San Antonio Riverwalk Stairs

As I walked down the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, I came to a staircase which was decorated with beautiful Mexican tile work.  Some tile was broken and, at the very bottom step, there was white paint splashed on it, as if some painter had spilled it by accident.  As I looked up, I noticed that the tile on every other step was different and unique.  I heard the sound of a mariachi band playing in the distance, strumming their guitars and singing a Spanish song.  The stairs covered with foliage drew me upward into a cocoon, almost a secret passage.  Stopping midway up the stairs,  the aroma of Tex-Mex cooking made my stomach growl, propelling me to the top.  I was hungry. Suddenly, at the top of the stairs, the foliage fell away and I was standing on a small footbridge over the San Antonio River. I could hear the traffic of the downtown street above.  Atop the arch of the bridge I paused and looked straight down at the river. Below me was one of the many barges ferrying passengers along the bustling waterway.  I continued across the small bridge and down a set of identical stairs to the other side of the river to meet friends for a drink and dinner. This painting depicts how always remember the sights, smells, and sounds of the San Antonio Riverwalk.