When Marie Antoinette uttered the phrase “Let Them Eat Cake” over 200 years ago, little did she know her immortal words would help feed thousands of hungry people across the pond in the American City of Lights.  On March 8, 2009, the Royal Tea Society hosted “Let Them Eat Cake” an afternoon tea event Lakeside in Desert Shores.  The atmosphere resembled dining on the River Seine and the menu featured French favorites such as Salade Nicoise on Baguettes, Ham and Brie with Pears on Croissants, Herbes de Provence Chevré on Endive, and Bleu Cheese Profiteroles du Boef.  Cakes and pastries from Las Vegas's famous and favorite bakeries were served, including a Marie Antoinette cake by Freed's Bakery which was featured on Cooking with Rachel Ray and voted 2007 Best of Weddings by The Knot,  Layers Bakery voted #1 Bakery by readers of the Las Vegas Review Journal, and Chocolate Swan a couture bakery in Mandalay Bay.  Proceeds from the event benefited Three Square- “together we serve hope”.

While we were enduring the last of the "hot dog days" of summer in Las Vegas, guests at the Rocky Mountain Tea Festival were enjoying beautifully cool mornings and warm summer days in Boulder, CO.  The tea festival was held at the Dushanbe Teahouse.  It was built by over 40 artisans in Boulder's sister city of Tajakistan and is truly a work of old-world craftsmanship.  My husband, Jack and I, attended several tea classes including: "The Taste of Enlightenment: The Cultural and Healing Benefits of Green Tea" with Ken Cohen, "Herbal Teas for Health and Joy" with Brigitte Mars, and just for fun "Tea Leaf Reading" with Morwyn. 

The Taste of Enlgihtmentment class addressed clinical trial and medical research regarding the health benefits of green tea dating back thousands of years in Asian countries and more recently research in European countries and America. 

Brigitte Mars created an herbal tea called "Seven Herbs for Seven Chakras" tea with wild herbs indigeneous to the Rocky Mountain region.  She suggested steeping fresh herbs for a longer period of time and doubling or tripling the amount of fresh herbs used per cup of water.  Brigitte also encouraged tea drinkers to have the mindset of giving back to the earth by emptying their steeped herbs in their garden, harvesting during a full moon, and use the flowers which are the "sex organ" of a plant and increase libido.  So, it's never too late to plant herbs on your window sill, patio pots, or garden and enjoy the fresh taste and other benefits of herbal tea.


The "Tea Leaf Reading" class was a lot of fun!  At first I wasn't quite sure what images appeared in my cup, but without much imagination a fish and quail appeared (see photo).  The fish has many meanings including an invitation to a meal, leading a charmed life, and good fortune and success... yeah!  The bird symbol has many meanings depending on the type of bird and whether it is in flight, sitting in a nest, etc.  The quail wasn't listed, but in Indian symbols it means family.  I'm not sure you're supposed to mix diciplines of interpretation, but gosh... I wasn't sure exactly how to interpret the tea leaves after I arrived home.








We stayed at the Briar Rose Bed & Breakfast which is located directly across the street from Naropa University.  In addition to beautifully restored wooden floors, warm cozy rooms, and very pleasant innkeepers, they had a MARVELOUS selection of high quality teas!  It is a ecologically "green" inn and one of the owners is a Zen Monk.  The Briar Rose hosted an afternoon tea and we met some of the other guests staying at the inn.  In the photo is Drupti Chanhan is an attorney for the school district in Raleigh, NC and Bill Hunsicker is a trumpet player from Reno, NV. 

What are the chances of the the Royal Tea Society's Traveling Teapot meeting a kindred spirit on it's first sojourn? Well, by Vegas odds... I wouldn't bet on it. But, Cedar City, Utah is the land of magical moments and mystical Midsummer Night's Dreams.

As my husband, Jack, and I relaxed and read poetry on the porch of Amid Summer's Inn seduced by the summer sun and shady trees, we were greeted by the marvelous Macvek family; Connie, Cliff, Katie, and Jessica from Richmond, Virginia. After an enchanted evening of Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac" and a cozy sleep in Victoria's Dream room we awoke to a cool breeze and happy little birds cheerfully chirping outside our window.

To our delight, we sat next to the Macvek family at breakfast the next moring in the Victorian style dining room. Cliff had just finished an engineering conference in Phoenix while the ladies of the family enjoyed a traditional afternoon tea at the Biltmore Hotel. As a parting gift, they were invited to keep their teacup and as luck would have it, Connie also won the teapot! So, quite coincidentally, the Traveling Teapot made it's first Traveling Teapot friend! The discovery was quite incredible... we were enjoying English Breakfast tea poured from the Traveling Teapot and shared the story of the it's journey and Connie exclaimed "I have a Traveling Teapot, too!" Some may call it amazing, but we say it was pure serendipi-tea!

If you plan on going to the Utah Shakespearean Festival this summer, be sure to see the captivating performance of "Cyrano de Bergerac". Also, the cadence of the rhyming couplets in Moliere's "School for Wives" and recognition of the translation from French to English gives the play intense dimension dressed in raucous good humor. It's a performance you will not want to miss! Also, we can highly recommend "Victoria's Dream" room at Amid Summer's Inn. The inn is close enough to the plays and restaurants that you can park your car and walk in the comfortable 60-80 degree weather your entire stay. Ahhh... what summer should be!