For those of you that don’t know, two short weeks ago I was visiting Ivory Avenue blogger, Natalie, in Montreal, QC.  My experience traveling outside of the United States has only been to Toronto, ON this past November and it was interesting to see how the other provinces compared.  It’s nice to leave Western New York and see how the other side of the border lives, eh?

 

My friend Natalie is of English and Canadian descent.  This makes her family and their traditions that much more unique!  One of the most delightful things we did while I visited this past week was have afternoon tea.  I enjoy herbal teas quite a bit and recently felt that I was moving up in the world by purchasing white chocolate peppermint loose leaf tea from Teavana… but nothing compared to the Peach Ginger tea at Madam Clifford’s and Angels Falls tea at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.

The experience at Madam Clifford’s was very personalized.  It began with picking out your favorite tea cup, among their incredible selection. I enjoyed my meal of tuna-cucumber tea sandwiches immensely.  There were so many delicious treats this past week, it was difficult deciding which to put on instagram.

Walking into the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, one passes photos of the famous people that once visited the beautiful hotel.  Both former President Bill Clinton and his wife were among them.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was certainly happy that I dressed up.  Natalie and I went to a cute second hand store where I discovered a gray plaid jumper, black turtle neck, pearls, and martini glasses all for under $20! Try to beat that Macklemore.

The elegant Canadian Tea started with your choice of tea and in our case Ice Wine (if you desired) and then came the tiers of delicacies.  On the second level were four distinct sandwiches: salmon, cucumber, chicken, and roast beef.  Words could not do this presentation justice.  Next was a blueberry scone and a plain scone.  The table held small dishes of cream (not to be mistaken with cream cheese) and jam.  The final desserts were a maple tart, banana cake, and berries.  It was incredible way to spend the day, from our table we could see parliament.

Returning back to the states I have already determined I need to find a tea-room of some sorts.  I am sure this is more of an English tradition than Canadian, but it was delightful to not have to cross the “pond” to experience it. I spent nearly 10 hours on a bus, but that hasn’t taken away my travel bug.  Last week I went to Boston and enjoyed everything another North Eastern state had to offer. School is back in session on Monday and fully prepared to interrupt my travel schedule though.