Afternoon Tea at The Drake Hotel, Chicago

An afternoon tea at The Drake Hotel is a must do for anyone visiting Chicago. Visitors who did exactly just that include: Queen Elizabeth in 1958, Princess Diana in 1982, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra, just to name a few.

Curious, I dragged the hubz to the northern end of Chicago's Magnificent Mile to check this out for ourselves. And we weren't disappointed.

As soon as we got inside the hotel, we were warmly greeted by a hotel staffer who offered to take our photo and insisted that it's a crime to refuse such offer. Not wanting to be dubbed as photo criminals, we happily obliged.

As we headed up to the hotel's Palm Court, the faint harp music was getting more and more distinct and immediately, fresh from reading the Twilight saga, I recognized, ahh Claire de Lune!

As we were ushered to our table, I felt light years away from all of life's worries. There was something about the place that's so calming, the kind that is almost hypnotic. (That, or I was really just overwhelmed with my very first proper afternoon tea experience. :P


Soon after, food came in this lovely 3-tiered plate. We shared a selection of finger sandwiches, fruit bread slices, scones, and a variety of French pastries. They also had this tray of spreads of strawberry preserves, lemon curd and English Double Devon cream. Fancy, isn't it? :D

For tea, I had the tropical green tea while the hubz had the chamomile citrus. Both tasted great! Or should I say, delightful! There, that's more proper. =)

Almost 2 hours passed, which we both hardly noticed. Maybe because of the unhurried and attentive service, or my mind was busy making a mental shopping list inspired by this afternoon's experience - Yes, I definitely need a lovely china service set, a teapot, an ornate tea strainer and antique-looking utensils if I am to host a lovely tea party at home with friends!!

After the tea service, it was back to reality. And reality meant some obligatory outfit poses for this blog...

-- Qi cashmere dress from Neiman's -- Mimi di N lion belt -- Banana Republic thong sandals -- LV speedy30 --



... a little shopping...

... and a dinner of chicken sandwich from Wendy's.

Yes, after all that fancy shmancy afternoon tea, it was the humble dinner that immediately brought me back to Earth. Ah well, it was good while it lasted!

Stay tuned tomorrow for my shopping reveal!!