On Sunday my friends took me out for afternoon tea at the British Museum. It was a present to celebrate my 30th birthday. I don’t know what you think when you read those sentences. Maybe “oooo” or “nice” or “how British” or even, “yawn.” But for me, it meant everything. One year ago I had been permanently in London for a month (we moved in March but then I had to go back to DC to do some stuff so I was permanently here in London starting last summer). After a month I was enjoying London but also feeling a little lost. I was thinking about finding friends, work, and a new life in London. And I hoped very much that I would make some lovely British friends who would want to do afternoon tea. Sure, it’s probably a stereotypical dream, but it was the dream I had.And then I got the job at the Science Museum and I made fast friends with Sarah, who I actually met during the interview process. She is bold, smart, and honest. She’s warm, not shy, generous, and the kind of person you want in your corner when the chips are down. And then we started our induction week and met Abbie, who is kind and friendly with a lovely smile. She’s clever, easy going, optimistic and brushes off frustration with an ease and grace that I envy. Then when we properly started work we met Charlotte who has the most piercing blue eyes and the best deadpan humor. She’s an excellent storyteller, she’s quick witted, good at taking charge and making decisions, and is an absolutely no-bullshit kind of person which is refreshing and fantastic. We started as just work friends and then became a crew. And even though they were my besties I didn’t tell them about my afternoon tea fantasy. I didn’t want them to laugh at me for being a silly American with cheesy dreams.

But, that’s the thing, best friends just know. On my actual birthday they said they wanted to take me out for a surprise and I didn’t bug them about it too much. This was big for me, I’m terrible about ruining surprises. We arranged to get together on Sunday and met at Euston station. From there, we walked through Russel Square which was filled with sun dappled tree and people having picnics, and we went on to the British Museum where they had arranged for us to have tea. YAY!

We had tea at the Great Court Restaurant. If you enter the museum through the main gates you walk into the main atrium of the museum, go up the curved staircase and you’ll  be in front of the restaurant. The skylights of the ceiling make it feel like you’re eating outside and the silhouettes of the birds flying outside overhead make really pretty shadows. The restaurant is pretty cute, and it’s sort of exciting to be surrounded by fantastic art. It’s a lovely setting – and obviously the company was perfection too.

We had the Prosecco afternoon tea. For me, tea is already fancy and lovely but adding Prosecco just bumps it up a huge notch. Also, I think all champagne glasses are elegant but I especially enjoy champagne saucers. I think it’s because they’re like a rare bird – I hardly ever see them in the wild. To me, they’re just for the movies. Sarah said maybe they’re modeled after Marie Antoinette’s breasts. I did a tiny internet search and it seems like maybe not. If you’re curious read about it here.

While I’m on the subject of glassware, let’s also talk about dishes. I love the pattern on all of the crockery. First, green is my favorite color and I think it looked original but still classically fancy. I also loved the combination of floral and bird prints. It was intricate but not over the top. I’m at the age when I look at nice dishes like these and actually think about wanting to own a set. And even, one day being the kind of person who has everyday dishes and good dishes. The picture immediately below isn’t the greatest, but you can see the pattern. Also, I like that Abbie’s pinkie’s sticking out as she picks up her tea. Clearly she’s posh.

Beside Prosecco, we of course had tea. Three out of four of us has elderflower & lemon tea which I loved and thought was the right amount of fruity and floral flavors. Sarah had ginger & lemon. There were also non-herbal options. The tea bags were great with big fat leaves in each sachet. Love that because it makes the flavor so much better. For food, we had a raisin scone and a plain scone. They came with jam and a big jar of clotted cream for the table. Clotted cream is an indulgent revelation. It’s luscious and it’s so easy to dollop a huge helping on to your scone. I should learn what else I can use clotted cream for because it’s tasty.

