Sitting in a Coffee Shop in Van
Jun. 26th, 2006 03:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqI'm living the Vancouver stereotype. Sitting in a Kitsilano coffee shop writing on my blog. The only thing that would make it perfect would be if I was ten years younger and drinking an expensive coffee. Well I hate coffee so it's Diet Coke instead, and I can't do anything about my age except not act it.
Sitting two tables over is a gorgeous red head who appears to be around my own age. Sadly, she's with a gentleman friend. Worse, he's in the way. I've been seeing a lot of gorgeous red heads around this burg since I got here yesterday. There were about a dozen at the street fair I went to yesterday and there is one working the counter here at the coffee shop.
I think I like this place (Calhoun's on Broadway). It's a student place, but not exclusively so... A couple of old ladies (seniors) were sitting at the next table enjoying some tea and pleasant company. Calhoun's menu seems pretty good, and the staff seems competent (albiet a little distracted at times - no doubt the result of free caffeine). I'd love to hang out at a similar place in cowtown, but I fear it does not exist. This place seems to be the result of the local culture and location. It's in Kitsilano, near UBC and the beach, in a town that thrives on pedestrian traffic. Cowtown, with its freeways, cars and never-ending suburbs simply has no place like it. Maybe if you razed Victoria park and moved the University of Calgary to that spot you might allow something similar to spring up, but that seems like a little too much effort for a cafe.
Vancouver is hot right now, the expected high is 34. My hosts![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
somejauntypolka and chris9871 are suffering through the heat as their house is not really built to handle it. The house is old - real old. I asked them why they didn't just buy an air conditioner and was informed that the house power was only 50-60 amps (modern houses can handle 120 amps). Between the computer equipment and the kitchen appliances, they're at max power now. Add a power hog like an air conditioner to the mix and the odds of tripping the house's breaker are high. This is the breaker for the whole house, not for the one circuit.
As I mentioned earlier, I spent some time with my hosts at a street fair. It was here on Broadway yesterday and it was the Greek-Canadian fair. This section of Broadway is historically the "little Athens" section of Vancouver - a lot of the local businesses still sport names indicating a grecian heritage. Lot's of -opolouses and Greek gods are in evidence.
The fair was fun, though there was a sameness to the food. Imagine two dozen street vendors, all selling the same chicken souvlaki and you'll have a pretty good idea what it was like. The hot weather and the novelty of the fair meant there were a lot of people enjoying themselves. The Greeks have a macho culture, and this was apparent when watching the dancing. Young men trying to outdo themselves with the height of their leaps, while surrounded by young ladies kicking up there heals while watching the men.
The lady dancers were wearing multiple heavy layers, stockings, and it was all coloured black. The men had white tee shirts. I sense a small amount of chauvinism here. It was interesting to watch the change in enthusiasm in the dancers when the music changed. They competently went through there moves with the traditional Greek music. but they really cut loose when they started playing (what I imagine was) modern Greek pop. These were some talented teens, but it was obvious that they were still teens.
Later we hooked up withbognaustroglum for dinner at Memphis Blues (and after the amount of meat I had there last night, I'm quite prepared to have nothing but salads today). Later still whiggy_one joined us for a late dessert at Death By Chocolate. Our server at Memphis Blues was this adorable woman from Australia or New Zealand (I can't tell the difference between Oz and Kiwi accents, so I'm not even going to guess). Cute as a button, tons of gorgeous ink (including a wonderfully cartoony picture of Catwoman up her left arm) and she had a hint of the look. I'd be willing to go back there just to chat her up. Unfortunately, I think I protein poisoned myself, so I won't be going back this trip. Hell, I skipped breakfast today because I was still full from last night. I suspect I'm in for a full-on retreat from my weight loss goals when I return to Cowtown. What the hell, I'm on vacation.
Well another cute redhead just entered the shop. That makes four of us now. Did Vancouver trade something important to Satan for this wealth of Celtic beauty? Maybe they traded all their bras as I see the Vancouver bra shortage continues. If they did trade bras for redheads, I'll have to congratulate them on their exceptional skills in negotiating. Alberta seems to have traded oil for Texans, so we could definitely take some lessons from BC.
Sitting two tables over is a gorgeous red head who appears to be around my own age. Sadly, she's with a gentleman friend. Worse, he's in the way. I've been seeing a lot of gorgeous red heads around this burg since I got here yesterday. There were about a dozen at the street fair I went to yesterday and there is one working the counter here at the coffee shop.
