Starr Style: On The Road With Denis & Starr/Day 22

Thursday, October 22
Rest In Peace, Soupy Sales

Newport, RI

That morning it was my turn to work. I had committed to blog about our 6 week/42 day road trip, and here we were beginning our 4th week and I had only posted through week 1. Yikes!!

So, with plans to meet up later in the afternoon, Denis set out to find some new subject matter for his paintings.

First, he scoured the piers and found a nice grouping of little boats that made a for a fine composition.

Next, he hiked all the way to, along and back from the Cliff Walk, totaling 7.5 miles.

This was the view that inspired him most.

He described the scene to be like large stepping stones laid down by giants

That afternoon at 4 p.m. we arrived at the Hotel Viking for Afternoon Tea. (I wore mom's pearls to this one!)

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."

- Henry James -

We were seated near the windows where we could look out upon Bellevue Avenue. The lounge music that was piped in was Brazilian, although it had a distinct African flavor to it. The artist was Kaarolina Pietra. It was very agreeable. The table linens were starched white and the upholstery on the chairs boasted a Scandinavian theme.

First came the tea....

Denis chose the Vanilla Bean.

A deep blend of black tea leaves with Madagascar vanilla beans.

The mood music helped with my choice of the African Nectar.

African Rooibos leaves teeming with tropical fruit and blossoms.

Then came our Classic Afternoon Tea, served in the traditional way on a 3-tier stand.

Our savory course was an assortment of freshly prepared Tea Sandwiches. Pumpernickel filled with mozzarella, tomato and olive tapenade. Buttered whole grain filled with cucumber, avocado and tomato.

Our bread course was an almond bread tart baked with apricots and blueberries. Their version of Lemon Curd was delicious, it was lemon curd blended with Devonshire Cream.