A fond farewell

To quote the incomparable Douglas Adams, "So long, and thanks for all the fish" ... or in this case, tea. 

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for being part of the Tea Travellers Societea's mission to support and promote places that serve afternoon tea. 

For those who don't know, we started out in 2015 by publishing 5 regional guide books, The Tea Traveller's Constant Companion, and all of the info from those books can be found on our website. Each listing gives all the particulars on any given tearoom, including parking info, photos, even menu at the time of writing. 

During the pandemic, we went berserk doing events at tearooms to get folks in the doors. From 2020 through 2022 we hosted more than 100 events. Zoinks! Now with the closure of tearooms due to retirement, coupled with the changes some other tea spots are experiencing (some are going gangbusters!), it looks like our work is done. 

And, so The Societea too will enter retirement, doing just a couple of events each year in support of Whimsicalitea, the "genteel arts" nonprofit of which we are a part. 

I hope to see you out and about for a cuppa now and again. And if you're interested in quirky theme dining & entertainment experiences, consider taking part in our Omni Club 11:11 outings commencing this fall—yet another activity waylaid by the pandemic. 

For now, cheers from the bottom of my heart & cup,

~Joy

2023 Cookbook Call for Content

OFFICIAL CALL FOR CONTENT for the 2023 COOKBOOK COMPENDIUM. This one will focus on RECIPES THAT INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE INGREDIENT THAT GROWS ON TREES.

ADDITIONALLY, PLEASE USE A "WOODEN SPOON" AT SOME POINT IN THE PROCESS, even if just as a paperweight or bookmark :)
Be sure to submit a recipe that is either original or "tweaked" (lest we be sued), and include a blurb or short story — factual or fictional.
Here are the applicable dates:
  • Intentions due 04-01-23
  • Content due 05-01-23
  • Publish 06-01-23
  • Launch Party TBD
All proceeds this year go toward our Whimsicalitea nonprofit's brick & mortar fund as applies to renting space occasionally from the new Pamela's Tea Room, due to open late Spring
Submissions should be emailed to CestLaVieSirene@gmail.com
  • Format: Word (preferably) or Google Docs
  • Please do not put words in ALL CAPS, and limit yourself to 1 exclamation mark per sentence!!!
  • "Fancy" fonts and formatting will need to be stripped out ... which means more work for our admin ... which makes her grumpy

Foolish Fun crafternoon tea

Join us as we prepare for our April Fool's Day Foolish Fundraiser with a crafternoon tea where we'll cobble lyrical Midsummer Night's Dream head wreaths

Friday March 10, 2023

11am

Dream Come True
4350 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach

$59.50 includes scone, soup or salad, sandwiches, sweets, tea + wreath makings  (as well as tax, tip, PayPal fees). 

payment link

Reminders:

  • All sales are final; thus, there are no refunds. However, if you are unable to attend, you are welcome to find a substitute to take your place 
  • Dietary restrictions should be discussed directly with the venue at least a week in advance
  • No 'tickets' are distributed, but you'll receive a confirmation email within 72 hours of making your reservation via the PayPal button provided


Secret Society 1st peek

SOLD OUT

All aboard for our first event that will begin to reveal the world's most powerful secret society.

Saturday February 4, 2023

at 10:30am

at the Tea House on Los Rios
31731 Los Rios St, San Juan Capistrano

Only 9 spots available

$67.50 includes Mission Tea (soup or salad, 6 sandwiches, scone, 2 sweets) + early access details on upcoming events and trip, something "secret" (plus tax, tip, PayPal fees)

Feel free to round up to $70 to add a $2.50 donation to Whimsicalidocious Arts to be put toward the venue for our Spring fundraiser tea

Joy will be taking Metro (Orange County line, train 660) from Santa Ana station at 9:35am, arriving in San Juan Capistrano at 10:06am. The SJC station is literally "across the tracks" from the tea house.

She'll be returning from SJC to SNA most likely at 12:05pm (on train 663 arriving 12:35pm), and there is also a train at 2:35 (train 665, arriving 2:37pm)

The BYO cost for the all-day Metro pass is $10 payable at the station or via their app. Parking is free in the Santa Ana station lot, located at 1000 E Santa Ana Blvd

~Suggested dress – something that looks secretive or Victorian ... not sure it's possible to do both~

Cost options

Reminders:
  • All sales are final, and there are no refunds. If you are unable to attend, you are welcome to find a substitute. 
  • Dietary restrictions should be discussed directly with the venue at least a week in advance
  • There are no 'tickets' but you'll receive a confirmation email within 72 hours of making your reservation via the PayPal button provided



Our GOLDEN SPIKE Secret Society Getaway

Visit the time & place that turned California golden

April 21-24, 2023 1881

We normally make our trips reservable about a year in advance, but in these strange times, this is the best we can do. Hope you can make it!

