Day #2 of MI Tea Tour

On Thursday morning [Sept. 15th], we all gathered in the dining room at Staybridge Suites for breakfast, then we left at 9:45 for a day of shopping in downtown Rochester, and 2:00 p.m. reservations for Afternoon Tea at the Royal Park Hotel [also in Rochester].

The Michigan Tea Tour brigade outside Staybridge Suites before departing for Rochester.

When I pondered the best place to take the ladies in suburban Detroit, my #1 choice was downtown Rochester.

For a bit of historical background [I love history], the Graham family were the first settlers in what later became known as Rochester in 1817.  The city was named for Rochester, New York because many of the early settlers were from the state of New York. The Village of Rochester was formed in 1869, and the Village became a city in 1967.  The downtown area is filled with many quaint shops and boutiques - the perfect place to take nine ladies who love to shop!

We decided to 'divide and conquer' and meet in the parking lot behind Sole Sisters at 1:30 p.m. Linda J., Nancy R. and I were a threesome.   Our first stop was my favorite store, Plain and Fancy.

I made three purchases... an engraved spoon by Mud Pie that says "It's Tea O'Clock Somewhere" with a white ceramic teapot shaped tea bag caddy.

A great book on all the places of interest in Detroit [you just never know when another tea tour might begin to take shape]. 

And a cute Halloween scarf that will be perfect for wearing to a Halloween Tea at Nancy's tearoom next month - a trip to Pennsylvania is on the horizon!

After browsing through a few other stores, Nancy remembered the Victorian Rose Tea Room on 3rd Street that I pointed out when we first began our shopping expedition, and asked if it was possible to go in for a cup of tea and a scone.  Sure!  After all, this was a tea tour, and I'm all for serendipitous experiences, so off we went!

The Victorian Rose was the first tea room I visited after I became smitten with tea in 1998. Loretta Curry and her husband opened the tea room in the summer of 1995, and I was sad to learn that she will be retiring in December after 21 years of serving tea. Retirement is well deserved, but we will miss the tea room if it closes.  I'm not despairing yet, however, because our server told us there is the possibility of a buyer, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I ordered blueberry tea and a warm cranberry orange scone with orange marmalade butter. Yum!

While we sat sipping our tea, I noticed several of our group walking past the tea room, so Linda J. went on the porch and invited them to join us.  

[L-R:  Nancy, Me, and Linda J.]

Soon there were nine of us instead of three.  Teresa was off on a shopping spree by herself and couldn't be found.  She did pop in later for a cup of tea and scone by herself, however. 

[Joanie and Lori]

[L-R:  Judith, Linda P., Barb, and Gloria]

Victorian Rose isn't a posh, elegant tea room. It's homey, like going to your grandmother's house.

After our tea and scones, we resumed our shopping.  In Lytle's Pharmacy [of all places] I purchased two fascinators.  One of them will go perfectly with the new scarf I acquired at Plain and Fancy.  

This little gem was only $9.00!

And this one was $13.  How could I go wrong??

My last purchase of the day was a compact.  When I do my Queen Elizabeth II presentation, I always tell what's inside her 'ever-present' handbag.  A mirror happens to be one of the items, but up until now I only had a Dollar Store mirror in the handbag, so this one is definitely an upgrade, although I'm sure not as luxurious as the Queen's!

Then it was time to gather at our meeting spot before heading off to the Royal Park Hotel. It was a toss-up as to who was the biggest shopper of the day - Linda P. or Teresa.  Maybe it was a draw, but we all had fun shopping.

Next post... Afternoon Tea at the Royal Park Hotel