an oasis of peace in the city - photos too

i sit in caffe artigiano, hornby st, THE place for coffee in vancouver, i type on the sleek tungsten E2. a consistently perfect tall Latte both in looks and taste. black coffee would seem wrong, as one misses the artistry. Perhaps an americano to take out shrouded in the paper cup (standard accessory in the city!). (ed:the porcelain cup i had was way cooler than the one pictured, but i would not have been so cool to get my camera out in the cafe!). my lemon bar seems to be totally icing sugar and egg yoke with a sniff of lemon - evidently designed to entice you towards a second cup and drown the sweetness. it works.

i am thoroughly appreciating a small selfish oasis in a crazy life. i feel i have become "kitsified" of late, and a wander downtown with camera and ipod soundtrack is just wonderful (introducing kt tunstall in the ears this morning - a gift from one of my favourite scots, bro in law alan, also inxs, radiohead and damien rice .. nice). the light is rather vancouver grey, so i'm not expecting photographic genius .. but a chance to get to know my D50 a little better and practice. (view shots here)

to my right an annoying 30ish well-suited business genius talks a little over-loud about a projected 500million in sales - clothing or accessories by the sound of it. ahead I can't help wondering about the sexual orientation of each of the male black-clad baristas. Other conversation drifts happily into the cafe ambience - a mix of young and old, friends, couples, moms with babes, working meetings, newspaper breaks, hanging out, meeting up - delightful.

I'd like to dwell longer here, but I have a family to return to, and mondays give a fabulous opportunity to hang out with my two (three?) favourite people in the world. so home, before the rain sets in. americano on the way out? yeah i think so!