I’ve been standing outside the doors to the Round Top Antiques Fair for 30 minutes, but if you’re not here before the doors open, you’ll miss your chance on the best items. I’ve been coming to Round Top since I was a little girl, when my mother, aunt, and I would drive over from Louisiana. Since those early days, Round Top, just an hour and 15 minutes outside of Austin, has evolved from a flea market into a European antiques fair, with big-name dealers coming in from all around the world to sell their rare collectibles.

My husband and I are driving the backcountry roads that wind through the Texas Hill Country, heading to Fredericksburg. An hour and a half west of Austin, the country drive takes us past Texas Longhorn cattle with three-feet-long horns, and enticing mom-and-pop antique shops that will have to wait for another time. On these last days of summer vacation, we are on a mission to eat the peaches that Fredericksburg is famous for. That rose-gold fruit has always represented summer to me - the long, slow days of youth that stretch out forever - and I’m nostalgic for the floral fruit.

Walking these halls each day, I’m always taken in by the attention to authentic historical detail that greets me at every turn – from the incredible Mediterranean-style architecture and design to artful décor and landscaping that all pay homage to the estate’s rich past and the vision of its original owner, Edgar Howard “Commodore” Perry.

“The tortillas! They have to be fresh, homemade tortillas!” laughs Connie Martinez, owner of La Cocina de Consuelo. Born Consuelo Arroyo Martinez in Zacatecas State, Mexico, Connie immigrated to the US in the early 1960s, and her journey to owning a restaurant began as a church fundraiser in 1983. Connie led the women’s group and sold enchiladas to fellow parishioners, co-workers, friends, and family. Those people soon became regular customers and, in the early ‘90s, her delicious enchiladas became well known throughout Austin, Texas, as “Connie’s Enchiladas.” Before long, Connie was catering parties, weddings, and other special events. She even catered to First Lady Laura Bush, Governor of Texas Anne Richards, and artist Amado Pena, among others.