Even though I'm a morning person, it takes me a little time to really get going on vacation. I'm used to starting the day slowly and it can be sort of overwhelming to coordinate things with a positive attitude before I'm even ready for the world. So, when we travel together, Tyler and I usually ease into things by stopping at a local coffee shop. A lot of the time on trips there seems to be this pressure for activities! adventure! doing! It's nice to just sit somewhere and be quiet together. And, I think it gives you a real sense of the city - seeing how the locals start their day.
I'm such a creature of habit that even on vacation I usually end up hitting the same coffee shop more than once. And funny enough, it's what I find myself missing the most when we come home. Not really the coffee, but the little life we made there (if only for a week.)
To make our memories last a little longer, we bring home a bag of coffee beans from wherever we frequented during our trip. When all the fun is done and we head home it's nice to have a little piece leftover from our mornings in the city.
To make our memories last a little longer, we bring home a bag of coffee beans from wherever we frequented during our trip. When all the fun is done and we head home it's nice to have a little piece leftover from our mornings in the city.
recommended coffee shop stops:
Intellegentsia in LA
Alterra at the lake in Milwaukee
Smith Canteen in Brooklyn
Tartine in San Francisco
Portland favorites:
the photos above were taken at Stumptown on SW 3rd!
Heart Coffee on E. 22nd and Burnside
Stumptown on Stark St.
at home in Massachusetts on the porch ...
(photos) on film with Pentax K1000
I'm so CRAZY CRAZY obsessed with this. Also, you should prob start a through-the-coffee-shop window series starring Tyler/me/Meg. Coolest angle, and you do it the best :)
ReplyDeleteI originally included those pics on the roundup but then 1/3rd of my fav coffee shops were various stumptowns (...which may be the truth, but I'm still trying to at least *appear* that I don't try to find the same routines in different cities)
DeleteI love this idea! I started collecting coffee beans from various places as well. If you're ever in Chicago, go to Star Lounge for Dark Matter coffee. I recommend "A Love Supreme." Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteSMB, thanks for the tip! I love LOVE chicago, it's one of my favorite cities and if I get back there anytime soon it'll be on the top of my list.
DeleteLove these photos. So artistic yet personal yet glamorous. And two handsome men in a coffee shop window is the best advertising for a coffee shop if I ever did see one.
ReplyDeleteSo sweet :) I will definitely bear this in mind when we go travelling next summer. A little coffee stop each morning sounds pretty perfect. Out of your list we will only be ticking off Brooklyn but I'll definitely add it to our plans! :) xoxo
ReplyDeleteSmith Canteen is so great! just hip enough without feeling unwelcoming, you know?
Deletei love a good coffee shop - and i love the idea of bringing back beans from each place you visit. (also, these photos are so beautiful! :)
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way, when I discover a coffee shop I love on a trip or in another town. One of the things I miss most about my first college was the coffee shop across from school and another one in town that my husband first introduced me to and I always visit when we go back.
ReplyDeleteAlterra's always been a favorite. Seeing it here just made my day! They changed the name to Collectivo recently, which confused me when I was last in Milwaukee. The place is pretty much the same, though: a little rustic, very industrial, and impossibly dream-like when the sun is setting over the lake in December. The coffee's good too--I brought some home. That usually helps ease the separation from a newly loved coffee spot.
Katie, I know just what you mean - different coffee shops from different parts of your life! thanks for the update on Alterra, I'm glad it's still there even if under another name/ Sitting on their patio I kept saying "we should move here!!" (Milwaukee, I mean. But I'd move into that beautiful old water-works building too.)
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