What comes to mind when hearing or reading the words “afternoon tea?” Is it crisp, white tablecloths and delicate, bone china dishes, scones and jams and pinkies sticking out just so? Is it something more casual, perhaps? Just cups of hot brew with a little cream, shared at a table to help keep your eyes open mid-day? Or maybe it’s fancier still, with tiny triangles of cucumber sandwiches and Coronation Chicken, trifles of Battenberg cakes and macaroons all set upon three tiers of perfectly assembled wonder.
In the autumn, my thoughts always tend toward England. Perhaps it is because I have read too many novels set in the UK, or because the weather in rural areas seems to be perpetually made of falling leaves, mud and rain. In any case, when the world around me turns orangey and the temperature starts to dip (even a little), I find myself in Britain, if only in spirit.
Growing up a proud Michigander, I was under the impression that all the lakes worth visiting were in my home state. If not only for the beauty, majesty and bragging rights that come with being the “Great Lakes State” but for the sheer number of bodies of water found here. Minnesota, “land of a thousand lakes”? We scoff at you. Michigan is home to over 11,000! No matter where in the state you are standing, you are never more than six miles from one of these refreshing beauties. Can that be topped? Michigan is surely the epicenter of all things freshwater and deserves every lake-related accolade.
Have you ever had the experience of returning to a place you had been before, to find it utterly different than you remembered?
On a recent trip to Northern Italy, we planned a stay in the ancient city of Bergamo. It is everything a northern medieval city should be: walled, with twisting, turning, nonsensical streets that are too narrow for a car (even the tiny, European variety) to navigate. In a city like this one, we were determined to enjoy every charm available. We booked a room in a renovated hotel that was originally built in the 1500s, overlooking the main piazza and famous bell tower of the city. A fairytale kind of place.
