{High Tea}

\\ high tea \\

n. Chiefly British

A fairly substantial meal that includes tea and is served in the late afternoon or early evening.

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High tea happens to be one of my favorite things about Europe. It's a concept I know exists in the U.S., but nobody really practices. But in England it's, like, a totally real thing. People really do drink that much tea and eat cute little sandwiches and a good helping of cake. Can you imagine a more wonderful way to spend an afternoon than by sipping tea out of perfect vintage china teacups, nibbling on tasty puff pastries and sandwiches, and devouring five pieces of cake? Well, that's exactly what my good friend Jeanelle and I did on New Years Eve day. It was wonderfully girly and the perfect way to catch up after both of our Swiss Christmases. Ah, we live a charmed life (when we're not getting stuck on Dutch trains and commuting 2-3 hours a day... but we'll forget about that for a second!). My goal is to make it to the Orangery in London next time we're there (who knows when that will be - but it's only a 50 minute flight, so I'd say sooner than later! Plus, I need to meet these girls when they get here!). It looks right up my alley.

Have any of you experienced high tea? Do you love it? Clearly I do ;)

P.S. Jeanelle and I had high tea at this most adorable place in The Hague - Bloem. We highly recommend it!

{Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}