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I end my Benelux railpass in Amsterdam, where I make my way back to London. I have found a great budget hotel near Leidseplein, Kooyk Hotel.



Not far from here is the Cafe De Saloon. This Flatiron shaped building is by a canal in a quiet area and I come whenever I am in Amsterdam.

Labels: amsterdam, cafe, hotels, netherlands

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Labels: austria, cafe, cafe westend, vienna

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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One of the many things that makes train travel in Europe such a civilised and viable option is the train station cafeteria. Jerez de la Frontera, for example, isn't a primary rail station but its cafe is nice enough to not mind having to wait half an hour until your train arrives.

Labels: cafe, europe, jerez de la frontera, spain, train station

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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I had read this article in Business Week about Illycaffè and how they are opening a chain of cafes called Espressamente. I am all for the espresso, so I support this concept. I saw this Espressamente at Budapest Airport.

Labels: budapest, cafe, espressamente, hungary, italian coffee

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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I love London and I consider it my second home, so it pains me to tell you that it has a terrible cafe scene. Britain is well regarded for its cozy pubs with its polished brass and potted flowers. Probably the most endearing feature of British pubs though are their names and accompanying sign boards. This is a feature which goes back to 1393, when Richard II made it compulsory for every inn in England to display a sign. Examples of which can be found at The Inn Sign Society.

The British pub scene left no room for a cafe society like on the continent. Up until the 1990's getting a coffee in Britain usually meant instant coffee in a greasy spoon diner.

Lack of cafes in Britian meant that when coffee became fashionable in the early days of New Labour, there was no resistance to the onslaught of the American style coffee franchises. Just about every British High St now has a Starbucks, Cafe Nero, Costa or Coffee Republic. Big High Streets will have all of the franchises. Really big High Streets (like Oxford St London) will have a all of the francises two or three times over. Small independents are few and far between.

I was pondering all this while walking through Regents Park in London. In the park there is a cafe in what was probably a gatehouse. This hole in the wall sized coffee shop is called the Cow and Coffee Bean. It has a great sign out the front that Richard II would have approved of. This sign made me think of would could have been here if cafes developed along the same path as the pubs.

Labels: britain, cafe, cow and coffee bean, england, iced coffee, london, pub, regents park, richard II

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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I lived in Dublin for a year and more than one person remarked what an odd place to live for someone who doesn't drink. I'm the only Australian I know of who spent a year in Ireland without the black goop passing my lips.

I did frequent the pubs in Dublin for the craic, but to write notes and read books and newspapers you can't beat going to a cafe. There is a good collection of independent cafes in Dublin and in my time there Starbucks had not landed in Ireland. One of Dublin's oldest established cafes is Bewleys. Their flagship store in Grafton street is a classic link to a bygone era with its stain glass windows and cafeteria style dining.

This store is now threatened with closure and in this Starbuckafied world the closure of Bewleys would be a great loss to Dublin.

Labels: bewleys, cafe, dublin, ireland

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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