Tag Archives: coffee

Caffeine break – 34B

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Latte and Americano - 34B
Latte and Americano.
34B, London ENGLAND

This place was probably the most unrelaxing coffee shop I’ve been to in London (and anywhere else actually). The woman serving the drinks was really pushing the food, so we felt uncomfortable taking up space with only coffee. Hardly anybody else around us was eating, but there was that hanging pressure to buy food to justify your stay. Super lame! I will never go back to the place especially since it’s surrounded by so many great coffee shops.

Victoria Memorial

Man and lion statue guarding the Victoria Memorial, Queen’s Garden.

Valdostana – Princi

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Valdostana - Princi
Ham, cheese, artichoke and mushroom. £4.60
Princi, London ENGLAND

I didn’t know what a valdostana was, but it looked good and hearty in the display case so I thought I’d give it a try. Apparently, valdostana refers to a region in Italy and what I ordered was a torta valdostana. It was very tasty and rich. The inner layers of dough seemed a bit undercooked though. Maybe there was just too much butter in the dough. Look at me complaining about overly buttery crust, lol!

Americano - Princi
Americano. £4.60

Green Park
Green Park.

Chocolate twist – Caffe Nero

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Chocolate twist - Caffe Nero
It started drizzling one afternoon so we decided to duck into Caffe Nero to relax and people watch. The coffee was pretty tasty and the chocolate twist was delicious. The pastry was flaky on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. The chocolate wasn’t overly sweet so that was also a good thing.
Caffe Nero, London ENGLAND

Caffe latte - Caffe Nero
Caffe latte.

Americano - Caffe Nero
Americano.

Agatha Christie Statue

Agatha Christie Statue, Ben Twiston-Davies, Covent Garden.

Breakfast plate – Dolce Sitges

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Breakfast plate - Dolce Sitges
Spanish tortilla, Iberico ham, sausage, scrambled eggs, hazelnuts, cheese, toast, orange juice, coffee.
Dolce Sitges, Sitges ES

The breakfast buffet at Dolce Sitges was pretty kick-ass! This was only one plate I ate, but they definitely had much more to offer. We were unapologetic about loading up on breakfast before heading out for a day of sightseeing, hehe. We paid for it, right? And I felt like we would burn off the calories anyway. One downside to eating SO much breakfast was that I missed out on some food opportunities while touring simply because was still full. #touristproblems 🙂

Iberico ham legs
Iberico ham legs. This was a first! I’d never seen carving stations like this before where you can order as much ham as you want and the attendant will carve it directly off the leg. Now that’s what I call “cut-to-order”!

Ham and cheese omelette – Le Rostand

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Ham and cheese omelette - Le Rostand
Omelette mixte (jambon et fromage). Garnished with chopped chives. 10€
Le Rostand, Paris FR

This cafe is conveniently located across from the Luxembourg Garden. There’s plenty of seats outside and they’re all covered by their awning. The staff is very nice and professional and the food was delicious. Omg, this omelet was huge! And perfectly cooked. It was soft and oozing with cheese – a perfect meal to kickstart a day of sightseeing.

Coffee - Le Rostand
Coffee.

Palais du Luxembourg
Palais du Luxembourg. This beautiful is the seat of the French Senate. Wow, what a great work location! And it’s in the Jardin du Luxembourg which is a picturesque setting.

Crepes au Grand Marnier – Feria Cafe

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Crepes au Grand Marnier - Feria Cafe
8€
Feria Cafe, Paris FR

We came here during a late-ish night of walking around in the perfectly warm summer air. This area was definitely a tourist trap section with packed restaurants and abundant outdoor seating. Our feet were tired and we were hungry so we snatched a seat at Feria Cafe. I guess it’s supposed to be a tapas restaurant, but their extensive menu has a bit of everything to please any tourist who happens to chance by.

I could have ordered Spanish tapas, burgers or any number of random fried food from the menu but I was in the mood for crepes. This was probably not the best place for crepes, but I always cave in to my cravings. I mean, does it really matter if the crepes are horrible if they’re drenched in orange-flavored cognac liqueur?! LOL! Ok, I guess it does because the crepes were still bad. They poured so much Grand Marnier on the crepes that only part of it burned off after they flambeed the plate. It was like eating crepes dipped in pure alcohol. Lame!