The sandwiches were small and dainty but full of fresh flavor. My favorite was the smoked salmon in part because the fresh dill was so vibrant. It gave the sandwich a good pop. The cucumber sandwich had the thinnest cut cucumbers and it was perfectly crunchy and refreshing. There was also an egg and a ham sandwich. I thought the cakes were the best part. There was a really rich, nearly bitter dark chocolate cake, an almond cake with a fruity surprise inside, a lemon tart, and then the cream puff. Everyone was beautiful to look at except the cream puff (which is behind the lemon tart with the raspberries on it). Sarah said it looked like the character from Fantastic Four. However, it was very nice – light, soft, and filled with lots of delicious cream. It more than made up for its funny looks.

After lots of food and chatting we went to the shop below. The shop is a lot of fun. There are books, figurines, scarves, jewelry, and all kinds of cool things for gifts. There’s also cheesy stuff like pens that look like soldiers and stuffed toys of Egyptian cats. Whether elegant and beautiful or cheesy and touristy – I think it’s all great. I love taking home a piece of a museum. Charlotte found a really intense connect-the-dot book. All the images were of big buildings and were color coded. I found a cookbook I wanted (of course), it was called A History of Food in 100 recipes. I had some self restraint though and didn’t buy it. Sarah and Abbie read some haikus. And here’s a haiku for them to summarize the day.

Surprise birthday tea
Great friends, yummy cake, and booze
Some dreams do come true

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Since Ryan and I have started on our second year here, we’re trying to renew our commitment to traveling more in and around London. Ya know, getting to know the UK a little better and all that. So this past weekend we took the train over to Canterbury. The weather was ugly, all gray and misty, but the sights were quite lovely.

It was Palm Sunday so the Cathedral, which is the main attraction, wasn’t open until later in the afternoon. So, we started at St. Augustine’s Abbey. This is one of those places that is astounding, beautiful, and older than America. The Abbey was found in 597 and marks the rebirth of Christianity in England.

It’s a fairly sizable complex and over the years buildings were added and expanded. There’s a nice video in the welcome center that shows blueprint models of how everything grew. Today, this site is an English Heritage site but it was used as a monastery all the way until 1538 when Henry VIII dismantled it. For hundreds of years it was in ruins, but since 1848 it has been preserved and used for education. How cool is that? Anyway, I really love the architecture of the buildings. Old stone, pointed arches… so gorgeous. 

After we walked around in the misty rain for awhile and once we got too cold we popped into Tiny Tim Tearoom for afternoon tea. It’s cozy and charming – and also apparently haunted. There’s a room by the bathrooms that has a plaque saying it’s the “ghost room.” Anyway, we felt a little touristy going for tea, but I really wanted to, and we overheard English people also having afternoon tea so we felt ok about it. Also when we were soaked and cold, hot tea was just what we needed.

On paper, tea with some sandwiches, a scone, and cakes seems like not a ton of food, but it really was. Ryan had Earl Gray tea and I had chai. We were impressed with all the teapot paraphernalia – a strainer and a little dish for it. We’re used to store bought teabags and a kettle. Everything was tasty, but we were especially smitten with the clotted cream. We slathered our scones with both the jam and the cream. It was decadent.

Full and happy, we walked around a bit more then finally went over to the Cathedral. Also founded in 597, that actual building was rebuilt in 1070. Side note, I can write these dates no problem, but when I think about who old these buildings are and that people were actually there building and worshiping and creating this awesome history my mind gets blown away. This church is the cathedral for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the leader of the Church of England. One of the most noteworthy things to happen in the cathedral was the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170.He was later seen as a martyr and a shrine was built in the church. Today, the shrine is marked by a candle that always remains lit (top left in the photo below).

The details throughout were really lovely as well. I’m always impressed with high arches and stained glass, but one of my favorite things was this eagle-like lectern. It’s wonderful to see how much beauty and care went in to one building. That’s something I’m loving about traveling throughout country: there is so much rich history that is hundred, and nearly thousands of years old, and it’s also so present and relevant. It’s amazing. I went home excited about what we saw and looking forward to planning another trip elsewhere in the UK.

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