The Morning Routine

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but since I’ve absorbed the habit of an “Italian breakfast,” in every city I also like to choose a café or bar where I’m going to daily order my cappuccino, eat my brioche and plan my activities a lá Rick. However, I can’t simply wander into just any bar and cop a squat; it has to meet certain requirements in order for it to be “my morning place.”

Obviously this requires a significant amount of research on the first morning. I usually wander the streets (also trying to begin to gain my bearings a bit) and try to scout out a place that a) has good lookin’ pastries b) is busy, but not too busy c) has places to sit d) doesn’t charge (much, if anything) to sit down and e) is somewhat off the beaten path. (The latter one usually helps to accomplish all the former ones.) It can be time consuming, but the payoff is fantastic. I usually get to know the people there at least a little bit, I establish a mini-routine, and it gives me warm-fuzzies to be a repeat patron (makes me feel semi-local and not just a faceless tourist).

Sometimes I have to do several “pass-bys” before I can get a feel for a place. Is it too crowded? Does it have a mom & pop feel or an urban-chain feel? Do they seem genuine or disinterested? Do they have the crème brioches, or just the plain ones? Every once in a while I don’t get it right and then I have to try again the next day (those are also often the days that I’m too hungry/impatient to do quality research and just pick something), but most of the time I do alright. And no matter where I am - it's usually my favorite part of the day.