This week the Dronyk Clinic, my dad's Chiropractic, Naturopathic and Acupuncture clinic (where I work as a massage therapist), had it's annual Christmas party. Usually we go out and have a very lengthy meal at a local restaurant, but this year it was suggested that we go to afternoon tea at the fabulous Langdon Hall, located in historic Blair. This gorgeous mansion was once the summer residence of a wealthy American family and now serves as a luxury hotel, restaurant and event venue. Being the proud owner of a very expensive but often useless history degree, I was beyond excited to check out this piece of local history. Being a small group, we were able to have our tea in the guest house's beautiful conservatory, a bright, window-filled room filled with wicker furniture and a warm, inviting fireplace. There we munched on freshly baked scones with Honey Butter made with honey produced on site, as well as an assortment of delicate pastries and savoury sandwiches. Now, I am not much of a fancy food gal myself, but I tried most of the little delectables and was surprised how many tasted delicious despite their hard-to-pronouce names (and I speak French and Latin, so if they were hard for me to pronouce, trust me, they were tricky to say!). They even had a special menu for my girls, consisting of mini grilled cheese, PB & J sandwiches and fresh fruit skewers.
I have to admit, I had anticipated a bit of the snobbery and nose-in-the-air attitude that I have come across at some other luxury establishments, but the staff and servers at Langdon Hall were exceptionally kind, warm, friendly and accomodating. Our fantastic server Alun even took my camera to get some candid shots of our whole party so I could take a bit of a break to enjoy myself. He treated my girls so well, taking them on a special tour of the house and kitchens, as well as giving them a key to a guest room so they could conduct their own little tours for Team Dronyk! They were absolutely adorable, Brielle explaining that no one could touch the big feather bed or jump on it, and Emery saying that you could be as loud as you want because the owners were all dead (she had asked me if the people in the paintings were the owners and I told her they had been a long time ago but had passed away)!
All in all, it was an absolutely fabulous way to spend the afternoon and a wonderful ending to another great year in practice. I have some images to share of our day. Try not to drool too much over the food shots.
I can't wait to go back to Langdon Hall in the future.
{M} xo