Though I know God has placed me in this location in the year 2008 for a specific reason, I sometimes wonder if I would have fit in better in centuries gone by.
I enjoy and appreciate modern conveniences, but I find myself longing for the world Jane Austen paints ... women sipping tea and taking long walks with friends. The fast pace of progress has chiseled hard edges into the soft elegances of more genteel times.
Last week, my dear friend, Ali, and I stepped back in time and into the lobby of the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, FL - the oldest and most elegant area of Miami. You have to read this article to really appreciate this hotel, which was built in 1926.
Ali and I had a side lobby all to ourselves as we enjoyed afternoon tea next to antique birdcages and obnoxiously gigantic fireplaces that really serve no purpose in South Florida other than to be seen. As we enjoyed scones, finger sandwiches and petit fours, we pretended it was Ali's dining room and this was a typical day in our life.
After several hours, we were brought back to reality by a group gathering for a corporate meeting in an adjoining conference room. To be candid, it was the obvious artwork of plastic surgeons that made us realize we were back in the 21st Century.
If you live in SoFlo, take a break from reality and indulge in some afternoon tea. If you live elsewhere and are in the midst of planning your winter visit to Mehaffey Bed and Breakfast, be sure to fit this treat into your vacation.
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