23rd August 2018
” There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”
Henry James
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Having just celebrated Afternoon Tea Week, we delve into one of the most delightful of British traditions.
Explore the journey of tea; from the home of Earl Grey in Northumberland, to Woburn, where afternoon tea was popularized in the 1840’s when Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford would drink tea to stop that afternoon ‘sinking feeling’. Since then tea has become synonymous with the British, and the taking of afternoon tea has graduated from a respectable practice for fashionable society to a chance to experience a leisurely and elegant ritual, take a rest from a hectic shopping day or celebrate with friends or family.
Join Dream Escape’s expert guides and take one of London’s tea trails from Garaways Coffee House, where tea was first sold in the 1650’s, to the ‘tea clipper’ the Cutty Sark in Greenwich and the Chelsea Physic Garden with it’s links to the tea trade.
Of course, in modern times there are many ways to enjoy afternoon tea, from traditional to themed and elegant to entertaining.
Perfect for families young and old, the magnificent Mad Hatters tea is on the ‘must do’ list of London’s elite with Alice’s Exotic Fruits “Drink Me” potion and treats such as a Mad March Hare Vanilla Pocket Watch Macaroon and a strawberry flamingo with a white chocolate Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé croquet truffle.
Take a fun twist on this traditional pastime with an Afternoon tea bus tour, which will keep everyone entertained with an endless flow of London’s iconic sights. Head on down to the potion room in a classic Soho bakery for a fully immersive Harry Potter themed afternoon tea. Spend a fun few hours mixing edible potions, drinking teas with names like “Elixir of Life” and “Unicorn Tears,” and Hubble Bubble – your very own cauldron with a lemon inspired potion.
Sample traditional afternoon tea at iconic London venues such as The Ritz and The Goring or perhaps travel to the west of Ireland and experience the splendour of a magnificent 13th Century castle and former Guinness Family home and the Connaught Room, where the ritual of afternoon tea has been preserved since 1868.
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“Tea tempers the spirits and harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude and relieves fatigue, awakens thought and prevents drowsiness, lightens or refreshes the body, and clears the perceptive faculties.”
Lu Yu, Classic of Tea: Origins and Rituals
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Whether your clients are celebrating a milestone with a family get together or need some time to rest and recon...
Dream Escape Owner, David Tobin and Head of Sales, Emer Mortell recently took Virtuoso Life’s Associate Art Director, Korena Sinnett, on a whirl wind tour around Ireland. They created a very special off the beaten track itinerary for her, to showcase the ‘best of the best’ in the arts and crafts world and uncover Ireland’s unique hidden gems. Thank you Korena for such a wonderful feature.
#virtuosolife #virtuoso #ireland #luxuryireland #irishcrafttraditions #dreamescapeltd #ballyfin #adaremanor #ashfordcastle #westbury #burrenperfumery Emer Mortell David Tobin
To read the full article click here >>> dreamescape.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IRE_NOV_RFP2-Virtuoso-life.pdf
Dream Escape are always looking for new and exciting private experiences and as Christmas is nearly upon us, it seems most appropriate to share this very special acapella that was performed privately to our clients in Oxford's Exeter College Chapel last week. #privateexperiences #luxurytravel #luxuryengland #dreamescapeltd
Thank you to our travel partners who have supported us this year. We look forward to working with you all again in the new year and wish you a fulfilling and successful 2020. Merry Christmas Everyone!
In the meantime, take a look at some of our 2019 best bits on our blog dreamescape.co.uk/2019-the-best-bits/
Our wonderful Dream Escape MD Claire Banks is about to head off on maternity leave and at Dream Escape HQ in Edinburgh today we decided to surprise her with a Baby Shower. 🍼 We somehow managed to keep it a secret from Claire and her face was a picture when she appeared ahead of schedule in Ops with the mail!
Enjoy every second with Baby Stone, Claire and Donald - we are going to miss your wise counsel so much Claire. As they live not too far from HQ there have been lots of offers for babysitting and taking the baby for walks! 👶 Lovely for us all to be part of such a caring team at Dream Escape. #dreamescapeltd
“It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas” in London. This iconic Christmas song, most recently reprised by Michael Buble and over the years sung by Perry Como, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, to name but a few, was originally composed by American Meredith Willson in 1951.
Christmas Magic is in the air in London. Let Dream Escape take you shopping to the very best stores including Royal Warrant Holders as well as other less well known independent retailers to find those special gifts for your loved ones. Top the experience off with a deliciously decadent festive Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason!
Exciting Top Festive London Tips for the whole family from our London based Creative Planner Louise Murray are:
The number one Christmas experience for all the family has to be The Old Vic’s production of Charles Dicken’s The Christmas Carol. Now in it’s 3rdyear due to popular demand, this is a performance that will warm the heart of the greatest Christmas cynic. Beautiful singing, the ringing of hand bells, just enough ghostly appearances and even mince pies and clementines for the audience … perfect!!
∗ Father Christmas in the North Pole at The Royal Albert Hall where you will meet various friendly elves as you journey to meet the man himself
∗ The world’s most famous nanny flies back into London for a spectacular new production at The Prince Edward theatre
∗ Irving Berlin’s classic musical ‘A White Christmas’ opens on November 16th at London’s Dominion Theatre
∗ Ice Skating at Somerset House followed by the Christmas Markets in Trafalgar Square
∗ Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason followed by a spot of Christmas shopping
∗ Carols by Candlelight at Southwark Cathedral (10th and 13th December)
∗ Sing-a-long to your favourite carols at The Royal Albert Hall
∗ Enjoy the Christmas Light Trail at Kew Gardens
∗ Alice in the Palace at Blenheim Palace
Emer Mortell, Dream Escape’s Head of Sales, has just returned home to Ireland from a very successful week at ILTM in Cannes, France where she met old friends and made new ones.
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ILTM 2019 marked the launch of ILTM’s Year of Health and Wellness gathering a community of wellness experts that all drew the same conclusion; in the future, all travel is wellness travel, every trip is expected to enhance the physical, mental and social wellbeing of the traveller, transformation is the very promise of travel.
