If you have just one opportunity to visit Texas, you should go to the Hill Country. Skip Houston, and by all means skip Dallas - go straight to one of the small towns in the Hill Country like Boerne, Fredericksburg, Wimberley, San Marcos, Gruene, even San Antonio or Austin, - but for God's sake, don't go in July or August. The heat will make you think you've gone to hell. Texans are slowly realizing that crops which grow in Provence also do well in the Texas Hill country. As a result, we get to enjoy Texas grown almonds, olives, wine, and lavender! This year Hubby and I found ourselves at the annual Texas Lavender Festival in Blanco. We arrived at lunchtime and rather than eating at one of the many food vendors set up on the courthouse square, we opted to eat at a local restaurant: The Uptown Blanco Restaurant. Given how busy the square was I was surprised to be seated within 10 minutes. The cafe is the cutest place - charm out the wazoo with quilt wall hangings and high ceilings. There were several lavender inspired items on the menu in honor of the festival. We ordered the lavender lemonade, which was good, it was delicately flavored with lemon and lavender, and not too sweet. I ordered the fried goat cheese salad with an orange/lavender vinaigrette. The lavender was subtle, and the salad was a nice mix of greens topped with mango slices and pecans. Hubby had the lavender smoked chicken plate, and the lavender was so subtle as to not be detected. Still, a good meal, and we could say we had lavender for lunch.
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| Lavender lemonade. |
What I love the best is the dedication to the Lavender that this small town has. First of all, Blanco is totally quaint, and very small, and every single business and local person was gung-ho for all things lavender. We took our time and looked at the craft booths set up on the square, even made a few purchases before heading to the park to listen to some great live music. We walked the square a while before getting in the car and heading to one of the lavender farms about 15 minutes away - The Wimberley Lavender Farm. Sadly, the lavender plants took a hit during last year's brutal drought and are still recovering, so there was not lavender to cut, as there has been in years past. We did buy a couple of lavender plants and there were many other items in the gift shop: soaps, sachets, even books. Several other lavender farms were open for visits, but we only went to the one. Then we continued on to Wimberley, another charming Texas town, where we were staying for the night. It was a great way to spend the day. Next year when June rolls around go check out the Lavender Festival in Blanco - it was worth the trip!
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| Yes, the officer directing traffic is wearing a lavender cowboy hat. |
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| Even the port-o-john is lavender! |
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