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 Sights: Batik Juice, anyone?

In marketing, clever branding is an essential attribute to good positioning... It's all in the name, and how else can you be identified easily, if not by your name?

Spotted in a supermart in Milano's Stazione Centrale... a drinks range called BATIK...


Recycled juice?

Hope this is not batik dye packed as a beverage! LOL!


* Batik is a Javanese wax-resist dyeing technique.






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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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Travel Sights: Modern-day forbidden fruit?

Spotted this product in a Milan supermarket... Hope this is not a current-day forbidden fruit... LOL!

Wonder what's inside...

* for those who don't speak my national language, MALU means EMBARRASSMENT. Yes, LOL!






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Great Cafes: Milan's best kept secret...

No matter how modernized a city is, you cannot deny its glorious past. Any city worthy of a traveller's time, needs to have that foray of diversities to cater to the varied types of curious visitors...

Milan is as ancient as any Italian city... Much of its glorious past has been kept intact amidst all the modernities which are synonym to any fashion capital of the world.

There is a particular old Milanese cafe that I have often read about... and I kept telling myself, I must have a cuppa there if I ever set foot in Milan. So, it was only natural that I find this cafe, no matter how many nooks and corners I have to go through, or how long it takes...

This is, after all, the cafe of all cafes... This is COVA...




I finally found it on Via Montenapoleone... in the neighbourhood of world-class boutiques...





The thing about Cova is, you must not just rush into the parlour... You need to spend sometime looking at its window dressings...









And just to prove a point, they even have their markings on golf balls and clubs! How about that for class? London's Harrods doesn't even come close!







I wasn't really ready for a dining experience here, and was rather under-dressed for a place people would normally dress up for... But the coffee aroma was just too irresistible... and before I knew it, I was already seated for what I have always dreamed of - having coffee at Cova!





Some pastries, perhaps?




One must not leave Cova with an empty hand! I picked up something that will journey a few thousand miles with me home... Will tell you what it is in another entry! In the mean time, don't you find these coffee pots charming???




Have you experienced Cova? Do tell, OK? I know I will be back one day...






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Travel Story: Milano's ugly side...

Every city has its bad side. Any seasoned traveller can spend the next three days telling you the nightmares they had to face while trying to get acquainted with the local life... Scary? Sometimes...

Milan is the commercial hub of the northern Lombardy region of Italy. Seriously, there really isn't much tourist attractions that can place this city on par to other fashion capitals of the world. Who said that? I did.

I had done Rome, Venice and Florence - all very famous art capitals of Italy. Somehow, Milan didn't quite fit in with these three cities. The odd one out.

I tried to like Milan. I did, to a certain extent. My first impression of this city was marred by a group of over-zealous street peddlers... Afro peddlers. Not that I have anything against them, but they really were a nuisance!

He didn't like being photographed...

As if greeting visitors on behalf of the Duomo, they pop up right before your face, tying to sell you a wrist band which they claim to be "free"... The way to treat them is to smile at first, shake your head and move on. Ignore them.

Don't worry about being physically harassed. They wouldn't dare, as the Piazza del Duomo (the square fronting the Duomo) is heavily guarded round the clock.





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