Note: San Francisco is a walking town with lots of hills. Walking portions of the trip that are more than 1-minute in duration are listed in purple italics. Travellers are free to take taxis or Ubers instead.
 

FRIDAY, 21 April 

  • 9am-6pm - A full day of train & coach travel from Los Angeles (Union Station) to San Francisco (with Santa Ana leg option)* (We should keep an eye on the train's food service amenities available as the date approaches)
  • Afternoon tea potluck (with a side of history) while we ride the rails
  • 6-7pm - Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) & cable car travel. All of this 1st-day travel will be the toughest part of our sojourn. We'll just have to pretend we're roughing it in the Victorian era! Or if the group prefers, I can pre-arrange for a van to pick us up in Richmond and take us to our hotel. That would be an additional charge based on how many travellers we get 
  • 7:30pm - Check-in at Stanford Court hotel
  • 8pm - Welcome to Nob Hill dinner at the hotel's Mixing Room lounge [click for menu] 
  • Late nighters may want to top off the evening with a fantastic view of the city at the popular Top of the Mark lounge next door
* There is no 'direct' rail service offered by Amtrak, so we'll be traveling up north by both rail and coach. We leave Union Station around 9:30am; Joy will be departing Santa Ana at 8am on the same train 

SATURDAY, 22 April

  • 8:30am - optional BYO (Buy Your Own) Breakfast with Joy at hotel before we start our big day. [click for menu]
  • 9:45am Walk to Grace Cathedral (4 mins, .2 miles). We'll learn about the importance of the area in relation to our Victorian novel as we meander and visit the outdoor areas before the cathedral opens
  • 10am - Grace Cathedral and its famed Labyrinth
  • 10:20-ish - Walk from Grace Cathedral to Cable Car Museum (6 mins, .3 miles)
  • 10:30am - Cable Car Museum
  • 11:15am - Walk to Chinatown (8 mins, .4 miles)
  • 11:30am - Chinatown self-guided walking tour. If we choose to do a formal tour there may be an additional charge. There will be time for shopping and noshing
  • 1:30pm - Walk from Chinatown to the Palace Hotel (11 mins, .5 miles)
  • 2pm - Afternoon tea at the Palace Hotel, meeting place of the secret society. (If we can manage to avoid detection, there is a good chance we may conduct a secret society induction ceremony of our own while there ... but don't tell anyone)
  • 3:30pm - Cable Car ride back up to Nob Hill (or travellers may take a cab/Uber)
  • Leisure time at the hotel
  • 5pm - Walk to San Francisco Magic Theater (13 mins, .6mi); if the group elects, we can arrange for transportation instead (taxi, Uber)
  • 5:30pm - Pre-show entertainment & BYO noshings at the theater bar
  • 6:30pm - Jay Alexander Magic show (show ends at 7:45pm). Back in 1881 we would have attended a vaudeville show 🤹🏻‍♂️
  • 8pm - Cable Car (or taxi/Uber) back to Nob Hill
  • 8:30/9pm - Optional after-hours visit to the always festive tiki-themed Tonga Room at the Fairmont Hotel (492-feet away from our hotel) 

SUNDAY, 23 April

  • BYO breakfast at leisure - perhaps explore the area a little
  • Joy will be looking for free outdoor Tai Chi. (For decades folks used to practice out in Washington Square Park by St. Peter & Paul Cathedral. Not sure if that's still happening)
  • 9:30am - Travel to San Francisco Amtrak station. It's only a mile away, but I'm thinking guests may want to keep the luggage-schlepping to a minimum. This would be an additional charge for us all
  • 10:30am - Train from San Francisco to Sacramento
  • 1:15pm - Walk to Delta King Riverboat waterfront hotel to drop off bags (9 mins,  .5mi); Sacramento is much flatter than San Francisco, but you still may elect to take a taxi/Uber
  • 1:30pm - Bag drop-off at Delta King Riverboat hotel (check-in is at 4pm, but I'll ask if our rooms might be ready)
  • 1:45pm - Walk from Delta King to Underground Tour (3 mins, .2 mile) 
  • 2pm - Underground Tour, lasts 1 hour (If you prefer, ditch the tour & wander Old Sac)
  • 3pm - Walk to California State Railroad Museum (2 mins, .1 mile)
  • 3:30pm - California State Railroad Museum
  • 5pm - Walk from CSRM to Delta King (5 mins, .3 mile)
  • 5:30pm - Check-in at Delta King (If rooms not available earlier)
  • 7:30pm - Dinner at the Delta Bar & Grill, onsite overlooking the water (sunset is at 7:50pm ... yes, I looked it up 😉) [click for menu]
  • Optional after-hours entertainment on the waterfront; most of the theaters are dark on this day, but comedy clubs abound

