August 19, 2016 - Tanya's Magical Anniversary Trip - Day 3 - London and History of High Tea

Elisa's Daily Scoop

History of High Tea

Well, hi there folks!!

Wow, what a day I had yesterday!!  It was chock full of errands, things around the house and phone calls.

I'll tell you all about my very productive day in a minute!!

First, let me jump to our little blog mis-hap with yesterday's blog.  Around 7pm New York on Wednesday night, I received a very frantic text and email from Tanya.  

Apparently, she was working on her blog for the yesterday (Thursday) and accidentally hit post.  The problem is that it was still Wednesday in most parts of the world.  

Since my blog was just about complete (with text and uploaded photos), she did not want to risk deleting it, so she needed to "hide" it until it was time to post.

Unfortunately, since I am technically challenged, I was unable to get back in to finalize a few additional photos and some text. The problem was that I had a very early day yesterday (Thursday) and would not be returning until after our email time.  So, I had to trouble Tanya with uploading additional photos and posting our blog.

It probably felt a great deal worse than the actual problem, but when one of us is traveling, it's hard enough to just get our blog up, let alone having to do some blog tasks for the other cousin.  

Anyway, in the end, it all worked out.  Just a little frustrating for me not being able to know that my blog was done and ready to go.

Getting back to my day yesterday, it was a most productive one!!

I had decided to make all of my doctor's appointments for September to get them over and done with before the holidays.  Well, I was successful in scheduling them all. (big check off my to do list).

Then I managed to pack up in boxes, all the girls' baby books that we have no more use for so I could bring them over to one of the local charities today.  They were so very happy to know we had board books for them!

I also had a number of puzzles and games that the girls had outgrown, so I knew these would be gladly welcomed as well!  To me, one of the greatest feelings is giving to the less fortunate.  ​

This is something I have stressed to my girls through the years.  When you do not want for things, you need to have as part of your agenda, how you will help those that have less than you.

My girls now, take a small percentage of their allowances and put them into a "charity fund."  

Each quarter of the calendar year, I match what they have saved and we donate it to a charity of their choice.  This quarter, we are planning to give to a less-fortunate girl whose horse needs costly medical care.  Gianna selected this one!  

I feel it's easy to raise good academic kids, but raising children to have empathy and a sense of service is quite another story. So far, my girls are doing great at both!

Moving right along, let's get back to LONDON!!!

As Tanya is enjoying her third day today and with it coinciding with Foodie Friday here on T.C., I thought I would give you all a little history and bit of information about "High Tea."

My dear cousin has been sipping her way through London the past few days and Lord knows, we both love this hot beverage quite a bit!!

Enjoying High Tea is one of England's most enjoyable pastimes and one about which I was most curious to know the history.

What I was most surprised about was that "High Tea" or "Afternoon Tea" it is a relatively new tradition, dating back only to the mid-1700's in England. 

Tea itself and the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China.

It became popularized in England in the 1660's by   King Charles II and his wife the Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Braganza, but the well-known modern day tradition took another hundred years or so to become customary. 

High Tea in England is credited to Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840.   

According to Historic UK, "The Duchess would become hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter (some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had had the idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon."

credit: realhightea.dilmahtea.com

As word spread among her friends through her frequent Afternoon Tea get togethers, the late afternoon "meal" grew in popularity as a social event. 

According to Fortnum & Mason, "‘Tea rooms’ were all the rage in the late 19th century, quickly becoming THE place for meeting friends and sharing gossip. They were also considered one of the few respectable places for women to meet without a chaperone, so the out-of-home Afternoon Tea took off like a social network. At some stage music was added to the occasion, and fashionable young people attended afternoon ‘tea dances’ in the most stylish of hotels, a practice which continued until the Second World War."

Photo credit: DamonBanks.com

By the late 1880's the tradition was in full force and upper class women would change into dressy gowns, adorned with hats and gloves for their High Tea, which occurred between four and five o'clock.

Typical Afternoon Tea includes the tiers of smart little crustless sandwiches, scones, cakes, clotted cream, curd, and even cheese on toast would have been served. And of course, heaps of tea!

And there you have it!!

Stay tuned for an upcoming Foodie Friday feature when Tanya will be telling us all about her many "Afternoon Tea" experiences!!  I, personally, cannot wait!!

Well, while Tanya is having a blast with her daily high tea, I will be spending my afternoon organizing the kids' doll room.  It is full of Barbie Dolls and American Girl Dolls and their plethora of accessories. 

I'm loving that I'm bringing such organization to the house.  Feels good!!

Well, tune in tomorrow, when I'll be bringing you more Fun Facts about London's Museums!!

Till then,
-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN:
​LONDON, ENGLAND

A shocking CLUNKER at this sought out location..

Hello Hello and a big Greetings from London!

For starters I need to vent for a sec - I'm having a ton of technical issues this morning trying to open my SD card. It's taking forever, not working and really stressing me out. 

I'm hoping to post lots of fun pictures and give you a virtual little visit of my day yesterday, but at this point my hands are tied and I cannot exactly follow through with my plans - so please understand that I will do my best with what I have to work with. 
*Gonna mostly use Dave's pics

Our first stop was Trafargar Square (before it got crazy busy) - one of London’s most vibrant spaces in the middle of the city and being a significant London landmark since the 13th century, originally containing the Royal Mews (stables).
​
Located in front of the National Gallery, with Nelson's Column at its centre is guarded by four lion statues.

Nelson's Column (c)travelincousins.com

National Gallery (c)travelincousins.com

Walking over 10 miles, we did and saw lots. Take a looksie at some more:

Our second stop was to the fun and funky Camden Town for a bit of brekkie where the Camden locks and the Camden Market is located. Again getting there before the crowds!! YAY

After filling ourselves up with a traditional English breakfast - vegan style, it was time to go shopping and to wander the streets of London.

Ending up in Oxford Circus next and trying to do some shopping...

And then Piccadilly Circus, the Times Square of London:

Eventually making our way back to our hotel to tidy up for my favorite time of day, Tea Time!!!

I also had to have some fun with it and got a little MOD SQUAD here - just for a bit!

And then it was time to get serious again and actually go have some tea.

​I was really super duper looking forward to these particular reservations. I wanted to try this Afternoon Tea during our last visit, but couldn't get us reservations.

This highly demanded top notch hotel gets booked up for tea very early and reservations during high season can be made 90 days in advance - I had it make don my calendar and this time I was sure to get us in!

The only problem was is that although we enjoyed ourselves, it DID NOT live up to it's expectations - at least not for a vegan - which it is have listed that they cater to. Yet leaving so much to be desired. They should hire me to show them how it's done!!
​
I was really expecting so much more and I know that I can set my standards quite high - but even Dave was disappointed by the offerings, claiming that it was a real CLUNKER.

But we followed that up with a visit to see good old Big Ben!

The London Eye...

And walk along the Thames River, before getting ready for dinner.

Dinner was DEEEELICOUS!

We ate at Manna - nearly 50 years old. It's the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the UK - and we found out that the owners actually live in LA!!

Gotta come back to this place :)

Full day of fun, tea and more sightseeing on today's agenda.

I'll be back to tell you more tomorrow - hope to see you here!
-T