Both Carolyn and I have been to Fredericksburg many times so we were not sure exactly what we wanted to do. We passed this place I have never been and Carolyn said "we have to stop just to see the decor" so we did.
The plants outside are worth stopping to see.
Once you are inside, there is a lot to see in terms of decor. Fair warning, this is a clothing store featuring unique vintage bohemian style clothing. The brand is intentionally distressed and worn style poverty style, not my style at all and definitely not what I would pay but the place itself is definitely worth a look.
We both thought this was an old house that had been renovate but were told by an employee that it was built from scratch just a few years ago. Obviously the beams and boards came from existing old structures like barns.
I really don't like open staircases but I went upstairs just to look.
This was in front of an open elevator, really a platform without sides that they must use to move goods upstairs. Definitely not for people.
As we headed out the back door we passed this saddle. Obviously for looks only with broken mirror pieces covering it.
The porch has a swinging bed. How neat is that?
Unique housing for chickens.
You can't go beyond the truck so I don't know if this is a workroom or a private home. As I said, worth a stop just to see the building and grounds decor. The clothing style and price is definitely not for me.
Next, on to lunch. Food can be a bit pricey in Fredericksburg. After checking out a BLT sandwich for $18.99 on one outside menu, we decided to try someplace new. What a fabulous find! Bella Sera is on hwy 16 heading towards Ladybird Johnson park. I know the place has had a few different restaurants over the years but it is now an Italian restaurant. There is a small patio out front with tomatoes growing which I failed to capture. We were hungry.
We were there for a very late lunch so it was not crowded. The decor is really nice.
The service was excellent and both Carolyn and I were impressed by the food. We had eggplant parmisiana which came with soup or garden salad, wonderful homemade Italian rolls, and a drink for $10.99. Absolutely delicious and a bargain. They had about 10 different choices for their lunch special. The prices for other times of the day were also very reasonable.
After lunch, Carolyn wanted to do a wine tasting. We debated going back out hwy 290 where there are about 50 choices but decided to try a place right in town that Dave and I used to stop at before all the big wine hype buildup that exists now.
You can expect to pay $25-$50 for a wine tasting at one of the fancy vineyards. Fredericsburg Winery tasting used to be free back in the day but customers started coming in several times a day so they naturally had to stop that.
Notice that the sign said 100% Texas grapes......that isn't true of all the wineries. We got 5 different tastings plus a wine glass for $15.00. Best of all, mid afternoon during the week, they weren't swamped with customers so we had the expert all to ourselves for a while. She was very personable and we had a wonderful time visiting with her.
The wine we tasted was very good so it was a hard decision but we each bought two bottles at reasonable prices. I guess the owner liked us too because she gifted us each a unique wine bottle opener just like the one she used. All in all, it was a wonderful day and a while later, we headed back to Bandera using a different route than the one we took in. We had a caesar salad for dinner and took our last dip in the pool and soak in the jacuzzi.
Friday morning it was time to dump the tanks and hook up to head on down the road. We were both going to San Antonio, me to my home, and Carolyn to an RV park for 4 nights so we knew we would be spending some more time together.
