The Orangery at Kensington Palace

This is a flashback to a traditional afternoon tea with my Mom and stepdad Jamie. They visited England for two weeks during my semester abroad in London and had a great time. Posts to come: our weekend in Devon; a drive down the coast to the Oyster Festival at Falmouth in Cornwall; tours of Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Oxford; and so much more. Jamie is actually an enthusiastic photographer so once I get my hands on the hundreds of pictures he took, there will be several long, heavily illustrated posts!

We took the tube to Hyde Park Corner, rented bikes, and spent close to an hour on the biking paths throughout the Park. At the Orangery, we sipped chamomile (me), Earl Grey (Mom), and wild berry tea (Jamie). We also ordered one of the three-tiered servers of tea sandwiches, mini tartelettes, and scones with jam and clotted cream.

Our waitress was kind enough to snap a photo for us, though later she confessed that her manager warned her not to take any more at this angle. She had accidentally photographed Prince Michael of Kent - the Queen's cousin - who was seated just behind us! He's the bearded man enjoying his soup in the background.

Sitting down at teatime

In the gardens