Hill Country Small Towns between Austin San Antonio and Houston Texas

Fredericksburg Gruene Lockhart Luckenbach Poteet Round Top and Wimberley

Fredericksburg is known for its German heritage, antiquing, wineries, Oktoberfest celebration and the Enchanted Rock, a massive bald dome of Texas granite that is a hiking, bouldering, and spelunking destination.

The Starting Point to Visit Texas Hill Country Wineries

Founded in 1846, the town is also notable as the home of Texas German, a dialect spoken by the first generations of German settlers who initially refused to learn English. The birthplace of Admiral Chester Nimitz, the Fredericksburg Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Gruene is a historic community between San Antonio and Austin, home to country’s oldest dance hall, the Gruene general store, numerous bars and antique shops, tubing and rafting outfitters. Built in 1878 by Henry D. Gruene, Gruene Hall by design has not physically changed since the Hall was first built. The 6,000 sq ft dance hall with a high pitched tin roof still has the original layout with side flaps for open air dancing, a bar in the front, a small lighted stage in the back and a huge outdoor garden.

Lockhart was originally called Plum Creek. The town's economic growth began with the arrival of the railroad in the late 19^th century and its role as a regional shipping center for local cotton. Lockhart has several claims to fame: Barbecue Capital of Texas, the Dr. Eugene Clark Library is the oldest operating public library in the state, a curiously eloquent example of a Victorian post-frontier American town and host to many film sets.

Luckenbach is a laid-back music and entertainment destination. Its oldest building is a combination of general store and saloon. First named Grape Creek, the name comes from the German words lucken (gap) and bach (stream), it was first established as a trading post, one of a few that never broke a peace treaty with the Comanche with whom they traded. Today Luckenbach maintains a ghost-town feel with its small population and strong western aesthetic.

Poteet is south of San Antonio and is home to the Strawberry Festival with country music, live auctions, a rodeo, a carnival, and strawberry-themed foods.

Round Top is a town with artists, antique shops, and bed & breakfast inns nestled between Austin and Houston on U.S. 290. Originally named for early settler Nathaniel Townsend, the town was renamed since the postmaster lived in a house with a round tower. Renowned for its antique show, Royers Café pies and its arts scene. Every summer, the town hosts students at the Festive Hill music institute and the Shakespeare program, which provide symphonic and theatrical performances for locals and visitors; the Winedale Historical Center is just down the road from Round Top.

The James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts and its Round Top Festival Institute were founded in 1971 by world-renowned concert pianist James Dick. Begun with a handful of gifted young pianists in rented space on the town square, the project is now an internationally acclaimed music institute for aspiring young musicians and distinguished faculty.

Festival Hill contains major performance facilities, historic houses, extensive gardens, parks and nature preserves. Through its singular collection of rare books, manuscripts, archival material, music and historic recordings, photographs and objects, Round Top Festival Institute is also known as an important center for research and scholarly study.

Wimberley started as a trading post settlement near Cypress Creek in 1848, Over the years, the local mill was expanded to process lumber, shingles, flour, molasses, and cotton. Today, it hosts arts, crafts and other events.

Arezza - Volt Logistics

 Innovative Energy Savings Solutions for Small Towns and Businesses

Volt Logistics specializes in properties typically found on main street and historic districts, with a focus on energy savings and building automation systems.

Property Types range from hotel, vacation and other short-term accommodations, retail, and office buildings as well as museums and entertainment venues located in historic districts and main streets of towns and suburban areas.

Innovative Solutions for Business and Commercial Districts in Historic Towns and Neighborhoods

Small and Medium-sized Commercial Buildings account for 95 percent of building stock and consume half the energy in a sector of the economy responsible for 20 percent of the total energy consumption. Owners of smaller buildings are often unaware of the amount of energy wasted and the opportunity for savings that building automation systems provide.

Building Leases define how energy costs are divided between tenants and owners. Often, these leases are not structured in a way that promotes energy savings. Tenants have no incentive to save energy in their leased premises because energy costs are based on tenant square footage. Building owners have no incentive to invest in energy efficiency because the operating expenses are passed onto tenants.

Green Leases promote energy efficiency by creating lease structures which equitably align the costs and benefits of efficiency investments between building owners and tenants.

Energy Management Systems are utilized to centrally control devices like HVAC units and lighting systems across multiple locations. EMS also provide metering, sub-metering and monitoring functions that allow facility managers to gather data and insight to make more informed decisions about energy activities across their sites.

Distributed Generation occurs on a property site when energy is sold to the building occupants; here, commercial PPAs enable businesses and governments to purchase electricity directly from the generator rather than from the utility. Power Purchase Agreements PPA are a legal contract between an electricity generator and a power purchaser.

Revenue Sharing of the Energy Savings among Properties, Tenants, Equipment and Components Suppliers and Contractors

Arezza - Knowledge Tourism

 Travel Planning and Destination Management in the United States and Italy

The Knowledge Tourism concept brings together local customs, values, and traditions with expertise in a variety of disciplines to learn, experience and expand knowledge of the territory in a holistic program that addresses:

Community histories that take-into-account the shaping of economic development projects

Geography and historic trade routes that consider river, lake and coastal navigation, highways, wagon trails and rail routes to ensure sustainability and resilience.

