23 December 2014

Lancaster London Afternoon Tea

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.


My favorite part, the scones:

Plain, raisin and Christmas Pudding scones with Lancaster London's marmalade and homemade strawberry jam.  Don't forget the Cornish Clotted Cream!!  #letsgetsconed!


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!



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Posted by at December 23, 2014 13 comments:
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01 December 2014

Hello Monday, Hello Tour Through Blogland


This week's Hello Monday is a tour through blogland.  Amy and the Great World nominated me to join in.  Answer a few questions, feature a few of my favorite people in blogland and there you have it.  Both of which you can find if you read on!  Here goes!

What am I working on?
In addition to sharing new content, I've been going back over old photos and blogging about some of our experiences that I never documented.  It is time consuming, but rewarding too.

How does my work differ from others in it's genre?
I'm in no way an expert, but I think and hope I have a unique perspective of having been an expat for 15 years and in 5 very different European countries.  I came overseas a young married 20-something.  We've spent the majority of our adult and married life in Europe and seen so much change.  Living without cell phones and only having dial up internet in the beginning, watching the twin towers fall while living in Prague and watching the Czechs rally around America.  Infertility, adoption and a twin pregnancy in a Czech hospital, sending my English speaking kids off to their first school experience in a Spanish speaking school.  We've had some great experiences and some not so great, but that's what makes up our story.

Why do I write/create the way I do?
I'm not a writer and was never a journaler.  I like simple.  I don't write a lot of words and I probably share way too many photos!  For me, blogging is about sharing the experience.  Whatever and wherever it may be.  I love to share our travels, our expat life and fun and quirky experiences along the way.  

How does my writing/creating process work?  
My dirty little secret?  I am SO unorganized!  From getting the day to day stuff done to blogging.  I blog when I have content ready. I'm trying to do better at that with the start of my Hello Monday posts, an occasional Travel Tuesday and then a project/food/expat post later in the week when time permits.  Family life keeps me quite busy, so it's difficult to follow a plan.

And now featuring a few of my favorite bloggers in blogland!!

V from Life+1


Hi there! I’m a travel addicted lifestyle blogger. You can call me V. I love to write about and photograph the halcyon and crazy moments in life. From my life as a repat, to exploring the world and finding myself in the process, my bliss is quite varied. I love to photograph the world around me and consider my blog a brilliant little time capsule of my life. You can read more about me here. I hope you join me along the way at my blog, Life+1. 

 You will want to return to time and again to see V's beautiful photos and great adventures.  I hope you'll check out her blog!!

Tammy from My Journey


Hello! My name is Tammy. I'm currently living a non-stop Merry-Go-Round ride here in Austin, Texas. Why? Because I am preparing to take a year long sabbatical this summer. My kids and I will travel England and parts of Europe starting in June 2015 after I finish my online Bachelors in Environmental Science. Why travel for a year? Well... Why not? As we travel I will volunteer with WWOOF and other agencies that allow a 13 year old son and 10 year old daughter to be in tow. We will also house-sit here and there. My main goal is to share diversity and travel with my children, to show them that there is life outside of our fast paced, technology ridden American society. I want to teach my children to slow down and enjoy the history and the world around them. I hope to land a job in England while I'm about in Europe, but we will see what God has in store. Meanwhile... I work, and study... and save every penny! 

Tammy is one busy mama!  And the sweetest gal you can imagine!!  I had the privilege of meeting up with her in London and loved getting to know her!  She even brought me mac & cheese from America!!  She's a gem!!

Alison from Chino House


I am a born and bred Arkansan who lives in Scotland, where I'm learning to walk everywhere and to live with tiny appliances. I love hiking the Scottish Highlands with my husband and kids on the weekends. Read about my adventures on my food and travel blog, Chino House or follow me on Instagram. 

Alison is another lovely lady that I've had the joy of meeting, even gave her a place to sleep on one of her trips in London!  She takes some incredible excursion with her beautiful family!!  You definitely need to check out her blog!!

Sarah from The Wanderblogger



Hi, I'm Sarah, a Nashville girl transplanted in London for the next few years with my husband and daughter. I've had a passion for travel ever since my first expat experience in Singapore in 1997. Discovering new places and cultures through experiences, history, and good food are my main priorities when traveling. I like to travel slowly and deliberately, taking my time to fully experience everything a new place has to offer. The Wanderblogger is my little home on the internet with tales of our adventures in London and abroad! Come say hi!

Sarah is another sweet lady that I've had the joy of chatting with several times at various London Blogger Teas and other meet ups.  A sweet little family, great information and beautiful photography are some of the things you will find at Sarah's blog.

I hope you've enjoyed my little tour through blogland!!

Hello December and Christmas decorations!


What are you saying Hello to this week?
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Posted by at December 01, 2014 20 comments:
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Deeper

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