Things I Can't Live Without...Black Tea with Lemon

In college, I spent 2 and a half weeks at the end of summer doing a short study abroad trip in Ireland. It was probably one of the busiest 15 days of my life, in the best possible sense. The days were filled with touring and business visits (the subject of the trip was how the Irish economy had gone from third world to world power in a matter of years, interestingly enough this trip was in 2008, right before the huge financial crises that was felt around the globe...) and the nights were filled with too much Guinness and Jameson (again, in the best possible sense.) At the end of the trip, a sorority sister & I galavanted off to Paris (oh, the beauty of European travel!) where we stayed in a charming little hotel for our short stay.

Paris was an amazing breath of fresh air after the busyness that had been moving hotels every 2-3 days back in Ireland and trekking the country - literally - from end to end on a bus that barely seemed to fit on the winding coastal highways. Instead of being rushed around from location to location, we had the opportunity to make our own schedule, sample the best of Parisian pastries & french pressed espresso on the Champs-Élysées and eat crepes across the street from the Eiffel Tower as it sparkled at night (this was in the pre-gluten free days, so crepes were a daily must, along with about 5 pain au chocolats). At the end of each liesurely sightseeing day, we retreated to our hotel room and ordered hot tea. It just seemed European and quite lovely.

Each night, they brought a teapot and 2 teacups with lemon slices in them.  My days as a tea drinking afficinado did not develop until much later, and this was something I had never seen before - sure, a slice of the yellow fruit usually accompanied iced tea, but have you ever seen anywhere in America serve hot tea the same way? I surely hadn't. I soon learned that black tea poured over a slice of lemon is surely one of the most comforting and delightful ways to enjoy a cup of tea. Being a person who never adds sugar to my tea (literally, never) I enjoyed the subtle flavor that the citrus added to my hot beverage. It was undoubetdly a great thing to enjoy while resting tired feet from a day spent walking around one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

 my favorite photo I took of the Eiffel Tower. literally, I think it's the most goregous thing I have ever seen.

© meghan brittany. 

This is something that I still enjoy doing today. If for nothing else than the moment of time travel it seems to elicit - a sip brings back vivid memories of walking on bridges over the River Seine and oggling over paintings I had only admired on the pages of books at the Musee D'Orsay. I truly left a part of me in Paris and my heart flutters at the thought of getting to return there someday for much longer than 3 days and nights.

But, in the meantime, everytime I brew up a spot of tea and slice a lemon into my awaiting mug, I smile at the fact that I picked up this habit in one of my favorite places I have ever visited.

♥mb.