Trevor Huxham

I spent three years living and working in Spain as an English language assistant, which meant I had to travel from Dallas down to Houston three summers in a row to apply for a student visa to live in Spain. After my third and final trip to the Spanish consulate, I played tourist for a bit and visited the Menil Collection, an art museum not too far from the Hostelling International hostel in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood.


This free museum hiding amongst the shade trees of Montrose redeemed my nerve-wracking visit to the consulate and filled some time before I had to take the Megabus back to Dallas. When I returned to Houston for a proper visit this Memorial Day, the Menil was at the top of my list.


This minimalist museum is only one floor tall, which helps it blend into the neighborhood of single-family houses. Inside, concrete louvers in the ceiling let natural sunlight filter in—while keeping out the worst of that hot Texas sun. The museum’s small, but broad, collection of art spa…

“Remember the Alamo!”

Nearly every Texan is familiar with this battle cry from the Texas Revolution that refers back to the Battle of the Alamo in 1836 at modern-day San Antonio. Today, the Spanish mission of the Alamo is a major tourist destination not only for its historic Spanish Colonial architecture but also as a pilgrimage destination for Texans of all ages.

But as all fourth- and seventh-graders learn in Texas history class, the Texan rebels actually lost the Battle of the Alamo (and most of the defenders perished in combat). It wasn’t until one month later—at the Battle of San Jacinto near modern-day Houston—that they defeated the Mexican Army and gained independence from Mexico.