No Scone Left Behind

Today was one of the best days I have had in London so far. I did everything that I love today and it isn’t even over yet!

The day started at 11 AM when my friends and I headed out from our dorm towards London Bridge. Today is the London Marathon and we were hoping to catch some of the runners in action. The Marathon was a bit different this year from past ones for two reasons.

1. The changed the course. Instead of running through North & West London, they made the course go to all the tourist sites! The course consisted of the biggest sites: Tower Bridge, Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Parliament, Reagents Park, and Trafalgar Square (just to list a few). This meant the course was right by our part of London, so it was a quick walk to it.
2. With the Olympics coming up, this marathon counted as an Olympic Qualifier. With that being said, the men and women were split into two different starting times. Usually the race starts at like 6 AM with the people with the best PRs, but instead the Paralympics started first, then the women, and then finally the men.

I was following the official interactive map, so I could track where the people were when running. It was predicted that around 11:30 AM the ‘elite male runners’ would be near Tower Bridge, so we headed in that direction. When we made it over to the course, we got there just in time to catch a glimpse of the ‘elite male runners.’ That ‘elite’ status basically means that these are the people that are running a consistent 6-minute mile, are professional, and probably trying to qualify for the Olympics. I saw Kenyans, Ethiopians, and other runners ZOOM by me as they made their way. The best part about these races is seriously the people that come out and cheer! I love it!

It's kind of hard to see, but on the bridge are all the fans and runners.

A piece of the course near Monument Station.

Some of the 'elite runners.'

More elite runners zooming by.

From there, we tubed it over to Piccadilly and ran over to Fortnum & Mason! My Great-Uncle generously wanted to treat friends and me, so he offered to help pay for proper afternoon tea at one of the most posh places in London. You may remember Fortnum & Mason as the place where I saw the Kate Middleton and Queen! When I heard this news from my Great-Uncle, I called and booked the tea ASAP! That was almost two months ago…and today I finally fulfilled this dream!

Old Picture: The Queen's Purple Bentley outside Fortnum & Mason

Kate, Queen, & Camilla at their official visit to Fortnum & Mason.

The tearoom is on the fourth floor of the building and when you walk up, you are greeted by a lot of staff waiting to take your jacket and give you champagne. After being seated, we were handed a menu for food and another menu for the tea. There were over 1,200 DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEAS! HOW DOES ONE CHOOSE?! We ordered the ‘afternoon tea’ deal and each one of us got a different type of tea. I started off with a Black Tea called “Regality.” When we were given the tea, it was the first sign of how classy this place was. They pour you your first cup of tea and then give each person a separate cup of boiling hot water. For a tea connoisseur (which I will admit I am becoming), this is HEAVEN! That means when we finish our first pot, we do not need to ask for more hot water! We already HAVE a pot of boiling hot water waiting on our table to replenish our teapot and tea-leaves!

The Tiffany Blue tea set. 

Our table + bar behind us.

My first cup of tea!

After sipping tea and chatting, our food is brought out. The food came on a three-tier stand. On the bottom plate was the finger sandwiches that ranged from the famous cucumber ones, to egg salad, salmon and cream cheese, and some with meats. The second plate had SCONES!!! Both plain and raisin scones! The third tier had the deserts that were adorable and GORGEOUS. We dug in and went strong. Looking back, we should have paced ourselves.

Overwhelmed with food....

A variety of desserts.

Finger food.

After finishing the sandwiches off, the waiters (that HAWK over you) came back over and asked if “we wanted anything.” We hesitantly asked if we could have more sandwiches and they replied with, “of course! Anything else?!” Once it was confirmed that it was true that we get unlimited food and tea, it was almost like the dam broke. We ordered more scones, even more sandwiches, more deserts, and then more sandwiches. To top it off, when we finished our first pot of tea and the refilled pot, we each ordered a whole new flavor. I got the “Piccadilly Tea,” which was once again a black tea.

I must admit the scones were so good. Every good Englishman has their own way of eating a scone, but I have become to favor a certain method. I cut the scone in half and lather both sides in clotted cream first and then top it off with jam. We had the option of blueberry, strawberry, or a lemon jam. Obviously I tried them all.

Warning: Picture may cause you to drool.

To make matters better, we were shown the dessert cart. Yes…there was more dessert. The waiter took us over and explained each dessert. Since we couldn’t choose, we just got a whole amalgam of food and tried each other’s. By the end of this, we all felt like we were about to hurl. We had just stuffed our faces endlessly for THREE HOURS. We wanted more, but our body would have literally rejected it even if we tried.

Ginger cookies from the dessert cart: a tea pot and hat cookie!

