Short Escapes: Princeton

After having the longest week last week, I decided to run away of the city and take some time to breath and be happy in Princeton with one of the people I love the most in the whole world.

Although my Princeton escape lasted only two days, it was absolutely amazing! We walked around this beautiful place on Friday, had our little picnic in the gardens, and then went for some delicious ice cream. There was also time to visit the museum and have dinner with the family. After dinner, we had our little GNO and went for drinks and dessert––I promise I'll share the recipe for my perfect-for-fall drink if I ever manage to discover how to do it––and then cuddled in bed and watched Disney movies at the end of the night––although I must confess I slept probably for half of the movie!

On Saturday we slept in, and went for some fluffy and delicious pancakes. My choice was banana, strawberry, and chocolate chips pancakes, naturally. I then had to run back to the city, to a conference about Luxury on MAD Museum. Spending some quality time with one of my best friends was something that I really missed, and it was more than incredible! I probably didn't realise this until I was there, but sometimes I get lonely in the city. Even if I'm constantly surrounded by people––and I love it––I still miss my family and friends!

Love,
  Photography: Laura Beltran-RubioPS. Sorry my pictures weren't that good this time... I just forgot to bring my camera!

Tea Afternoon at The Plaza

You might now how much I love tea. Although drinking dozens of cups of tea everyday normally satisfies my tea-appetite, I do prefer having the whole experience, drinking tea with finger sandwiches and scones.

Being in New York, the best place to go for Afternoon Tea has got to be The Plaza. Unfortunately, The Palm Court––which is where tea is normally served––was renovated recently, so it is only offering breakfast services for now, and is not yet offering the afternoon tea service. However, there is a similar service being offered right now at The Champagne Bar. Although this one is not as magical as The Palm Court, the afternoon tea is still more than amazing, and the place is more than wonderful.

Naturally, we started out with some finger sandwiches. My favourite one was the Deviled Quail Egg Salad––just because it doesn't taste like any other egg salad sandwich you'll ever have.

Then came the scones... And the apricot preserves were more than perfect! Although I guess the lemon creme doesn't fall far behind them...

And dessert. Need I say this is always my favourite part of the meal?!

Oh, and tea, of course! I must confess, though, that I was a little disappointed at the beginning by the fact that the only options of tea available were English Breakfast and Earl Grey. However, when I tasted the first tiny sip of my Earl Grey order, I realised how mistaken I had been. There is definitely nothing better than real, freshly-brewed tea!

I guess I'll have to go back soon––once The Palm Court relaunches the service––and maybe this time I'll also get some champagne.

Love,
  Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Paris, je t'aime!

I must confess that––although I do love New York––I've been having a little romance with Paris lately. It might be because I've been seeing too many photos from Paris Fashion Week––and dying because I'm not there––but I just can't take out the astonishing ville lumière out of my mind.

So after a long day in the library today, I decided to take a break and go through some of the old photos I have in my computer. Some of them––which I decided to omit in this post––were taken when I lived there as a student. Others were taken when I spent a week there with my two best friends. And yet others––the ones I'm including here––were taken last summer. I'm not really sure if seeing all these pictures helped at all... But at least now I know why I'm so in love with this city... It is just perfectly beautiful!

I guess my dream life would be spent travelling between New York and Paris every few months... Hopefully it comes real sometime soon!

Love,
  Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio