The Cafe.

I'm sitting at Starbucks on Robson and Thurlow as I write this blog. Days when I need to unwind I make the trek downtown to this particular spot. It's the perfect place to people watch. It's got a certain vibrancy not found anywhere else in Vancouver. People of all ethnicities gather here on a daily basis. Families, friends, business folk and more. Conversations are often spoken in mother tongues, like Mandarin, leaving me envious to eavesdrop in their stories, gossip, or business transactions.

This place, it resonates a particular atmosphere; the smell of exotic coffee, the small bursts of steam from cappuccino machines, the dim lights, the lethargic shoppers, and the curious, talkative, foreign exchange students. It's this atmosphere that draws me here on a near weekly basis. It's this atmosphere that puts me at ease. My sanctuary, placed right in the hub of busyness - the core of downtown - no less.

This cafe, I'd say is a concoction of contradictions. It's busy a place for idlers, a noisy environment to help focus on homework, and quiet place to have a chatty conversation.  Maybe that's the appeal? I dunno. But for years I've been coming here to put my mind at ease, crystallize my dreams, and untangle my fears. It's a place I genuinely feel at home. The cafe. My sweet spot.


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