Road Trip: Tracing the Path of "The Traveling Tea Shop" by Belinda Jones
- Lisa Natcharian
- Mar 10, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: May 31, 2023
In the charming book, "The Traveling Tea Shop" by Belinda Jones, a British tour guide is offered the travel & baking adventure of a lifetime. Protagonist Laurie Davis is asked to organizing a unique bakery-based road trip across New England in a double-decker bus, where at each stop, fictional British baking celebrity Pamela Lambert-Leigh will learn about a traditional pastry and bake a British version of the same. As the organizer, Laurie will not only choose the scenic locations and the featured historic pastry specialties, but she must also troubleshoot the travel dilemmas and personality clashes along the way.
While managing family dramas and flat tires isn't particularly appealing, the rest of the fictional trip is a dream come true for many readers. Wouldn't it be fun to trace the route that Laurie and the gang took, and sample the specialty pastries along the way?
You'll need to allow yourself 5 - 7 days to recreate this trip, and please double-check that these businesses still exist before you go. As this book was published in 2014, some of the food items available at these locations may also have changed.
And now .... your fantasy road trip itinerary!
CITY: New York City
Bakery / Restaurant: The Waldorf Astoria
American Treat: Red Velvet Cake
British Counterpart: Victoria Sponge Cake with jam and cream filling
CITY: Mystic, CT
Bakery: CakeLove Bakery
American Treat: Nutmeg Spice Cupcakes (based on Hartford Election Cake)
British Counterpart: Traditional Fruitcake
CITY: West Kingston, RI
Bakery: Kenyon's Grist Mill
American Treat: Johnnycakes with butter & maple syrup
British Counterpart: Scones with Devon cream
CITY: Newport, RI
Location: Marble House / Chinese Tea House cafe
British Treat: Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
Also visit: Clarke Cooke House, Newport Sweet Shoppe
CITY: Provincetown, MA
Bakery: ScottCakes
American Treat: Cupcakes
British Counterpart: Butterfly Cakes
CITY: Sandwich, MA
Bakery/Restaurant: Dunbar Tea Room
American Treat: Courtship Tea
CITY: Plymouth, MA
Bakery: Plimouth Patuxet Museum
American Treat: Indian Pudding
British Counterpart: Bread Pudding
CITY: Quincy, MA
Bakery: Dunkin' Donuts
American Treat: Boston Cream Donut
CITY: Boston, MA
Bakery/Restaurant: Upstairs on the Square
American Treat: Zebra Cake
CITY: Boston, MA
Bakery/Restaurant: Omni Parker House Hotel
American Treat: Boston Cream Pie
British Counterpart: Egg Custard Tart
CITY: Boston, MA
Bakery/Restaurant: Abigail's Tea Room
Treat: Fat Rascal
CITY: Portsmouth, NH
Bakery: Popover's on the Square
American Treat: Popover
British Counterpart: Yorkshire Pudding
CITY: Portland, ME
Bakery: Amy Bouchard's Wicked Whoopies
American Treat: Whoopie Pie
British Counterpart: Battenburg Cake
CITY: Stowe, VT
Bakery/Restaurant: The Trapp Family Lodge
American Treat: Linzer Torte (technically an Austrian treat)
British Counterpart: Bakewell Tart
Wow! That's quite an adventure! Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 56.
Carol
www.scribblingboomer.com
This soounds like a good book and travel recreation. I’ll have to check it out.
What a great idea. I have traveled to most of these places, but have never visited any of these locations. The east coast is so lovely and serene. Thank you for sharing.
Very interesting! Almost makes me wish I lived on the East Coast. But not quite :)
This would be so much fun to do but you have to be prepared to go on a diet after, or maybe just lose enough weight before!