I think I like this place (Calhoun's on Broadway). It's a student place, but not exclusively so... A couple of old ladies (seniors) were sitting at the next table enjoying some tea and pleasant company. Calhoun's menu seems pretty good, and the staff seems competent (albiet a little distracted at times - no doubt the result of free caffeine). I'd love to hang out at a similar place in cowtown, but I fear it does not exist. This place seems to be the result of the local culture and location. It's in Kitsilano, near UBC and the beach, in a town that thrives on pedestrian traffic. Cowtown, with its freeways, cars and never-ending suburbs simply has no place like it. Maybe if you razed Victoria park and moved the University of Calgary to that spot you might allow something similar to spring up, but that seems like a little too much effort for a cafe.
Vancouver is hot right now, the expected high is 34. My hosts
somejauntypolka and chris9871 are suffering through the heat as their house is not really built to handle it. The house is old - real old. I asked them why they didn't just buy an air conditioner and was informed that the house power was only 50-60 amps (modern houses can handle 120 amps). Between the computer equipment and the kitchen appliances, they're at max power now. Add a power hog like an air conditioner to the mix and the odds of tripping the house's breaker are high. This is the breaker for the whole house, not for the one circuit.As I mentioned earlier, I spent some time with my hosts at a street fair. It was here on Broadway yesterday and it was the Greek-Canadian fair. This section of Broadway is historically the "little Athens" section of Vancouver - a lot of the local businesses still sport names indicating a grecian heritage. Lot's of -opolouses and Greek gods are in evidence.
The fair was fun, though there was a sameness to the food. Imagine two dozen street vendors, all selling the same chicken souvlaki and you'll have a pretty good idea what it was like. The hot weather and the novelty of the fair meant there were a lot of people enjoying themselves. The Greeks have a macho culture, and this was apparent when watching the dancing. Young men trying to outdo themselves with the height of their leaps, while surrounded by young ladies kicking up there heals while watching the men.
The lady dancers were wearing multiple heavy layers, stockings, and it was all coloured black. The men had white tee shirts. I sense a small amount of chauvinism here. It was interesting to watch the change in enthusiasm in the dancers when the music changed. They competently went through there moves with the traditional Greek music. but they really cut loose when they started playing (what I imagine was) modern Greek pop. These were some talented teens, but it was obvious that they were still teens.
Later we hooked up with
bognaustroglum for dinner at Memphis Blues (and after the amount of meat I had there last night, I'm quite prepared to have nothing but salads today). Later still whiggy_one joined us for a late dessert at Death By Chocolate. Our server at Memphis Blues was this adorable woman from Australia or New Zealand (I can't tell the difference between Oz and Kiwi accents, so I'm not even going to guess). Cute as a button, tons of gorgeous ink (including a wonderfully cartoony picture of Catwoman up her left arm) and she had a hint of the look. I'd be willing to go back there just to chat her up. Unfortunately, I think I protein poisoned myself, so I won't be going back this trip. Hell, I skipped breakfast today because I was still full from last night. I suspect I'm in for a full-on retreat from my weight loss goals when I return to Cowtown. What the hell, I'm on vacation.Well another cute redhead just entered the shop. That makes four of us now. Did Vancouver trade something important to Satan for this wealth of Celtic beauty? Maybe they traded all their bras as I see the Vancouver bra shortage continues. If they did trade bras for redheads, I'll have to congratulate them on their exceptional skills in negotiating. Alberta seems to have traded oil for Texans, so we could definitely take some lessons from BC.
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no subject
Date: 2006-06-27 10:56 am (UTC)Not knowing what the standard for this coffee shop is, I can only ask if you've been to Weeds in Calgary. Don't think it's what you're looking for, but at least they make good sandwiches.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 09:27 pm (UTC)The Look
Date: 2006-06-28 09:39 pm (UTC)All I know is that it's rare, and when I encounter it it I treasure it more because of it's rareness. The Memphis Blues Catwoman had a bit of it. Possibly because of the way she carried herself, or her friendly manner, or maybe it was her exotic accent.
It's not quite the same thing as Paxton's Syndrome, though they often go together.
Re: The Look
Date: 2006-06-29 06:03 am (UTC)Coffee Shops
Date: 2006-06-29 08:51 am (UTC)I could suggest some others, but I honestly don't know any current ones. I haven't lived in Calgary since 1998. Almost time I moved back.
Um. I wrote that
Date: 2006-06-29 08:51 am (UTC)