All I Want For Christmas is . . . . a cup of tea

One of my bridesmaid's kindly took me out for a wonderful treat this past weekend:  afternoon tea at the Banff Springs Hotel.

This was awesome on several levels.

Level One: spending time with a good friend

Level Two:  drinking tea

Level Three:  drinking a marTEAni

Level Four:  Being at the Banff Springs - which is pretty much one of the most beautiful hotels in the world

Gingerbread House!

Level Five:  Banff in the winter.  Because it is a MAGICAL WONDERLAND OF CHRISTMAS AWESOMENESS

I can't even count the amount of times I have been to Banff and yet EACH time I go - it still manages to take my breath away.

You leave the city on highway one, driving through the soft, rolling foothills which at this time of year are covered in hoar frost (who gave something so beautiful such a horrid name?).  The Rockies unfold before your eyes and suddenly, POOF!, you are surrounded by these snow-covered rock giants.

I am pretty sure that if you are from any other country and you are told to describe what you think Canada looks like, this would be it.  Also, our Rockies kick the American Rockies ass. I don't know why, they just do.

At this point I am getting pretty excited.  Like a little kid.  Oh look! There's a deer/caribou!  Oh look!  There's a small Japanese woman trying to ski!  Oh look! There's a couple dressed in matching fleece jackets that are covered in wolves and reindeer!

Tea at the Fairmont is tres fancy.  Firstly, the room is probably the best out of all the Fairmont's.  I mean, it sort of has to be when this is your view from the window.

Secondly, it's called Castle Tea. So you can almost pretend you are Kate Middleton.  Also, the 'Castle Tea' has been happening here since 1889.  They are pretty good at it now.

You get to smell and learn about each tea on offer.  Poor girl repeats the whole shpeel and I still end up with orange pekoe.  If you have little guys they have bubblegum or smartie tea!

For an additional few dollars, you can have normal tea and alcoholic tea.  I was skeptical about the marteani but it was delicious!!  I had a Samurai Saki described as follows:

Wabi: the origin of the Japanese Tea Ceremony conceived by Samurai warriors. Embracing a philosophy of peaceful refinement, the Samurai believed that Matcha tea could restore the body and prepare the mind for battle. The tranquil union of Japan Samurai Gyohuro Green Tea and Dainginjo Saki are complimented by Absolut Kurant Vodka and Crème de Cassis.

My description?

Yum-o

It just feels so ladylike and refined to sip tea and eat teeny-weeny sandwiches filled with devilled eggs and ham.  Looking out onto the snow sprinkled valley, one can't help but get into the Christmas mood.  Plus you get to hang out with your friend who is growing a beach ball belly.

If you happen to be in the Rockies around the holidays, the loveliness of Banff Springs is not the only thing to get that Christmas spirit feeling.

Just a hop, skip and 45-minute drive down the highway is Fairmont's other castle.  Chateau Lake Louise.  I happily discovered a few years ago that not only can you skate on the frozen lake, but it has an ICE CASTLE!!!  AAAAAAAAAAAAAH  AND FREE HOT CHOCOLATE!!!!  

If you want to see the moonlit forest, you can jump on a sleigh driven by horses.  If you want to get all romantical, you can even get a private sleigh. We have friends that got engaged this way.

The Engineer and I stayed at the CRMR (something to do with rail?) lodge nearby a few years ago.  We loved it - it was so old fashioned.  The doors has keys!  Actual old-style keys.  No key cards here.  The only problem was that people forgot and left the keys in the doors.  There was also no TV.  We had to entertain ourselves.  

That's the winter I started reading Charles Dickens.

What's the lesson in this entry?  That there is no place like home for Christmas. And lucky for me, THIS is home (or close enough).

Additionally, if you are a bride seeking a perfect winter setting - these places are IT!  For $24 000 room rental :)

I'd Like to Thank the Brits . . .

Being of complete British stock, I know a thing or two about our friendly cousins across the ocean. 

