Coffeeshop Observations

Tonight seemed like a lovely night to spend some time in my favorite coffeeshop in the city. Esperanto Cafe is a cute little shop on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village. The first time I ever came here, I had a cup of the hot apple cider, and I fell in love. Since that time, I've started drinking coffee, and have grown to love the flavored coffees, preferably irish creme or hazelnut, or if I'm feeling adventurous, raspberry.

Tonight is a hazelnut kind of night. It feels warmer. The raspberry is refreshing. The irish creme feels savory. Tonight is definitely a hazelnut kind of night.

One thing I love about this shop, besides the tasty coffee and the fact that Depeche Mode plays at least once per visit, is the people watching. Here are some of my observations of the night.

- When I first sit down, I pull out my book, entitled "The Power of the Witch". I see the man sitting next to me look over, and he seems to start panicking. I don't know if it's because of my book or if he's just like that. He leaves about 15 minutes after my arrival, leaving behind a $3 tip and half of his cup of tea.

- There's a couch in the center of the shop with a table in front of it. There's a family sitting on it, and it looks like the two girls are doing homework. One of them, who can't be older than 10 or 11 is reading Twilight. I'm not so sure how I feel about this. She should at least have her first literary encounter with vampires be from Anne Rice.

- A couple of foreigners walked by the window, stopped to look inside, and then came in. It was rather obvious that they were tourists because A) they have giant backpacks. B) they no sense of style. C) they looked like deer caught in the headlights when they walked in and sat next to me. D) I heard them speak and it's not english. Theory proven correct. They are cute and kissy. Maybe they're french.

- after the family at the couch leaves, one of the seats is taken by a man with a shaved head, wearing an Iron Maiden tshirt. He orders some sort of tea, and it is pink. It's silly.

- there is a middle aged man in a business suit seated at the bar. He looks out of place, and you can tell just by the way he is sitting and looking around that he feels out of place. He is watching everything the barista is doing.

- a group of vagabonds came in and sat in the back corner. They all have dreadlocks and look like they have been traveling for weeks. One girl has some pretty eye makeup design on one side of her face. One of the guys has a harmonica on one of those holders around his neck, so he can play it without holding it.

Just another night in the Village.