I can't resist a chance to have afternoon tea!  When in Rome, or England, in this case!
Then the added Christmas atmosphere and you've got one beautiful celebration of a Christmas tea!!

Once again, I made my way to London for another London Bloggers Tea.  This time at the Lancaster London overlooking Hyde Park with the amazing Chef Ben Purton. 

I tell you, Chef Ben did not hold back!  He is one hospitable chef!

The decor was simple yet so elegant.

A beautiful display of Novus tea and bubbly.

Some yummy goodness right there!

On the menu:

 Smoked salmon, cucumber, and egg & cress sandwiches along with wild mushroom, chicken tarragon tartletts and beef filled Yorkshire pudding.

Desserts:

White chocolate raspberry lollipops, passionfruit & raspberry macaroon, caramel and hazelnut tranche, apple & honey cupcake and lemon fruit tart.

I was pretty full by this point.  But the white chocolate raspberry lollipops were calling my name!  Don't they look pretty?!  There was a little surprise on that first bite.  Pop rocks!!  That bright red ring around the center were pop rocks!  Absolutely loved that touch!

Such a lovely spot for tea, don't you think?

If you find yourself near Hyde Park, check out the Lancaster London.  Fabulous afternoon tea, and the rooms look amazing too!

The poppy installation at the Tower of London marks 100 years since the outbreak of World War I.  The first ceramic poppy was placed July 17th and the last today, November 11th. The poppies total 888,246, one for each Commonwealth soldier killed.  

An anonymous war poem was the inspiration for the name of the installment, "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red."


Over 4 million people have come to see this beautiful project unfold from July to November.


This project was so thoughtfully put together.  The sea of poppies is just captivating!

Can you believe, this was my first time to step inside the tower to see 1000 years of history?



There is so much to see within the walls that you could easily spend a whole day.



Here are just a few of the things you can see behind the tower walls.



Take a Yeoman Warder's tour (also known as a Beefeater).  Don't miss this, it's free!  These men are required to have served at least 22 years in the armed forces with an honorable record.  They are fun-spirited and bring history to life.



Discover the history of the royal mint that spanned over 500 years.



Take a stroll through the crown jewels.  The collection is still regularly used by The Queen.



Follow the walkways through the walls, see the Royal Beast that describes the animals that lived at the fortress, spanning 600 year.





 The Medieval Palace where hundreds of Kings and Queens stayed on their visit to their most valued fortress.











Visit all the towers, like Beauchamp Tower where you'll see graffiti left by the Tudor Prisoners.



Or Bloody Tower where the Little Princes were murdered.



Be sure to look for the seven ravens flying about the tower.  Legend has it that the tower will fall if the six ravens ever leave the tower.  Seven are in residence, just in case!

As part of the WWI remembrance, portrayals of wartime were being demonstrated around the tower grounds.



The Tower of London played an important role during WWI.  Recruitment and mobilization took place here as well as a hold for prisoners and a place of execution.



Visiting the tower with the sea of poppies filling the moat added a beautiful element.









Would you like a chance to win a ceramic poppy of your own?

Attractiontix is giving away a ceramic poppy to one lucky winner!  Enter for your chance to win a beautiful piece of history.

Have you visited the Seas of Red at the Tower of London?

* I was given a complimentary ticket to the The Tower of London for the purpose of review for Attractiontix.

Linking up with the lovely Bonnie, Courtney, Cynthia and Yalanda.

I just love those moments when you're in the right place at the right time.

On a day spent in London, we took a certain pathway leading us to the river and this is the view that awaited us at the end.

The Shard with a gorgeous bright moon.  A plane decided to photobomb grace us with it's presence.

A little to the left or a little to the right and it wasn't quite as spectacular.  This one below was taken on my new phone.  Not too shabby!

Have you had those moments where you were in the right place at the right time?  A photo, an impromptu street dance.  Share with me!

Happy November!

Too early for Christmas??

Not for a Christmas Afternoon Tea!!

Our venue, the beautiful Conrad London St. James hotel, formerly Intercontinental Westminster, thought our group of London Bloggers, gathering for our #LDNBloggersTea, was a perfect group to try out their Christmas Snow Scene Afternoon Tea.

Take a look at this menu!

The ingredients used for our tea were nicely displayed for us.



Beautiful flower arrangements set throughout the room.



Even a harpist.  He was amazing and even played a couple Christmas tunes for us!



The tea selection.  I chose the Vanilla Black Tea.





Brussel sprout salad, venison bites & turkey ballotine with cranberry sauce.



Smoked Salmon, beetroot & spinach and gammon with mustard sandwiches.



Orange Cranberry & Christmas Spice Scones.  I didn't get a good photo of the strawberry jam and blackberry curd.  The blackberry curd was tasty!



Executive Chef Zoe Wager came around to talk with us about the tea, the ingredients she used and how she thought through the lovely dessert display she created.



Is this dessert scene not the cutest thing?  It's like peering into a Christmas window display!



Winter berry Christmas tree on a brownie base.  Once cut into it was a lovely red mousse, meringue snowmen, Christmas postcard marshmallows, white forest yule logs, chocolate orange Battenberg present and snowflake macaroons.  So much to choose from!



To top it off, blueberry macaroons to take home.  Every detail was thought out and executed beautifully!  Thank you, Conrad London St. James!



Great company, food, location, an afternoon well spent!

If you find yourself in London during Christmas, be sure to make your way to the Conrad London St. James for the Christmas Snow Scene Afternoon Tea.  The tea begins on November 24 through Christmas eve.

£37 per person £45 with free flowing champagne.

 I paid a discounted rate for attending the #LDNBloggersTea and the purpose of reviewing the Christmas Snow Scene Afternoon Tea.

City of Westminster on Dwellable