Mrs. Teabody "Puts On" the Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland


"If you're blue and you don't know where to go to,
Why don't you go where fashion sits? Puttin' on the Ritz."~ Irving Berlin

Good Morning from Meadow Grounds Mountain where the cool ambient air reminds everyone that August is the month during which Summer scampers into acceleration  mode. Best catch it before it's gone, Gentle Reader! Mrs. Teabody  returned yesterday from a week's odyssey with two of her siblings, the Duchess Tilly and Lady Anne, and she is prepared to regale you with stories from the road, as it were, and the odyssey begins in Cleveland.

Whilst the dauntless, imperious voice of the Global Positioning Device droned along, Lady Anne chanted contradictory advice from MapQuest, and yours truly silently gazed upon an actual Atlas map - -do any of you remember maps? - -  the driver, Duchess Tilly, simply aimed the motor car in the direction of the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Cleveland, and in less time than it takes to butter a broken bit of biscuit,  snappily dressed attendants surrounded Lady Anne's sporty motor car, the contents of the boot were dispatched onto a brassy wheeled conveyance, and the trio were led into the lobby of what appeared to be a hotel of distinguished age. A young woman framed in lilies directed the lot to the lobby on the SIXTH floor where with friendly efficiency, another impeccably-attired young woman handed over card keys to a room on the twelfth floor, but not without an encouragement to "call for anything" and offering shiny red apples to all. Irresistible. Mrs. Teabody could not resist asking the age of this venerable-looking hotel and was shocked to hear "about twenty-three years." Mon Dieu! 




While the Duchess Tilly and Lady Anne proclaim a  profound disinterest in what lies on the other side of any hotel room door exclaiming, "It's only a place to sleep," Mrs. Teabody always takes a moment to enhance the experience. At last the door was flung wide, and Mrs. Teabody nearly purred with appreciation  noting lovely white cloudy beds, immaculate carpeting across a spacious floor plan, a perfectly acceptable river view - -not Lake Erie, sad to say! - -  and a bathroom bright enough to perform surgery. Fluffy white towels and robes for all! Perfection.

Deciding to have a look at Lake Erie, the lot donned attire for a perambulation and a helpful gentleman in the lobby handed over a "jogging" ( Mon Dieu!) map which looped through the restaurant district--so many to choose from! - - around the Cleveland Browns stadium, past some city sculpture and back to the hotel. All three deemed Cleveland worthy of a longer return visit. The Ritz-Carlton is also attached to an indoor shopping mall and a casino - - all of which are blissfully SMOKE FREE. Never underestimate this feature!

Returning to the room, all were delighted with turn down service including chocolates and some lovely minted chamomile tea, which was ALMOST as good as the chamomile at Tickle Your Fancy. Smile. Soon it was time for the dreamless slumber a comfortable bed affords. As the first signs of dawn brightened the room, Mrs. Teabody prepared herself for one of her favorite indulgences-- a hotel breakfast, and the on-site restaurant, MUSE, was all Mrs. Teabody could hope for.
Was it the blue-tipped glass decanter for the water, the sculptural white coffee cup on the square plate, the museum quality salt and pepper shaker, the perfectly prepared omelette or the tiny broiled cherry tomato topped with parmesan cheese that made this breakfast memorable? All of them, of course as well as the lovely informative dialogue with Brian, the server, a trained fitness physiologist and believer in a bright future for Cleveland. He made Mrs. Teabody believe in it, too, and she cannot wait to return.
Day to day existence rarely features snowy-white sheets, effortless meals, and valet parking. Any ordinary combination of melty chocolates and snowy white sheets is likely to result in an unsightly mess, but a visit to the Ritz has about as much to do with day to day existence as Fred Astaire has to do with Chris Brown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFabjc6mFk4


And Mrs. Teabody just happens to think life needs a lot more of the former and none of the latter. Ta for now, Darlings!

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