Industry Commerce Agriculture and Sustainability

Places transitioning from traditional industrial and commercial activities to technologically innovative ones; in some instances, they are also able to re-establish their traditional economic activities with a successful application of the so-called knowledge economy and, in the process, becoming once again competitive in the world marketplace;

Best Experienced in the Company of Local Friends and Experts

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world economy right up there with real estate, autos, and financial services. It is also highly segmented: business travel, meetings, cruises, family vacations, food, and wine travel, responsible, sustainable, ethical, and more.

Cultural Tourism assumes uniquely local dimensions wherever you go; the activities that you, the local or global visitor, select and, irrespective of the length of your stay, are unique of the community you are visiting and rooted into the local economy, culture and traditions.

Knowledge Tourism Means Doing and Going Where the Locals Go

The Environment the importance to a community of environmental issues and practices like energy efficiency and water conservation cannot be underestimated, especially if tourism is an important contributor to the local economy.

Educated Travelers select destinations primarily on-the-basis of cultural, gastronomic, wellness and similar preferences; increasingly, they expect that the places they visit reflect their values on key issues like recycling practices, air and water quality, as well as the availability and quality of public transit.

Business Travelers require efficient plans to meet trip objectives. This may entail visiting several locations in a compressed period-of-time to seek investment and sales opportunities. They look to Main Streets shopping and entertainment venues, Historic Districts and other community neighborhoods that have or plan to put in place energy savings measures as well as other environmental safeguards that help reduce the cost of doing business in that local area.

A Successful Destination is defined as one that develops projects built around existing facilities that need upgrading and/or expansion to manage tourism flows and local production capabilities to enhance community offerings.

Communities as Anchors for Local and Regional Travel

Cultural Anchors Museums, Theaters and other Historic Buildings located on Main Street and in Historic Districts are repositories of a community’s values and traditions. Each Local Project integrates architecture with digital media and engages visitors through interaction with local citizens.

The best way to travel is in the company of people who live and work in the places you visit

Local Energy Markets

 Energy as a Service EaaS

for Communities Businesses and Properties

Energy Savings solutions for your community business and property that enable the efficient utilization of resources with Pay per Use, On-Demand Services, micro grids, Distributed Energy Resources Management Systems - DERMS, combined Heat and power - CHP, energy service agreements – ESA, power purchase agreements – PPA, and Virtual Power Plants – VPP.

Delivering Value for Paying Customers and Efficiency for Suppliers

Virtual Power Plants - VPP - are networks of energy producers, consumers and storage providers in your Local Energy Market - LEM. LEMs are aggregators that generate value by monitoring, predicting, optimizing and dispatching energy consumption and generation.

Benefits in collaboration with similar VPPs, LEMs trade energy with each other as demand requires; participants benefit from management of their consumption with purchases effected at low-cost times as the LEM continuously balance electric grids and integration with utilities.

LEMs function as independent electric companies tasked with reducing demand during times of higher energy costs by managing the distributed network flows across communities and regions.

Participation in a Local Energy Market is open to energy consumers, producers and storage facilities.

Distributed Generation occurs on a property site when energy is sold to the building occupants; here, commercial PPAs enable businesses and governments to purchase electricity directly from the generator rather than from the utility.

Power Purchase Agreements PPA are a legal contract between an electricity generator and a power purchaser.

Arezza - Transit Logistics

 Intercity and Local Mobility Services

Corriera and Transit Logistics are intercity and local door-to-door mobility services designed to connect air and rail service in large cities with micropolitan areas to benefit:

• vacationers who can maximize sightseeing time and reduce accommodation costs,

• business travelers visiting multiple locations in a compressed timeframe, and

• long-distance commuters.

Objectives connect major air and rail metro hubs with micropolitan communities via intercity multimodal and local Micro Transit hub and spoke services to leverage travel client relationships and engage local product and service providers.

Customer Centered and Sustainable Transit Solutions for Small Communities

Community based entities designed to deliver services across the spectrum of transit modes and providers, including public transit, private operators, planners, and stakeholders to benefit local and regional customers.

The Logistics of Travel are defined as anchoring stays in strategic locations along planned trip routes conveniently located to points of interest and minimizing the number of accommodation changes; hence, fewer times packing and unpacking, lowering accommodations and transport costs in:

Hub and Spoke Locations smaller towns and rural communities with regional rail, bus, van, car and air connections strategically located within 200 or less miles of larger metropolitan areas.

Sightseeing, meals, and other planned events in a hub and spoke fashion, saving time and money, but also an opportunity to slow down and enjoy places and people.

Mode of Transport selections are a function of number of persons, trip length as well as the time of year you are traveling. Rationalizing travel movements, ascertaining transport mode(s) availability and costs are the key to a successful trip planning.

Best Planned by Those with Knowledge of the Places You Visit

Discovering Tuscany

Discovering Tuscany

Travel History and Local Traditions

 A Trip to Tuscany is a unique experience and must definitely include an in-depth visit to Florence, the capital of the Renaissance, day trips to beautifully landscaped small villages perched on the hills that have so much inspired painters and more recently film directors and producers.

