Like Rome? Like tea? Like cats? Say no more….

One afternoon in Rome, we were wandering around the Spanish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna, inhaling gelato on an hourly basis and generally enjoying the sunshine. Life was pretty good. But, as I think is quite normal for Rome in the summer, the sun lost his hat and the storm clouds rolled in. It started to rain, big time.

We made a run for the nearest place we could find and somehow, gloriously, we stumbled across the beautiful Babington’s Tea Room.

Being British, finding a warm, cosy English tea room, in the middle of Rome, was a bit like winning the lottery. This was made all the more better by just how bloody lovely Babington’s is.

It’s a well-known fact that British people cannot survive without a cup of tea. It’s literally our lifeblood. Without it we crumple up and die. So when the English were travelling through Rome in the 19^th Century, it was a considerable problem that tea wasn’t readily available. Thankfully (hallelujah) two English women realised the danger of this and so opened Babington’s Tea Room. Et voila, the British were saved.

 

With over one hundred types of tea to choose from, alongside a selection of amazing cakes, Babington’s is well worth a visit. We tried two pieces of cake: chocolate fudge and passion fruit. Both were amazing. The tea is also served from real silver teapots, each decorated with tiny silver cats – Babington’s trademark icon. Even our spoons had the cute little face of a cat on them. A little bizarrely, the place is decorated like a tropical jungle, complete with fake parrots. Although not quite nothing like England, these decorations still add to the general atmosphere and we happily spent two hours in here, until the rain stopped and our underwear had dried off.

So, the moral of the story? Always carry an umbrella on a hot, humid day in Rome and if you’re in urgent need of a scone and a cup of tea (understandable) then head to Babington’s.

 Category: Travel      Tagged: italy, rome, tea, travel

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