afternoon tea

Ant and I treated ourselves to afternoon tea at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair today. Apparently it is the oldest hotel in London, it played host to Alexander Graham Bell's first phone call in Great Britain, Agatha Christie while she was writing At Bertram's Hotel, and numerous other famous and royal guests. Afternoon tea is held in a very relaxed dining room with all-you-can-eat finger sandwiches, scones, and cakes. There is an extensive tea menu, from which we each sampled two pots of tea.


Scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam are a wonderful British invention. Sometimes Air Canada serves them on the way out of London and that is one of the only times I eat them. But these scones were so much more delicious, fresh, and airy than those airplane biscuits.


Relaxing in my easy chair and chatting with Ant was so refreshing. We were in no hurry, and the price tag meant we felt like getting our money's worth. So we stayed for two hours, enjoying the good service, delicious food, and leisurely company.