Lady Betty afternoon tea (York)

An absolute MUST

Whenever I head to York, I always manage to squeeze in some time for a quick stop at Bettys, the famed tea room. It’s generally for the same reason (i.e. buying a delicious Fat Rascal which, truth be told, is always on my “favorite things” list). However, two months ago, I went to the elegant café located at St Helen’s Square with a much more celebratory purpose. 

Fat rascals, fondant fancies and other yummy treats

I mean, honestly. Celebrating the end to three long years at university HAD to include cake and tea in my opinion.

Summer pastels and chocolate ladybirds

And since it was such a momentous occasion, we decided to go for the extra special and irresistible Lady Betty Afternoon Tea set. Packed with savory and sweet treats, this newly crafted menu offered a truly delicious and eclectic selection. A dish that my entire family and I definitely all enjoyed was the prawn cocktail. Pairing this with a Marie Rose sauce on top of a creamy and fresh avocado purée made the little appetizer absolutely heavenly (and obviously scrumptious). And for t­hose that are unable to eat seafood for dietary reasons, fret not. A vegetarian option, made with dainty tomato cubes, can be ordered instead.

And of course, the other savory starters were also winners.

I enjoyed having the traditional tea, scone and sandwich setup; I think it’s an absolute delight to have a classical touch to any sort of afternoon tea. However, our meal was not without a couple of elegant surprises. From lavender infused scones to a delicate Chine Rose Petal tea, our culinary experience could not have been any more sumptuous.

Well, that’s what I thought until I saw the miniature cakes - truly exquisite and, obviously, delicious.

I think it’s hard to pick a favorite from the sweet treats that graced our table. However, if I really had to choose, it’d definitely have to be the pink macaron. I know they say that it’s not good to judge a book by its cover, but honestly, this macaron was undeniably just as good on the inside as it was on the outside, both in taste and looks. 

With friendly service and so much delicious food, it’s no wonder that my trip to Bettys ultimately inspired myself to draw a quick fashion illustration on my laptop as seen below (hope you guys like it!).

Inspired by Lady Betty, drawn by me

If it’s a 5 star afternoon tea in an elegant, luxurious and friendly evnrionment you’re looking for, you’ll definitely feel satisfied with the Lady Betty menu.

Welcome to my life...

Why hello there...

Welcome to my blog. I'm not a huge fan of long paragraphs so I'll keep (or try to at least) my intro sweet, short and straight to the point. I finished my first year of uni (yay!) in Anthropology (hence the name of the blog) in mid May and was left with more than a month's wait to try to find something to do in the north east before I headed down to London. 

I'd been told by loads of people that there really wasn't much to do around here so I expected a barren and boring wait. However, after looking around through brochures, websites and listening out for the places my friends appeared to have gone that were within the north east range, I managed to gather a list of landmarks and sites that I ought to visit. And even up until today, I haven't managed to visit even a third of the places I'd noted down. The castles, halls and gardens I visited were all magical. 

Every place added a chapter to my internal knowledge bank of England's history and development, every moment was memorable, and every day was a new adventure. And, to be honest, had I'd left the north east immediately like a few of my friends had with the assumption that there was nothing to do, I definitely wouldn't have had such an amazing holiday

So, essentially, this blog is a photo journal of all my adventures I've had in different areas of the north east. It includes, castles, gardens, beaches, parks etc. and also my thoughts during that time and any funny anecdotes. At the end of the day, I hope that my blog will convince you to come up north to see what there is to offer in this stunning and breathtaking environment. At the same time, I hope it'll also inspire you to look at things in a different angle. Often you'll find that my pictures are of quite mundane and ordinary things like huge forests and old buildings, or even just some graffiti on the wall.  But it is that level of simplicity that I crave for and should be craved for by everyone. For when we learn to appreciate the simple things, life becomes more beautiful and enjoyable. You forget about all the things that causes stress like materialism, relationships, the economy etc. It's a rejuvenating and relaxing experience, one of which will free ours minds and help our imagination soar to an even greater level (at least that was the case for me).

So grab your good walking shoes, water bottle, sunscreen and camera, and come with me, the amateur anthropologist, as I take you on my great summer adventure of north east England... :-)

The Amateur Anthropologist :-P