and though I like to act the part of being tough...

After a long day of touristing, my mom, sister, and I needed to refuel. I took them to Russian Tea Time for the restaurant's, well, Russian tea time. We didn't do the full $23 per person high tea service. We did, however, enjoy assorted sweet treats and the house black tea served out of glasses nestled in ornate pewter holders.

The waiter brought lemon slices, white sugarcubes, and brown sugar in a roughly cubed shape. He told us to put lemon and white sugar in the tea. Then we'd hold the brown sugar in our mouths as we sipped the tea. The brown sugar would dissolve and sweeten and sediment as the tea would flow and hot and smooth. The sensation was lovely. What was happening in my mouth was a microcosm, a miniature of how I feel when I sit down for tea time.