Off the Beaten Path

When people go to tea while traveling, there will be those who head for the lavish settings, some go to known tea rooms in large cities, while still others head off the beaten track and find a small local place along a country road.

Many years ago, while my mom and I were traveling in Ireland, I can't tell you how many times we would pull off the road when it would start to rain and quickly scamper into a tea room in a little village. We always felt that hot tea went very well with the rain. At least, that was our excuse.

Besides the great tea and yummy scones, we always found the people to be so warm and personable. One woman spoke to us for over two hours. It is amazing how much you can learn from speaking with the locals over tea. As mom and I drank our tea and ate the wonderful snacks, we learned the ins and outs of the area along with the ideas people had proposed that would greatly effect the local economy. Let's say that at that point in time small business owners in this particular area of Ireland were not too happy. We never did find out the outcome of the proposals and others things that the many people spoke to us about.

I always felt that it was better going to the small off the beaten path places for tea. It's just a personal preference as I feel that you really get to know people much better than you would in a big city. For me, the road less traveled always had a hostess that reminded me of a grandma. You know the type, the ingratiating grandma that always makes you feel right at home. These tea room hostesses and owners would make you feel as though they had known you for years. I guess that's why I like going off the beaten path for tea when I traveling.

Of course we had tea at many different times during the day. Tea was always great with the Irish Breakfast. Then we worked tea into our schedule both before and after the Waterford Crystal Factory tour. Neither one of us would ever forget the tea served on a short 8 mile river cruise to Passage East. It wasn't fancy, but rather, plain simple, and very good. At 4:15 sharp we were served brown bread, scones, tea, brown bread, scones, tea, and yet still more tea. Of course there were so many other times where we had tea. Throughout this entire time we were always talking with the locals, whether it was the servers on the boat, the hosts at the bed and breakfasts, workers in cafe's, or purveyors of tea rooms. Having tea off the beaten path is just such a great way of getting to know the locals. That being said, we always had a great tea times in Ireland.

If you liked this article, please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.