This afternoon, Marina and I attended a traditional Japanese tea ceremony at the Botanic Gardens. Marina was excited to go, she picked out an Asian inspired dress to wear today and brought along Ivy, her American Girl from Chinatown.
We were running a bit late but the ceremony hadn’t started when we arrived. We had a guide who explained all the traditions as we went through them. We started by symbolically washed our hands and faces before we entered the tea room.
Once in the room, we learned about the tools used in the making of tea and some of the Japanese words. Then we watched two people in traditional dress go through the ritual. It was very formal and Marina watched intently. The tea ceremony was repeated and a few volunteers went onto the mats. Marina did not want to go, but we were able to participate from where we were. She thought the sweets that were served were okay but she didn’t want to try the tea at all.
Near the end of the ceremony Marina was getting restless. Once it was over, we walked around the gardens for a while. The fall blooms were really spectacular. Marina insisted we stop by the children’s garden before we left. She played around in the wading river for a little while and had fun on the little stage.
On the way home, we picked up Chinese food for lunch. It wasn’t quite right, but it seemed like a good way to end our adventure.
This afternoon, Marina and I attended a traditional Japanese tea ceremony at the Botanic Gardens. Marina was excited to go, she picked out an Asian inspired dress to wear today and brought along Ivy, her American Girl from Chinatown.
We were running a bit late but the ceremony hadn’t started when we arrived. We had a guide who explained all the traditions as we went through them. We started by symbolically washed our hands and faces before we entered the tea room.
Once in the room, we learned about the tools used in the making of tea and some of the Japanese words. Then we watched two people in traditional dress go through the ritual. It was very formal and Marina watched intently. The tea ceremony was repeated and a few volunteers went onto the mats. Marina did not want to go, but we were able to participate from where we were. She thought the sweets that were served were okay but she didn’t want to try the tea at all. 
Near the end of the ceremony Marina was getting restless. Once it was over, we walked around the gardens for a while. The fall blooms were really spectacular. Marina insisted we stop by the children’s garden before we left. She played around in the wading river for a little while and had fun on the little stage.
On the way home, we picked up Chinese food for lunch. It wasn’t quite right, but it seemed like a good way to end our adventure.
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