Saturday 3rd July 2010 my wife Bernie (short for Bernadette) and I are getting dressed for our High Tea at 3pm. I am in my black pants, shoes, shirt, jacket, tie and the gold bits. Bernie has a nice grey brocade dress, shoes, cardigan and jewels good enough for a Queen. Accordingly we are now looking like we are living on the top shelves all the time!! We are ready to be putting it on the Ritz. We arrived 2.30 pm at Hotel Ritz, 15 Place Vendôme, 1st Arrondissement, in Paris to participate in what feels like the best High Tea ceremony in Europe.
Place Vendôme is surrounded by a series of 17th-century buildings dotted with gargoyles and fitted together in a symmetrical octagon, serving as a backdrop to one of the most dazzling areas of Paris. Under the ever watchful eye of Napoleon who is perched high atop on a 144-foot bronze column, the world's most coveted gems are transformed into extravagant trinkets for the world's rich and famous personalities. Spellbinding names like Boucheron, Cartier, Chaumet, Van Cleef & Arpels all boast of a rich and opulent history that has withstood the test of time and continues to flourish, much like the centuries-old square itself.