Here are some things they have given us that I truly appreciate:

1.  Tea

My grandfather taught me how to brew a perfect cup of tea when I was quite small.  Boil cold water (I don’t really know why), warm up teapot with hot water prior to putting tea bag/leaves into pot, pour water into pot. 

I mean it’s not rocket science is it?  And yet, how come some cups of tea taste better than others?  It’s part tea itself, part brewing time and part pot. I’m not kidding.  If you have a crap pot you will have crap tea.  Survey says? The traditional old Brown Betty is still the best pot for brewing tea. 

I’ve grown up drinking tea first thing in the morning.  My mum doesn’t really talk to me before she has her tea.  We drink tea when we come in from an outing, be it groceries or the Oscars.  We drink tea in the tub.  We drink tea when we are sick.  When we are sad.  When we are happy.  I would venture to guess I drink about four pots a day.  That’s over 10 cups of tea. 

In England, I noticed my tea consumption went up when visiting my relatives.  ‘Fancy a brew?’ is the code for a cup of tea.  But I guess that isn’t really a code, it's pretty straightforward.

I am also a firm believer in tea cozies (or as my little friend Sophia says, ‘tea hats’).  Like warming your pot before filling it with tea, a cozy keeps your pot warm so you can have countless cups of warm tea.  I use a pink and white one my grandmother knitted.  She died when I was fairly young so I like to think she’s there with me at every cup, having her own tasty brew.

Our flat in London is not equipped with a kettle.  The Engineer suggested I warm up water in a microwave.  I don’t even know how to tell him all the wrong that is that sentence. 

2.  Fascinators

Do you know what these are?  Probably not.  It hasn’t exactly caught on over here.  They’ve tried to come here, and some brave girls venture out with this atop their curls (read: me) but for most Canucks, we are not a headpiece-wearing nation.

Too bad.

Look at how cute they are. 

CUTE!

We had a stagette for my friend last year at the racetrack.  Her maid-of-honour created these little masterpieces for all to wear.  They were gorgeous and totally made our outfits!

At my wedding I fully intend to wear one in lieu of a veil, have my bridesmaids wear them and encourage my guests to get in the British frenzy.

3.  Food

Yes, you heard me right:  food.  And not just Jamie, Gordon or Nigella.  I mean British food.

I know the reputation but I feel strongly that British food offers some of the best comfort around.  I don’t know anything that tastes much better than my mum’s roast beef and hot Yorkshire pudding.  Or my auntie’s potato pie with mushy peas.  My cousin makes a killer chicken stew with dumplings.  Sausages?  With mashed potatoes and gravy?  Cornish pasties?  Chicken and leek pies?  Eton mess?  Clotted cream, jam and scones? Hula Hoops? 

Need I go on? 

Nothing warms a soul like British comfort.

4.  Nicknames

Not that these have been imported but I am trying to start a trend.  British people call each other cute pet names like chicken, pigeon, sausage, chook (which is a cute form of chicken), hen, dove, love, and pet.  Am I missing anything?

A man called me chicken and I swooned.  He was 80.

5. Pimm's.  See previous entry.

6.  Jane Austen, her books, the movies starring Colin Firth.

Nothing here to add except did you know there is a Jane Austen festival in Bath and you can rent Georgian dress and prance around Bath like Elizabeth Bennet??  AAAAAAAAAH!

7.  Men with accents

Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Prince William and Harry, Clive Owen, Jude Law, and the list goes on. 

8.  Chick Lit

Thank you thank you thank you Helen Fielding and our favorite girl with a diary, Bridget!  Since then, British writers have filled shelves with books that belong on Easter Sunday (due to their bright, pastel colours).  Mostly all the same, but the best beach reads ever!!

9.  Cadbury

Ummmm.  Yes.  Dairy Milk forever.  Swiss chocolate my ass, it’s all about English chocolate.  And speaking of ass . . . . mine is getting big.

10. Harry Potter

I am still waiting for my invite to Hogwarts.

And last, but not least, my favourite Sunday morning activity:  watching Corrie.  I don't care what you think, I love Coronation Street.

And I love England