Travel Sights: Walkway Biscuits

You may have walked a thousand miles in a city... but do know it inside out? When you looked around, you would have looked up, too...

But have you looked down?

Early morning buzz on a Parisian street...

Have you noticed those metal "shields" that popped up every now and then as you walked?

They are manhole covers... and they have little stories of their own to tell...

Some are round, others are square or rectangular... Some are cast-iron, others are concrete... But they all come in various sizes! And colours!



A rectangular one in Como, northern Italy...

We trampled over them, some even spat at them unknowingly... And some had their heels stuck in their gaps!


This one must have been here since they first set foot on the island of Mykonos.

Nicknamed "biscuits", these manhole covers are to prevent us passers-by from falling into deep, dark, labyrinth-like networks of tunnels... They hide passages to sewage chutes, gas pipes, and drainage trunks away from our prying eyes.

I always find them fascinating... I can spend hours tracking each one down and photographing them... I like how they put in some elements of design to make them functionally presentable... They look like pieces of artwork intentionally embedded into our walkways as if to make the streets look decorated...

But above all, they are a testimony of what have been laid under, sometimes decades ago... And in London, it isn't difficult to see one which could easily date back to the reign of Queen Victoria...

They have been some which are so cute-looking; and as they dot the street, they look like a handsome string of shirt buttons from afar...

A cute small one...






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Great Cafes: Giselle's Suisse Cafe, Mykonos

What would I have done without this little cafe, tucked in an obscure street of the Mykonos chora? How often do you find a good cafe during a short holiday, but long enough to fall in love with it?


My favourite hang out almost every morning in Mykonos...

Suisse Cafe looks cutesy from far - probably why it has that attraction power that somehow entices you to come close. As if that isn't reason enough to check them out, you'll be greeted by the friendliest face around. Meet Giselle, the owner.


Giselle speaking to some customers...

Giselle runs this cafe single-handedly. How did she serve so many people and still find time to make them feel at home, is really beyond me. Pesky McD counter staff have loads to learn from Giselle.


Is she the coffee pied-piper? She got me tailing her into her bar...

Infectious disposition... Everybody seems to enjoy a tete-a-tete with Giselle!




Giselle and I got acquainted instantly. And before we knew it, we were already talking serious coffee business...

Mykonos is an island quite a distance from the Greece mainland. To get her fresh supply of coffee, the type that she wants, she had to make frequent trips to Athens! Wow, such commitment!

But when a person is passionate about coffee, no distance is too far, and no trouble is too big... That probably explains why Giselle displayed such steadfastness in running the cafe alone, and still commanding the situation...

Giselle was such a fun person! I could see some Samantha Brown wittiness in her, and yet there was this certain motherly warmth... The interior of her cafe showed the fun side of her, with cute little bric-a-bracs in every corner...

All the mornings I was there, I had ordered only Greek coffee, while my travel mate Wahdi went with something milder, usually a latte or even a cappuccino...


Fancy some cappuccino, served in a Coca-Cola glass?

Why Greek coffee for me? I somehow find the woody grind that she used actually went very well with such a thick brew... Woody coffee needs time to develop its full flavor and that probably works well with the slow-dreging that takes place in a Greek coffee...


My Greek coffee.. hand-brewed by Giselle herself...

I didn't know there's a specific way to drink Greek coffee. Giselle somehow sensed that I was totally new to Greece, Greek culture and... Greek coffee! She took sometime to explain to me how Greek coffee is brewed and how it's supposed to be sipped. What I can say is, Greek coffee is one thing you don't order if you are rushing off somewhere..

Greek coffee, explained Giselle, must be given time for its dreg to settle in. In fact, they don't call it "mud coffee" for nothing, referring to the thick sediment that sinks as you drink...

Greek coffee... How heavenly!

While in Mykonos, I bought myself two ibriks - I hope to make some decent Greek coffee soon! In the meantime, have a tour of Giselle's cafe at my travel buddy's blog here...






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Travel Story: Sit back, relax and enjoy a Starbucks Coffee!

In all my almost-30 years of air travel, I have been extremely lucky to have most of my flights either taking off or landing on time. A trip to Jakarta on a budget airliner last year started my history of delayed flights...

When Eyjafjallajökull decided to erupt mid-April 2010, I was worried of having to cancel my Europe trip! At best, I was told, to expect a considerable amount of delays... And when departure day came, I was overjoyed as Eyjafjallajökull had decided to let me fly! So there I was, in Europe.

Then trouble struck. We were all already seated in the plane heading for Mykonos when the captain announced that we had to defer take off... some oil-drip situation on the wing, he said...

But the one hour delay (trapped in the plane!) was soon forgiven, when they started carting out refreshments...


My Colombia roast, from coast to coast!

There's nothing like having a freshly-brewed Starbucks to calm those nerves...

Several airlines have started serving Starbucks on board for a while now... Had always wanted to try them. Finally did!






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Travel Sights: Knockin' on heaven's doors...

Among the things I always look out for when I travel are door knockers and door knobs... or any door adornment... I find them to be intriguing, and they say something about the person who lives behind the door...


Typical window and door of Mykonos...

Early-day door knockers were made from iron, and as their designs got more intricate, metal smiths resorted to using chrome... Not only are chrome knockers easier to shape, chrome is capable of giving a unique gleam to them as well...


A design based on the Medusa-head...





Too bad, in this modern age, electricity has edged out such beautiful work of art... Door bells are preferred over manual knockers mainly because the bell chime mechanism can be placed anywhere convenient in the house - making it more audible at a distance...




If anything, a knocker is also handy in place of a door knob or handle. Olden day door latches were just that - latches, with no means of allowing a good grip to guide the door. Hence the need of a door knocker to act as a door handle.


Something more modern...





The beauty about having a handle or knob on the door is, it negates the need to push the door with your palms, which often leaves very undesirable grease marks... It also allows you to pull the door without holding its edge, preventing finger injuries as the door closes.

Safety aside, the mere beauty of these door knockers, handles and knobs make them such objects of desires... And as rare as any antique can be, some are a bit harder to spot...





Beautiful is a woman who's smart in accessorizing her appearance... The same applies to doors - those monumental shields that guard the entrance of your secure abode...








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About the name and the banner...

Why "ELYSIUM"?

Elysium is the mythical resting ground of the Greek gods and the heroics... Cafe Elysium is just my idea of that same resting ground, with the right grind... How 'bout that?

Why the sudden interest in Greek mythology? That's because I had just recently visited the Aegeans... and felt a certain liking for this pagan "state of mind"...


The picture in my banner was taken at a cafe in Mykonos' Little Venice. Coffee in Mykonos is cheap, at just €1!




It's amazing how a narrow strip of land could be transformed into a row of nice cafes which never failed to draw the sunset crowd...






Having tea (or a meal) by the Aegean sea at Little Venice often epitomizes a romantic outing... Somehow, the rough sea, splashing its waves as if trying to baptize the diners, brings about a sense of romance... With the spectacular Mykonian sunset setting the mood, how can one not feel romantic? Forget Paris! This is the new Paris!


Little Venice's sunset as seen thru my HDCam...




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