I have finally been able to get Gaggia to make drinkable coffee. I had forgotten the art of making coffee on a ‘real’ espresso machine so it took a while for me to get the hang of it again. Gaggia didn’t help much and its heart is just not in it.
I say ‘real’ espresso machines but these days there are very few places where the skills of a Barista are needed. It is usually a case of sticking a cup under a spout and pressing a button.
We have had a narrow escape here as apparently none of the 13 Starbucks outlets in Wien will have to close because of the problems the company is experiencing globally.
Good news indeed for those who like Starbucks coffee. I have never met anyone who does – but they must be out there somewhere.
For the last word on this see Lewis Black on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9iMgSNrwv4
So I decided to go to Massimo to have a coffee. Massimo has been closed since Christmas because the owner apparently needed a long holiday. It must be hell serving 10 customers a day and he no doubted needed complete rest.
Well – he has obviously still not recovered because there is a note on the door saying he is not coming back until mid February. This is one plumb tuckered out dude. When he gets back I may pop in during the day to give him a hand so that he doesn’t have a complete breakdown.
Cate thinks that Muffin needs some recreation so gives her little cloth mice to play with – and throws them around the room for her. Cate does not think that her responsibilities extend to picking up the mice before we go to bed.
That is apparently my job and at 3:30, 4:30 and sometimes 5:30 you will find me somewhere in the house on my hands and knees looking for the missing mice so that Muffin will stop batting them around the floor and then picking them up and carrying them around - yowling pitifully while Cate shouts ‘For God’s Sake Muffin!’
Muffin has also started her ‘Muffin da Gama’ routine again - where she wakes up very, very early and starts circumnavigating the bed. She has on occasion been evicted for this offence as it is very wearing on everyone except Muffin who can sleep all day.
I say ‘real’ espresso machines but these days there are very few places where the skills of a Barista are needed. It is usually a case of sticking a cup under a spout and pressing a button.
We have had a narrow escape here as apparently none of the 13 Starbucks outlets in Wien will have to close because of the problems the company is experiencing globally.
Good news indeed for those who like Starbucks coffee. I have never met anyone who does – but they must be out there somewhere.
For the last word on this see Lewis Black on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9iMgSNrwv4
So I decided to go to Massimo to have a coffee. Massimo has been closed since Christmas because the owner apparently needed a long holiday. It must be hell serving 10 customers a day and he no doubted needed complete rest.
Well – he has obviously still not recovered because there is a note on the door saying he is not coming back until mid February. This is one plumb tuckered out dude. When he gets back I may pop in during the day to give him a hand so that he doesn’t have a complete breakdown.
Cate thinks that Muffin needs some recreation so gives her little cloth mice to play with – and throws them around the room for her. Cate does not think that her responsibilities extend to picking up the mice before we go to bed.
That is apparently my job and at 3:30, 4:30 and sometimes 5:30 you will find me somewhere in the house on my hands and knees looking for the missing mice so that Muffin will stop batting them around the floor and then picking them up and carrying them around - yowling pitifully while Cate shouts ‘For God’s Sake Muffin!’
Muffin has also started her ‘Muffin da Gama’ routine again - where she wakes up very, very early and starts circumnavigating the bed. She has on occasion been evicted for this offence as it is very wearing on everyone except Muffin who can sleep all day.
I am thinking of tying her to the Sub Woofer and playing Rammstein all day so that she will be exhausted and will sleep at night
Cate and I rode around the city on the weekend and stopped to look at the ice skating rink outside the Rathaus. The blurb says that it is the biggest outdoor ice skating rink in Europe and includes ‘a romantic skating trail 415 metres long’.
How romantic can a 415 metre stretch of ice being shared with 12,000 people be?
It also features some curling rinks. Curling is certainly a weird sport. I understand the concept of the Bonspiel but the people rushing along the Sheet brushing in front of the stone is just plain weird.
It is like lawn bowls with people running in front of the bowl with lawn mowers. Makes no sense to me – but then very few things do.
Cate and I rode around the city on the weekend and stopped to look at the ice skating rink outside the Rathaus. The blurb says that it is the biggest outdoor ice skating rink in Europe and includes ‘a romantic skating trail 415 metres long’.
How romantic can a 415 metre stretch of ice being shared with 12,000 people be?
It also features some curling rinks. Curling is certainly a weird sport. I understand the concept of the Bonspiel but the people rushing along the Sheet brushing in front of the stone is just plain weird.
It is like lawn bowls with people running in front of the bowl with lawn mowers. Makes no sense to me – but then very few things do.
And where is Quolly - haven't heard from her for months?
I'm sure i can lend you the Rammstein CD you guys gave me for my birthday ~7 years ago!
ReplyDeleteWell....I have now an almost complete collection of Rammstein - courtesy of Rozalin. Also so videos of live performances! Can't wait till they come to Wien.
ReplyDelete