Cafe Viennois - Feria Cafe
Cafe Viennois. 5,50€
So this version is apparently more a Wiener Melange (cappuccino) than an espresso con panna (espresso with whipped cream). Oh well.

July Column

July Column, Place de la Bastille. For some reason, I thought that this area would have some kind of Bastille museum, but it’s just a square with a column in the center. It’s also a major roundabout so the traffic is busy.

Leek and bacon quiche – Miss Manon

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Leek and bacon quiche - Miss Manon
Quiche poireaux, lardons. 5€
Miss Manon, Paris FR

Ok, we made an amateur tourist move this morning. We wanted to eat at this cafe/bakery so we waited in longish line to look at the display cases and order our food before we grabbed a table. WRONG, lol! So they charge differently if you eat the food there (with service included in the price) or take the food to-go. So we ordered our food and informed the woman that we wanted to eat it at a table. She told us that we need to be seated and then order our food. UGH, so difficult! Not really, but I WAS a little annoyed because I was SO hungry. We finally get seated and then have to wait for the one lady servicing all the table to make it around to us. Now I know never to wait in line if I’m gonna eat the food at the restaurant. 🙂

The quiche was pretty tasty, but I wish the crust was a little harder. They had reheated the quiche before serving, but the crust was limp and lifeless, almost soggy. The egg filling was delicious though.

Cafe creme - Miss Manon
Cafe creme avec emulsion – coffee with cream and foam. 4,50€

Pont des Arts bridge
Pont des Arts bridge covered with love locks.

Blueberry streusel muffin – Starbucks

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Blueberry streusel muffin - Starbucks

I think the bakery items at Starbucks taste like crap (at least at the U.S. stores), but if it’s the only coffee shop open at a small airport when it’s really early in the morning, I’m not past buying one. I swear these muffins have no flavor and taste like cardboard so you really need the coffee to help wash it down.. $2.59
Starbucks, Palm Springs International Airport (PSP)

Bighorn sheep statue

Bighorn sheep statue with oasis theme, PSP Airport.

Crab cake benedict – Solaire Restaurant + Bar

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Crab cake benedict - Solaire Restaurant + Bar
Glaum Ranch poached eggs, dungeness crab and hollandaise with breakfast potatoes. $16
Solaire Restaurant + Bar, Santa Cruz CA

This dish was ok. The crab cakes had such a strong Old Bay flavor that they didn’t quite work in a benedict. It ultimately tasted like a crab cake on top of an English muffin with an egg and hollandaise sauce thrown in – not very harmonious.

Coffee - Solaire Restaurant + Bar

Coffee. $3

Mystery Spot holding area
Mystery Spot holding area.

Olallieberry pie – Duarte’s Tavern

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Olallieberry pie - Duarte's Tavern
A la mode with vanilla ice cream. $8
Duarte’s Tavern, Pescadero CA

Olallieberry pie - Duarte's Tavern
OMG, this was frickin’ delicious! We had to wait a few extra minutes but it was worth it to get this straight out of the oven. The pie was not too sweet and it had a wonderful berry flavor. I later found out that olallieberries are a cross between the loganberry and youngberry. Scientists in Oregon had developed multiple cane berry hybrids as part of a former USDA program. I’m glad they did because olallieberries are yummy!

Coffee - Duarte's Tavern
Coffee. $2.75

Pigeon Point Lighthouse
Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Chilaquiles – Solaire Restaurant + Bar

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Chilaquiles - Solaire Restaurant + Bar
Salsa, tortillas, Rio Zape beans, queso fresco and fried Glaum eggs. $12
Solaire Restaurant + Bar, Santa Cruz CA

This dish was lame. The sauce covering the tortilla chips was cold and the tortillas were way too soggy. The Rio Zape beans were bland and boring, and the eggs were overcooked and dry.

Coffee - Solaire Restaurant + Bar
Freshly brewed coffee. $3

Mixed redwood forest
Mixed redwood forest at The Mystery Spot.