived on Friday afternoon and hit the ground running with a quick visit to the McNay musuem.
The musuem itself has an interesting history. It used to be the home of one Marion Koogler McNay, whose parents bought some pasture land in Texas that later turned out to be full of oil, and they became really rich. Marion herself loved art. Her first husband (one of 4) was named McNay and she kept that name.
Here is Sandi trying to stand like Auguste Rodin's sculptures. Even if you might not recognize the name, chances are you have seen his work - he did the sculpture called 'the Thinker.'
Anyway, she spent her life collecting, commissioning art, teaching art, and producing art herself. She built this house in 1927, and when she died bequeathed it to be an art museum. And what a museum it is! She amassed more than 700 pieces of art and its all quite stunning.
It has lots of art from all over, including pieces by famous artits like Pablo Picasso, Gaugain, Cezanne, Matisse, Manet but also lots of Southwestern American pieces. There is something for everyone in this museum.
One final thing to note is that this house is beautiful. There is a new wing which feels more 'museumy' but the old part really feels like you are wandering through someone's home. Which I guess you are. I loved the little courtyard garden - it was breathtaking.
The next day we went to see the famous San Antonio river walk. This is a brilliant idea which should be made compulsory for all cities that have rivers running through them. The idea is that the space next to the river is set aside as a communal space with a lovely walkway running along side it.
The river used to flood and was considered dangerous and someone suggested paving it over with concrete (what is wrong with people???). But an architect named Robert Hugman came up with this way, way, way better idea, and single handedly pitched it for the next 7 years
He planned it out in its entirety, including 31 unique staircases high enough to allow boats to pass through and showed where 11,000 shrubs and trees would be planted.
Little cafes and shops dot the walkway, and some have live bands or performances going on. Altogether it is a wonderful place. Here you see our excellent, knowledgeable, and good looking to boot, tour guides Ana and Gavin.
One more thing San Antonio is famous for - the Alamo. I am not 100% sure why its such a symbol of Texas since it was the place where the Texians made their famous last stand against a hugely stronger Mexican army. In case you were wondering why I just called them 'Texians' at that time there was no state called Texas. So this was a group of people of many different backgrounds - Mexican, Brits, English, French et cetera who had settled in Texas.
One last exciting place in San Antonio is the Museum of Art, which has a very comprehensive collection of interesting art. A couple of highlights include a huge Asian gallery (Sandi was in heaven since it was full of ceramics) and a comprehensive collection of art from Latin America.
Oh, and the rather excellent elevator - a whole piece of art in itself. They had a special exhibition of art from Spanish masters which had a brilliant idea that I think should be in all museums: a little room with a few couches in it and several books about the featured artists. You sit down and relax a bit and learn about some of the artists.
A special highlight was a get-together with our dear brothers and sisters - and a highlight of that was meeting this super-fashionable older sister - coordinated down to the last article of clothing and carrying a superb hand carved African walking stick.
So is everything bigger in Texas? Pretty much yes. I will let you judge for yourself from this picture. The state of Texas is actually huge, and you can see space is not an issue from how streets and buildings are laid out. It was definitely too big to see much in just one weekend!
We loved our short stay in Texas, and hope to come back one day and explore more.
Texans: "You should visit Texas. You would love it!"
Us: "Why do you think we would love it?"
Texans: "Because everything is BIGGER in Texas!!!!"
Well, I was sold. I'm all for bigger.
Also, an old friend of ours from when we were all in Kasarani together many years ago, now lives in San Antonio and he invited us down. Thanks for having us, Amuoks! We arrived on Friday afternoon and hit the ground running with a quick visit to the McNay musuem.
The musuem itself has an interesting history. It used to be the home of one Marion Koogler McNay, whose parents bought some pasture land in Texas that later turned out to be full of oil, and they became really rich. Marion herself loved art. Her first husband (one of 4) was named McNay and she kept that name.
Here is Sandi trying to stand like Auguste Rodin's sculptures. Even if you might not recognize the name, chances are you have seen his work - he did the sculpture called 'the Thinker.'
Anyway, she spent her life collecting, commissioning art, teaching art, and producing art herself. She built this house in 1927, and when she died bequeathed it to be an art museum. And what a museum it is! She amassed more than 700 pieces of art and its all quite stunning.
It has lots of art from all over, including pieces by famous artits like Pablo Picasso, Gaugain, Cezanne, Matisse, Manet but also lots of Southwestern American pieces. There is something for everyone in this museum.
One final thing to note is that this house is beautiful. There is a new wing which feels more 'museumy' but the old part really feels like you are wandering through someone's home. Which I guess you are. I loved the little courtyard garden - it was breathtaking.
The river used to flood and was considered dangerous and someone suggested paving it over with concrete (what is wrong with people???). But an architect named Robert Hugman came up with this way, way, way better idea, and single handedly pitched it for the next 7 years
He planned it out in its entirety, including 31 unique staircases high enough to allow boats to pass through and showed where 11,000 shrubs and trees would be planted.
Little cafes and shops dot the walkway, and some have live bands or performances going on. Altogether it is a wonderful place. Here you see our excellent, knowledgeable, and good looking to boot, tour guides Ana and Gavin.
At the time, Texas was under Mexico. The Texians broke away and, inspired by the desire for revenge for the loss at Alamo, formed their own country, the Republic of Texas. Their motto was "Remember the Alamo." It existed for 10 years until it was annexed by the United States of America in 1845.
One last exciting place in San Antonio is the Museum of Art, which has a very comprehensive collection of interesting art. A couple of highlights include a huge Asian gallery (Sandi was in heaven since it was full of ceramics) and a comprehensive collection of art from Latin America.
A special highlight was a get-together with our dear brothers and sisters - and a highlight of that was meeting this super-fashionable older sister - coordinated down to the last article of clothing and carrying a superb hand carved African walking stick.
So is everything bigger in Texas? Pretty much yes. I will let you judge for yourself from this picture. The state of Texas is actually huge, and you can see space is not an issue from how streets and buildings are laid out. It was definitely too big to see much in just one weekend!
