One of my most favorite things to do is have high tea.  I especially love high tea at the holidays at fancy downtown hotels.  This year, I got together with a few girlfriends for tea at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.  The Fairmont may be my most favorite hotel ever, and oddly, I’ve never actually spent the night there.  The place has been the backdrop to so many special events for me over the years.  When I was little, they had a soda fountain where I’d go with my grandmother for grilled cheese sandwiches and milkshakes.  In high school, it was the place we went to feel fancy and I was first introduced to the Tonga Room (a fantastic tiki bar inside the hotel that has an indoor lagoon & rainshowers every 20 minutes that I have since frequented).  I’ve attended holiday parties and weddings there, and now I can add tea in the Laurel Court room.  If you visit San Francisco, put this place on your list – just pop in for a drink and feel like you stepped back in time.