Do you like going to cafes? What do you go there for? There are countless reasons people visit cafes such as having lunch, enjoying a warm drink, meeting friends, chatting, reading books, people-watching, and more. I love going to cafes too!
The picture below shows one of my favorite cafes in my town. I sometimes go there to refresh myself.
The sign displays today's special. Hmmmmm, they are recommending Taiwanese sandwiches.
Even though I entered the cafe alone, fortunately I found a seat by the window. I like sitting there because I can watch people passing by. It's always fun. I also enjoy reading books there and the natural light makes it even better.
While reading a book on my kindle, my order arrived. I decided to try today's special. It was my first time having Taiwanese sandwiches. The combination of the daikon (radish) and the cream cheese was surprisingly delicious! I'd love to try making it at home too!
The picture below shows this cafe's menu. In Japan, many restaurants include pictures of their food, so you don't need to worry about reading the menu. Every time I travel abroad, I wish more places would adopt this Japanese style. I find it frustrating to choose from a text-only menu in foreign countries!
At a table in front of me, I noticed someone working on her tablet. I think she was using the cafe for working. I didn't take any pictures, but I saw a foreigner and a Japanese woman sitting together at a very back of the cafe. I guess he was an English teacher and she was his student. It's quite popular in Japan learning conversational English at cafes. I've never done it myself, though. Usually, students pay for the teacher’s drink in addition to the lesson fee.
While having my sandwich, I also enjoyed people-watching and, of course, didn’t forget to keep reading. After spending around one hour there, I headed to home. The cafe, the food, the atmospheres left me feeling refreshed!
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Hi Yumi,
I like going to the cafes but unfortunately, most, or almost all, the cafes in Egypt are not hearing-impaired friendly places. Also, I don't read outdoors because I can't focus on reading in a noisy place! (Yeah, cafes and restaurants are mostly very noisy here)
I agree with you! I wish restaurants would include pictures of the dishes on the menu as I struggle knowing what most of the dishes are! For instance, the last time I went to a restaurant they had something called, club sandwich. I had to ask what it included to see whether I wanted to try it!
I went to a cafe yesterday. The design, the story behind the decorations and also the owner were all interesting, but the menu not only had no pictures, but also they'd made up new names for anything they had. For example, Cesar Salad was called Back from the Europe, and green tea was called Comfort Tea. I ordered a normal coffee with a weird name that I don't even remember😅.
@Double-Zee Thank you for reading and commenting! I'm very curious about your cafes. I'd love to go there some day when I get there!
@Zobayda Thank you for sharing! What an interesting cafe!!! I like the names because they sound very interesting!
@yumiyumayume, I'd love to meet you when you make it one day!
cafes are my favourite! I love cafe-hopping, especially in new places and foreign countries :)
@Double-Zee Thank you, ZZ! We definitely should go to a nice cafe together!!
@miagrace314 So do I!! I love giving a try to eat or drink new things too!
Interesting point of view. However, you should know that if you go to a restaurant in Europe and there are photos on the menu, you'd better leave. Only tourist restaurant do that. On average, tourist restaurants serve terrible food.
@Simone- That really makes sense to me! Some of my American friends say if we don't see any local people in the restaurant, that means the restaurant isn't good.
I'm sorry to say but I don't like Italian menus because it's very complicated and hard for me to understand. Without my Italian friends' help I don't think I can order something. In Brescia, they don't have English menus or even though they have, I have to get WiFi (I can't get WiFi there. It's too expensive!) . I don't like it either. I hope they'll prepare at least English menus (not online ones) !
Because of Covid, many restaurants have switched from paper menus to digital menus. I absolutely despise digital menus. Although tourism is an important part of our economy, Italy isn't a tourist-friendly country. Let me elaborate. Other countries have a national vision for tourism and cooperate at all levels (national, regional and local). They also actively invest in tourist infrastructure. Italy has a passive approach and simply lives off its reputation as a cultural and gastronomic centre.
@Simone- I think when we go to major cities like Milan or Rome, they definitely have English menus, but if we go to rural areas, they don't. This happens in many countries, not only in Italy.