Time For Tea: Tea the Third

Wouldn't it be dreadful to live in a country where they didn't have tea.

Noel Coward

Babington's Tea Rooms, Piazza di Spagna, Rome - Sunday 17th February, 2013

Olivia's 10th Birthday

____________________

Tea Takers

Sarah Ryan

Paul Ryan

Olivia Ryan

_____________________

A momentous day for the Ryans, not only Olivia's 10th birthday (how did that happen?), not only on holiday in Rome, not only attending the Angelus led by the Pope, but all this less than a week after Pope Benedict XVI's extraordinary announcement of his forthcoming resignation. We joined over 50,000 other people in St Peter's Square to pray with the Holy Father, and, whilst I can't quite claim him as a guest at tea, it set a tremendous tone for the whole day. Add to that Olivia's first visits to the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps - a birthday to go down in legend and song.

____________________

Babington's was founded in 1893 by two English women, Anna Maria Babington and Isabel Cargill. As the history leaflet that the proprietors thoughtfully provide puts it, these ladies 'arrived in Rome with their one hundred pounds and their intention of making a respectable living in the Eternal City. What better idea than to provide the flourishing English community with somewhere to take tea - only found in chemists - and read the newspapers? (Also, unmentionably, there were bathroom facilities).

Situated at the left hand side of the Spanish steps (as you look up them), the Tea Rooms are in what was originally the stables of an Eighteenth Century palazzo, designed by Francesco de Sanctis who was the architect of the Spanish Steps themselves. We were very fortunate to get the only table with a window view into the Piazza di Spagna, and enjoyed watching the dusk settle as we took our tea.

_________________________

We ordered the cream tea but with additional toast and muffins ("English", naturally) and it was particularly delightful to have tea with hot buttered toast. The Babington's special blend tea was most pleasing and more robust than the usual Italian idea of English tea - a proper cup of tea, which was incredibly welcome after hours of standing, walking and 'improving' ourselves.

Olivia was, however, very perturbed by the presentation of the scones. We enjoyed tea very much but there are a couple of small issues that we have to raise:

1. There is a difference between a warm scone and a toasted one - if you wish to enjoy Miss O. M. Ryan's custom again, you will take heed of this.

2. It would be quite unreasonable to expect clotted cream in Italy, but there is no excuse for 'squirty' aerosol cream, rather than properly whipped cream.

3. This is a more minor issue, but it is more pleasing to allow your customers to butter their own toasts/muffins/scones.

______________________

Our waitress picked up on the nature of the day and brought what would could only be described as a 'confection' of cream, drizzled with chocolate and strawberry sauce (deep in the middle of which was hidden a cupcake) and topped with a candle. The birthday girl was embarrassedly delighted, and just about tolerated our singing to her very quietly.

___________________

Tea with Mussolini

The continuous survival of Babington's is all the more remarkable given the upheavals and politics of the Thirties and the Second World War:

During the 1930s, with the rise of Fascism, the city's suspiciously 'un-Italian' tea-rooms began to disappear. It is inexplicable how Babington's with its name - English Tea Rooms - in bold bronze characters beside the door, should become fashionable among high-ranking members of the regime, politely served with tea and scones in the first room while around the corner the anti-fascist intellgensia met to confabulate (with their emergency exit through the kitchens).

After the Second World War, Isabel Cargill's grandson, Valerio designed the Babington's black cat logo. The cat adorns everything from the shop merchandise, to the cutlery, flatware and tea strainers. The shop sells the beautiful silver teapots but at around €250 they were not within my souvenir budget.