Dessert Cart!

The actual tearoom was beautiful. It had just reopened after a couple million of dollars of construction. The color theme was Tiffany Blue with gold accents. The teapots, cups, saucers etc were all blue and had oriental designs on them. Obviously, you need to dress smart to attend tea, so everyone was looking their finest. Even if you are the unclassiest person ever, this place makes you proper. I made sure never to put my elbows on the table, to speak softly, and sit straight. The waiters were just so classy and were always on top of it. I seriously felt like a Princess. I have never been waited on so religiously. I can see why rich people love it so much. I mean - even when we left, the male staff helped us put our jackets back on! They even gave us a departing gift of free Jubilee tea! Also, the whole time we were there, there was someone playing on the grand piano. They played classical music AND Disney music, which allowed us to have a great 'sing along time.'

The Diamond Jubilee Tea Room

The aftermath...

Free tea!

The gang at tea time!

The gang near the entrance to the tea room.

The room got more crowded as the afternoon went on and it got pretty lively. Like I said, everyone was dressed super nicely. There was a huge range of people there: from families with young children, to tourists, to old women chatting about their lives. My dad asked if I have ever run into like super posh British people. While they were probably there, I didn’t hear them or see them. I have though seen those people before at other tea places. I love sitting next to a table of old women who just schmooze about “Lord Whatever” or “Sir….” I have watched them religiously and tried to mimic their ‘tea behavior’ since I want to leave an au natural!

Teatime is just one of the most relaxing places ever. You literally just sit there for hours (three hours in this case) and you just talk. Obviously gossip is a must, but after that you just talk about whatever. I love teatime so much it kills me. You don’t even need a scone or cupcake to make teatime happen, but those things never hurt! I have beginning to catch myself thinking, “I just need a good cup of tea,” which is great since its cheap, easy to make, and super relaxing. Now, I just wish I could say that in my head with a seriously good British accent…

After we finished tea, we wandered around the store a little bit. The place is obviously filled with gorgeous plates, silver wear, and cooking ware. It is like Bath & Body Works if you made it super upscale. I wanted every tea set they offered and quickly became obsessed with the jubilee tea things. I am a little worried since I do not know how I am going to get a teapot, cups, and saucers home (as I am obviously splurging and buying a classy set here).

"So that's what Kate got in her gift basket!"

The three of us decided that we needed to walk off our food even though we were borderline comatose. We walked towards the Thames and ran into the marathon course! It was still going on at 3:30 PM! We found a spot on the rail and started cheering people on. I LOVE how people put their names on their shirts, so you can personally cheer them on! The best part about the London Marathon is the costumes. A lot of people will wear wigs, costumes, or have props when they run. I saw guys in rhino outfits, some couple dragging a sled behind them, and a man playing the guitar as he ran. The best part is seeing the elderly running it and beating kids more than half their age! It started to rain, so a lot of the observers pulled out ponchos and stuff and handed them out to the runners. It was just awesome. Watching these people limp to the end line even makes you want to run a marathon………………..maybe.

People running at around the 23rd mile.

Around 23rd mile!

Smiley Face Costume.

The old men still going for it!

Rhino #1 

The yogurt took the time to high five us all.

The woman told us she was "HAVING A GREAT DAY!"

Some guy running the whole thing barefoot!

An oompa loompa!

The major sites of London running by!

A tea pot! How is he running with no hands!?

Alice and the Mad Hatter!

This couple dragged the sled the whole way!

There's a tiger on your back!

A telephone?!

Rhino #2

The masses at the end. This is down the street from Buckingham Palace.

Masses near Trafalgar Square!

We walked through the crowds at Trafalgar and attempted to catch a tube home. Well, the tube was so packed that they had to prevent people from entering. It was laudable, as the tube people had zero idea how to handle the masses. GUESS IT’LL BE FUN WHEN THE OLYMPICS COME AROUND!

We caught the bus and now I am back in my room in a food/tea coma and trying to digest everything. I swear to the lord I am currently in a ‘tea high.’ Going to Fortnum & Mason was one of the highlights of my time in London and now that I have had the best, it shall be so hard to go back to my old ways of random little teashops! “Wait…I need to pour my own tea?! And I don’t get another scone when I finish this one?! Whaa!”

This will probably be my last post for a while since I will be starting to do my work (hopefully…).

I have a few more sights I want to see and it consists of: Hampton Court, Kew Palace/Gardens, Highgate Cemetery, the Lucian Freud exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, and visiting Bath & Cambridge.

Now it’s time to hit the books…

Thank you Uncle Alby for the opportunity to go to Fortnum & Mason!