I don't know how it all started, I don't know how it grew on me- but the cafe/coffee shop has become an irremovable part of my life- coffee shops have a wonderful relaxing effect on my nerves. When I spend time in one, I am convinced that the world and it's people may not be perfect, but there is no real need to worry and it's possible to make something cool out of everything painfully uncool, given the right outlook. They also seem to elevate to me an extremely energetic state when it comes to making conversation or cranking up the creative engine in the head.
So here is a short list of some things I imagine an ideal coffee shop should contain (hopefully my faithful readers will contribute via comments)
To sit: The seating arrangements must have just the right density: not so spread out that it kills the vibe, and not so dense that I am tripping over stuff when I walk, or have someones elbow in my coffee when I am comfortably parked. For a bunch of us to sit down and talk about our lives, a huge, soft red sofa to crash on with a nice carpet underneath. Also, a convenient option to find the little two chairs and a table for the obvious purpose.
The View: Glass panes instead of walls as much as possible- if it's a big city, to soak in the vibrancy, and if it's college, to study the floating population.
Art: Modern art on the walls- very, very, crazy and modern. Walls are useful real estate to add jazz to the place, and vintage masters belong to museums, not coffee shops.
Temperature: Should be perfect again- I should be able to spend insane amounts of time in comfort without my shivering like it's Siberia or sweating like it's the Sahara. Very critical- needs to be just right again!
No: No, TV's- I have seen coffee shops with TV's and they ruin everything. Some of them insist on leaving them on in mute, and that makes no sense.
Wish list: I would really like to see a coffee shop with lava lamps. Many, many lava lamps in many, many colours; one that has seating outside on a vintage cobblestone/stone pavement (I suppose this is how European cafes would be?).
Coffee-shop: everything from the pillar of my social life to my nirvana-giving modern monastery.
