Getting Away

Everyone needs to get away once in a while, even at the cost of reduced blog output.

But I wasn't completely neglectful- last week, I did manage to squeeze in some teasearch for any Boston-area cravings with an afternoon excursion with my lovely sister and a dear old friend.

Enter The Windsor Tea House, a very traditional, (old) ladies who lunch, pinkies-extended sort of place south of the city. The tea selection was larger than I expected, and the small savory menu and "from scratch" desserts (quotes theirs, which gave my sister a bit of pause) were pretty good. The teas were also well brewed, and arrived in plump, overstuffed tea cozies, matching most of the patrons there.

I had a greenish, smooth-tasting Ti Kuan Yin oolong with a rich, sugary blueberry bread pudding. Why bother with a salad or sandwich when there were so many sweets to try? I didn't sample their scone, the classic afternoon-tea accompaniment, but my sister did order a buttery crumpet, a British, yeasted, griddle-cooked pancake which are hard to find here and whose name never fails to make me laugh.

It was a bit disorienting to look out the window, which had a view of a tiny ice-cream shop that used to be called The Strawberry Parfait and served up endless scoops of delight when I was a kid. It's since changed owners and names, there's now a commuter train that roars past it and the tea house; and at the table, my friend had her extremely well-behaved two-year old and a new baby sitting with us. Things change quickly. Maybe that's why it's so balancing to have that simple cup of tea to clutch every day.