MONDAY, 24 April

  • 7am - Joy will be checking out (physically, that is)
  • 7:30am - Farewell BYO Breakfast onsite at the Delta Pilothouse [click for menu]
  • 8:30am - Walk to Sacramento Amtrak Station (9 mins, .5 mile) or grab a taxi/Uber 
  • 9:50am - Train & Coach back to SoCal 
  • 6:35pm - Motorcoach arrives in Los Angeles; 8pm - Train arrives in Santa Ana

COSTS (based on double occupancy; inquire about single prices)
Go with our full package, or arrange your own accommodations &/or travel, as meets your needs

NOB HILL package - $975 from Los Angeles, $1030 from Santa Ana includes 
  • 3 train trips + bus connections – SoCal to San Francisco, San Francisco to Sacramento, Sacramento to SoCal
  • 2 nights Stanford Court hotel with all fees & taxes (double occupancy)
  • Cable Car museum
  • Self-guided Chinatown walking tour
  • Afternoon tea at Palace Hotel
  • Secret Society shenanigans
  • Jay Alexander magic show
  • All-day cable car pass
  • California Railroad Museum
  • Old Sacramento Underground Tour
  • 1 night Delta King Riverboat hotel on the water in Sacramento (double occupancy)

Notes: Does not include meals (aside from 1 afternoon tea). We will be walking here and there, usually .3-.6 miles at a time; never more than .9 miles. If you prefer to take a cab (or Uber), cost is additional

EMBARCADERO package - $875  
  • All activities in Nob Hill package, however you arrange for your own 3 legs of transportation to/from San Francisco, Sacramento, SoCal

    • UNION SQUARE package - $475 from Los Angeles, $530 from Santa Ana includes 
  • All activities in Nob Hill package, however you arrange for your own lodgings

    • TENDERLOIN package - $375  
  • All activities in Nob Hill package, however you arrange for your own lodgings and 3 legs of transportation to/from San Francisco, Sacramento, SoCal

    • However you opt to travel, do please consider joining us. I'd love to share all things secret society with you at the peak on the City by the Bay


    Marmalaid to Rest mystery game

    When an orange grove owner steals the recipe for award winning marmalade and makes millions, she uses the ill-gotten gains to go into viticulture. But when she alienates everyone within her sphere, bad blood ferments, yielding a bumper crop of murder.

    Thursday January 26, 2023

    at 11am

    at Pamela's Tea Room
    12752 Valley View St., Garden Grove

    $49.25 includes soup, 4 sandwiches, scone, sweet bite, tea (plus tax, tip, PayPal fees & $2.50 toward game). Feel free to round up to make a donation to our Whimsicalidocious Arts nonprofit 💝

    Cost options

    Reminders:

    • All sales are final, and there are no refunds. If you are unable to attend, you are welcome to find a substitute. 
    • Dietary restrictions should be discussed directly with the venue at least a week in advance
    • There are no 'tickets' but you'll receive a confirmation email within 72 hours of making your reservation via the PayPal button provided



    You may shoot your eye out!

    SOLD OUT

    Join us in Hammond, Indiana, where the Parker family is preparing for a most memorable Christmas at 

    A Christmas Story Tea
    Saturday, December 17, 1940 
    2pm

    McKenna's Tea Cottage
    237 Main Street, Old Town Seal Beach

    Warning: We cannot guarantee you won't shoot your eye out!

    $59.95 includes holiday afternoon tea, trivia game, (tax, gratuity, PayPal fees)

    Suggested attire ~ 1940s &/or holiday!

    • Depending on the size of your party, be prepared to be seated at a table with new friends! 
    • All reservations are final. Thus there are no refunds. However, if you are unable to attend, you may give your spot to a friend. 
    • Dietary restrictions should be discussed directly with the venue at least 10 days in advance. 562-431-0200
    • All other queries may be directed to TeaTravellersSocietea@gmail.com
    • Your PayPal receipt comprises your confirmation. No "tickets" will be distributed, but you will get a cheesy email from our admin Joy letting you know she received your reservation. If you have not received it within 72 hours, please contact  TeaTravellersSocietea@gmail.com

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