Forty-two euros for a small, correct cup.

I was underdressed. The waiter pretended not to notice. Worth every euro for that pretense.

The Earl Grey was Earl Grey. The water was correct. The lemon was a thin transparent disk on the saucer, the way lemon should be when it costs forty-two euros. A man in linen at the next table was reading the FT. A small dog under the table next to him was very still.

I drank it slowly. I am, on most days, not the kind of person who pays forty-two euros for a cup of tea. For one afternoon, the Hôtel de Paris allowed me to be that kind of person, and that is the deal.

Drink Earl Grey

Place the lobby of the Hôtel de Paris

Cost €42