Today, you can read about Tina and Ed (from Yuma) touristing and eating in the LA area. Tomorrow, it’ll probably be Kirk or Cathy writing. Things change at mmm-yoso.
The Huntington in San Marino (not far from San Gabriel) contains a wonderful Library, rooms full of Art collections, and botanical Gardens: 
The estate of approximately 120 acres contains huge lawns decorated with statuary: 
Asian Gardens: 
Bridges: 
Flowers blooming even in late December: 
The major art collection in the Huntington mansion includes the largest selection of English portraits outside of London, including Gainsborough’s “Blue Boy” and Lawrence's “Pinkie: 
When we were there in December, 2013, the gallery in this building below contained an extensive exhibit, called "Face to Face," that focused on how Flemish painting influenced and contributed to the great art of 15th-century Florence and presented over 30 works by Memling, van der Weyden, van Eyck, and other greats: 
Of course, Tina and I were also interested in the traditional tea buffet in the Rose Garden Tea Room ($29.50). Classical chamber music played in the background perfectly accenting the understated elegance of the room itself: 
Each table had basic tea condiments – lumps of brown or white sugar and a small pitcher of milk: 
When seated, we were given a large basket of buttery and flaky scones, each about the diameter of an old silver dollar, all rich and flavorful: 
As you can see, some had raisins and some orange peel. There was also a small tray of complements for the scones – blueberry preserves, orange marmalade (made from Seville oranges grown on the estate), fresh butter, and sweet Devonshire cream: 
A large range of teas including many flower or herbal teas without caffeine were available. Since we were having tea as a Saturday brunch, we chose good, old-fashioned English breakfast, which was flavorful but not astringent or bitter: 
I have to admit to being slightly disappointed in the utilitarian teapot, which was refilled when needed. For some reason, I had expected something more ornate in sterling silver.
After gorging ourselves on scones – certainly the best either of us had ever had – we filled plates with treats from the buffet in the middle of the room. Here is Tina's first plate: 
My first plate: 
My 2nd plate: 
From a different angle emphasizing the fruit: 
This was all generally good. Tina's favorite sandwich was the cucumber. I liked the chicken and tarragon, the ginger and carrot and especially the smoked salmon with dilled cream cheese. The caviar was abundant, crunchy, and not too salty or fishy. The hummus, which looked pretty ordinary, was actually extraordinarily complex and flavorful. We both thought the lightly smoked Gouda was the best of the cheeses that we tried. Some of the fruit – I remember the giant strawberry in particular – was truly excellent. Of course the salads were fresh and tasty. It took great restraint to only have 2 plates of food along with the wonderful scones. Had we scheduled The Rose Garden Tea Room in the middle of our visit to the Huntington (instead of 10:45 am), we might well have sat there for a couple of hours sipping and savoring the various treats.
If I’d spent more time, I could have even sampled the numerous brownies, cookies, and cupcakes that I forgot to photograph. But I did take some snaps of the roses outside: 
In any case, we had a wonderful time at the Huntington, and we both want to thank Kirk who reminded us about the traditional English tea room on the estate.
The Rose Garden Tea Room, at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Rd San Marino, CA 91108; Tea Room hours Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. (last seating at 3:30 p.m.); Sat. – Sun.: 10:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (last seating at 3:30 p.m.); Closed Tuesdays; (626) 683-8131. Link to The Huntington http://www.huntington.org/