One of the most interesting cities is undoubtedly Siena, in the southern part of the region, a medieval city of ancient origins which still preserves its treasures intact, so much so that it is among the Unesco Heritage site.

Tuscany also boasts a remarkable winemaking tradition; some of the most important Italian wines are produced in the province of Siena, such as the world renowned Brunello di Montalcino.

Local Typical Food products are also very important; just think of the famous Florentine steak and panforte and ricciarelli, typical Sienese sweets.

You will be welcomed by local guides and escorts, with knowledge of local places and traditions

Trips range from 2 nights and 3 days for city itineraries to one week for broader programs and 14 nights and 15 days for journeys across multiple regions, designed and customized for thematic groups, family holidays and business trips.

Siena is world-renowned for the Palio, a breathtaking horserace featuring local neighborhoods, known as Contrade, famous for their ancient traditions

A Knowledge Tourism that features local customs, values ​​and traditions to better appreciate:

Museums that reveal an archaeological, historical and artistic heritage, the rediscovery of local treasures and traditions through art, literature and architecture that preserve the memory of the places and local realities visited.

Characteristic ancient villages shaped since ancient times by the skilful hand of man and ancient agricultural practices.

Local Gastronomy, the result of ancient traditions and linked to the territory.

Traveling in the company of people who live and work in the places you visit

Italian text courtesy of Costanza Riccardi

Trapani and Marsala

Trapani and Marsala Sicily

Food and Wine Traditions

Trapani is near ancient Drepanum where a naval battle took place in 248 BC during the First Punic War between Carthage and Rome which ended in a major loss for the latter. The city is world renowned since the 16th Century for its coral artisans whose works can be viewed at the Pepoli Museum. A stroll through the historic center will acquaint the visitor with buildings and monuments representative of the various cultures and traditions that passed through this city:

The Jewish quarter and Palazzo della Giudecca;

Casalicchio and its Arab roo

Palazzo Cavarretta, home of the Trapanese Senate;

The Jesuit Church and College;

San Lorenzo Cathedral and the Crucifix by Flemish painter Van Dyck.

Western Sicily is also the Erice Medieval Borgo, Segesta with its Greek temple and theater and the Egadi archipelago, comprised of Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo. Further along the coast, facing Africa, are: the port and canal of Mazara del Vallo;

Selinunte with Europe's largest archeological park;

San Vito Lo Capo and the Scopello Faraglioni.

Marsala was founded in 397 BC as Lillibeo by the Phoenicians who survived the destruction of Mozia; it was a major city during the Punic, Roman, Arab and Norman periods. Today, it is best known for a prestigious wine-liqueur that carries the city’s name and the landing of Garibaldi’s Mille in 1860 which led to the unification of Italy.

Ancient Marsala’s origins are reflected in its majestic cathedral, the adjacent 16th Century Arazzi Fiamminghi museum, the suggestive Porta Garibaldi sea view and entry to the Spanish quarter.

Artistic and cultural itineraries include: the Sibilla Grotto, the archeological museum with the remains of a Carthaginian ship and Lilibeo artifacts and the Laguna dello Stagnone with its windmills and salt marshes.

Travel to Western Sicily

Reduce Travel Times and Costs on Your Vacation or Business Trip

Marsala wine’s bouquet full of intense aromas of dried fruit, spices and dates and dried figs, the dry and sweet taste and the high alcoholic qualities that increase to depending on the maturation and refinement in the bottle. Dried Marsala, served fresh, is an excellent aperitif. A delicious combination is with strong, spicy and tasty cheeses such as ragusano, pecorino cheese but also gorgonzola or parmesan. It is an exceptional dessert wine, in harmony with the traditional Sicilian pastries. But the combination with food is not essential; Marsala is also a wonderful meditation wine to sip at sunset.

Sicilian cuisine is like the island’s colorful architecture; extraordinary dishes rich in decorations and styles influenced by the many cultures that have come here. Marsala is a jealous custodian of the many culinary traditions on the island. Some typical dishes: Mussel Soup, Peppered Mussels, Boiled Broad Beans, Aubergine Parmigiana, Eggplant Caponata, Eggplant with Schnitzel, Stuffed Peppers, Crushed Olives, Baked Pasta, Pasta with "Qualeddu" and Sausage, Pasta with Bottarga, Pasta with sardines, Pasta with sea urchins, Gnoccoli with conger sauce, Busiata with matarocco, Pasta with lobster, Tuna ammuttunatu, Sarde with "beccaficu", Marinated mackerel, Codfish, swordfish with salmoriglio, Trigliole e Cuttlefish of Stagnone, Scaloppine with Marsala, Lamb or goat stew, Sicilian Cassata, Cannoli, Sfinci, Sfincioni of San Giuseppe with ricotta, Cappdduzzi of ricotta, Pignolata, "Mustazzoli of honey or cooked wine, Cassateddi of fig, Cubbaita, Cuccia, Marturana fruit, Queen biscuits, Taralli and Tagliancozzo.