It has been almost 10 years since my previous visit to Strasbourg. While still living in southern Baden, I sometimes went to Strasbourg on weekends for shopping, as the French supermarkets are the 8th Wonders of the World and truly worthy of being considered as an invisible UNESCO World Heritage institution.
However, although the French produce some of the finest wines and cheese and desserts and breads in the world, I have never been fond of their coffee. In general they are quite over-priced and too inconsistent to my taste. Hence I usually stick to my hot chocolate drinks when I crossed over to the other side of the Rhine for some Saturday shoppings.
I am not sure if this cafe already existed in the 1990s, when I was a regular shopper to Strasbourg. Anyway, I was positively surprised to find a place in Strabourg that serves illy caffe. As it was a nice and sunny day and the mood is right, I decided it was good time to have my first cup of coffee in France for more than a decade.
This modern-looking cafe is located on a busy little square in the midst of some of Strasbourg's most tourist-oriented quarters, just a short walk from Strasbourg's impressive medieval cathedral. Due to the proximity to the must-see Cathedral, as well as the presence of beautiful colourful timber-framed houses, narrow cobble-stone lanes, plenty of restaurants serving up the traditional Alsatian Flammkuchen and rows of souvenior shops selling the famous Alsatian stork plush toys, the streets around the cafe witness a constant flow of tourist traffics from all over the world all year round.
I like this place because it has a bright, airy, crisp and tidy touch, and the air is totally free of cigarette smoke (unlike some of the older places in France where the interiors still smell of tabacco even though the ban for indoor smoking has been in effect for quite some time).
It seems to have taken parts of its design concept from some of illy caffe's own Espressamente Illy coffee chain's design booklets.
From the seats next to the large windows, I get a good view of the little square and can observe all the going-ons outside on the streets in the comfort of the non-smoking interior, without having to endure the irritating smell of cigarette smokes.
Copyrights@2011. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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