Austin and the Texas Hill Country

City and Hill Country Itineraries

Austin, on the eastern edge of Texas Hill Country, is the state capital, the live music capital of the world, a center for film, home to the University of Texas and Formula 1's Circuit of the Americas raceway. The city’ parks and lakes are popular for hiking, biking, swimming, boating and other outdoor pursuits as well as a ballet, world-class museums and a unique shopping experience.

The Hill Country with Historic Towns over two dozen Vineyards and a laid-back Lifestyle

Gruene look for the water tower to find this former German farming settlement turned ghost town turned artsy, revitalized community listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Guadalupe River offers fly fishing in the southernmost trout stream in the Northern Hemisphere. Enjoy a wine tasting experience in Grapevine’s outdoor garden or shop for antiques. 

Georgetown with its Victorian Downtown Square and restored courthouse is at the crossroads of the Chisholm and Hill Country Trails and is home to the Palace Theatre.

Fredericksburg is home to over 20 wineries offering tastings, barrel room tours, great views and authentic German cuisine. Main Street has over 150 shops, boutiques and art galleries. Also, the National Museum of the Pacific War with interactive exhibits, LBJ State and National Historical Parks where you can tour the 36th President's Texas White House.

New Braunfels founded in 1845 by German settlers, is a small town with historic districts. Go for a swim, kayaking or rafting on the Guadalupe River or two-step at Gruene Hall, the state's oldest dance hall.

Wimberley was a mill town producing in lumber, molasses and cotton and is now a hub for Hill Country arts, boutiques and outdoor adventures. Swim with other families at Jacob's Well, or hike through the scenic Cypress Creek Trail and Mount Baldy.

Austin City Itineraries

Wildflowers and Gardens the best of nature all within the setting of rolling hills and area lakes: Zilker Botanical Garden — located on 30 acres with theme gardens interconnected with streams, waterfalls and Koi-filled ponds; the Umlauf Sculpture Garden exhibits sculptures by the 20^th century American artist Charles Umlauf; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center with a diversity of wildflowers and other native Texas plants.

Music Austin’s music roots run deep and no trip would be complete without sampling some live music. On any given evening, nearly 200 venues feature live music of all types – jazz, blues, country, Tejano, classical, folk and rock. Festivals such as SXSW, ACL Festival, and Blues on the Green attract thousands of music buffs and bands and keeps Austin at the top of the worldwide music scene.

Arts and Culture explore the museums, ballets, theaters and symphonies that thrive in this city; The Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin is one of the foremost university art museums in the country, and has the largest and most comprehensive collection of art in Central Texas; the Harry Ransom Center holds the very First Photograph and one of five Gutenberg Bibles in the US; the Austin Museum of Art, sits on twelve acres of beautiful parkland overlooking Lake Austin; the Mexic-Arte Museum, the official Mexican and Mexican American Fine Arts Museum located in downtown Austin.

Adventure rolling hills and meandering waterways create the perfect playground for exciting adventure opportunities; hiking and biking around Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin; the Barton Springs Greenbelt with over 7 miles of natural surface trails; climb Mount Bonnell, the highest peak within the Austin City Limits and beautiful views of downtown and Lake Austin.

Zilker Park and Barton Springs Pool a 361-acre park with a golf course, a large playground for children, the Zilker Zephyr train, and Barton Springs Pool, an urban oasis with 68-degree, spring-fed waters.

The Texas State Capitol largest of America’s statehouses and 14 feet taller than the U.S. Capitol.

The LBJ Presidential Library chronicles the political life and times of LBJ. The First Lady's Gallery highlights the legacy of Lady Bird Johnson. Also, six decades of American history.

Austin Shopping and Entertainment

Downtown a bustling area of commerce, cuisine, cocktails and the Capitol, a melting pot of finance and fun, as well as philanthropic conservation; the arts scene is alive and well with galleries and museums at nearly every corner.

2nd Street between Congress Avenue and San Antonio streets, this area is home to local and national brands, ranging from beauty, body and abode, to restaurants and pubs.

Warehouse District as the name implies, many of the neighborhood's bars and restaurants are housed in renovated warehouses; a vibrant scene that draws a diverse crowd thanks to its range of live entertainment, restaurants, LGBT scene and unique shops. 

East Austin Arguably the fastest growing neighborhood in Austin, the eclectic east side is where old meets new. Discover rich history and culture, eateries and boutiques.

Rainey Street renovated houses turned into bungalow bars can be found on this increasingly popular street.

South Congress This vibrant neighborhood south of Lady Bird Lake is a popular hangout for locals. 

A Chocolate Tour of Italy

Artisanal Bio and Industrial Factories in Tuscany Piedmont Emilia Romagna and Umbria

Chocolate History up until the late 18^th century, chocolate only existed in liquid form and was drunk exclusively by the aristocracy and the clergy, only to spread to other sectors of society, beginning with the wealthy merchant classes.

The drink of the gods dates back to the Maya, using cocoa beans to prepare a beverage, the Xocoatl, with a very spicy and intense flavor. Cocoa becomes a very valuable commodity.
Christopher Columbus and Cortes discover the Americas, the cocoa plant and bear the seeds for the first time in Europe. The recipe of the Aztecs, with red pepper and hot spices, is modified with cinnamon, sugar, vanilla and cocoa for a sweeter taste.
In Italy, Venetian and Florentine masters give life to the art of preparing chocolate and start exporting it.
19^th Century chocolate becomes accessible to a wider audience, product quality improves and new varieties are created. New manufacturing processes separate cocoa paste and cocoa butter.

Turin is the Birthplace of Gianduja and Home to Many Fine Chocolatiers

Did You Know That the ideal environment for chocolate, which must be kept cool and dry, is at a temperature between 15 °- 18 ° C. Tempering is an operation that serves to give chocolate a stable crystalline structure to make it shiny, bright and free of veining. The white coating that forms on the chocolate is Cocoa Butter after heat shock or exposure to light. Cocoa grows in the tropics. Wines, spirits and beers pair well with dark chocolate with medium to high cocoa content of - 70% to 90%.

White Chocolate has this color because it is obtained from cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder, but is not added to the paste of cocoa, which corresponds to the dark part of the cocoa. The percentage of cocoa indicated on the wrapper indicates the sum of cocoa butter, cocoa mass and powder, present.

A traditional Saint Valentine’s Day Gift: heart of Gianduja and hazelnuts, garnished with a whole hazelnut and coated with dark chocolate

Tasting Chocolate

Sight color and brilliance communicate chocolate perfection; the best are shiny. Check its nuances and gloss before tasting it.
Tact scroll slowly the chocolate with your fingers to uncover its silky texture. Feel it on your lips: good chocolate is smooth, velvety and melts quickly.
Smell a lingering, intoxicating and intense fragrance: cocoa releases olfactory emotions that are never forgotten. Breathe deeply and feel all the richness and harmony of aromas.
Hear break the tablet with your fingers and listen to the sensual sound it produces.
Taste the endless aromas that make chocolate a most intoxicating experience for the palate.

Meet the Only Woman in the World to Claim the Title of Chocolatier

Our Chocolate Itineraries let you follow the various processes of chocolate making, including explanatory videos and chocolate tasting, as you walk through the whole production process from the beans to the grains of cocoa and from the refinement of the mixture right through to the processing of the chocolate. You also learn the art of chocolate tasting. 

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