Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sat, noon-3pm Sun)
during the fairs. The cafe is almost as famous for its great sandwiches
(grilled shrimp BLTs) and mains (center-cut pork chops with raspberry chipotle reduction)
as it is for their pies (Texas Trash, with chocolate chips, pecans, pretzels, coconut and car-
amel - oh my!). The decor is a crazy collection of memorabilia and fun T-shirts covering
every inch of the old clapboard walls.
'Downtown' Round Top is a collection of small old buildings set up to house arts and
craft galleries and other small shops, open year-round, 11am-5pm Wednesday through
Sunday. Because of the antiques fair, there are numerous area B&Bs and cottage rentals;
the
Round Top Chamber of Commerce
( 979-249-4042;
www.roundtop.org
;
102 E Mill Street; 10am-4pm
Tue-Sat)
has a comprehensive list. Set on a hill above town, the two-story covered porches
on the 1874
Belle of Round Top B&B
( 936-521-9300;
www.belleofroundtop.com
; 230 Days End Lane; r incl
breakfast $150-195; )
lend it all the grace and Southern charm of an old plantation home.
In the countryside northeast of Round Top look for the
Winedale
(
www.cahutexas.edu/museums/
winedale
; 3738 FM 2714; by appointment)
historic village, part of the University of Texas at
Austin. Tours are by appointment only; the best way to see the historic homes and store-
fronts are during festivals throughout the year. During
Shakespeare at Winedale
(
www.shakespeare-
winedale.org
;
Winedale, 3738 FM 2714; tickets adult/child $10/5; mid-July-Aug)
, loyal fans drive for
miles and miles to watch university students perform the Bard's plays in a rustic setting
redolent of his more ribald comedies.
Nearby, the queen of shabby chic herself designed the stylish places to slumber at
The
Prairie by Rachel Ashwell
( 979-836-4975;
http://theprairiebyrachelashwell.com
; 5808 Wagner Rd; cottage incl
breakfast $200-500; )
. Whether a king suite studio or a two-bedroom bungalow, each in-
dividual cottage is straight out of a magazine - one surrounded by a pastoral landscape to
rival any painting.
TOP OF CHAPTER
La Grange
Technically, La Grange lies in Fayette County, 40 miles south of Brenham, but we think
it's close enough to count. The
La Grange Chamber of Commerce
(
www.lagrangetx.org
; 171 S Main St;
9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat)
has a free walking tour brochure of the largish main square
(the town does have a population of 4,400, after all). But the real attraction is the
Texas Quilt
Museum
(
www.texasquiltmuseum.org
;
140 W Colorado St; adult/child $8/4;
10am-4pm Thu-Sat, noon-4pm Sun)
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