NUC: Café Rio, Goodge Street

Today Summer and I went to the Goodge Street vicinity to develop some photos and exchange the language of Chinese with the language of English. The Holga camera that I recently procured from a Hong Kong-based camera dealer took some great photos, up until the moment at which I dropped it whilst administering a hug to a close friend. The exact moment when this hug happened is documented by the camera insofar as all photos taken post-hug ended up as black as my soul.

In brighter news, Summer and I, after failing to get into one fairly trendy looking café, ended up here at the more down-to-earth Café Rio. The lady who welcomed us in could not have been more accommodating. She shuffled a table a few inches for us, even though this wasn't really required. She gave an indecisive Summer ample time to consider the variety of cakes on offer. We got a bouncy banana cake and some good-looking coffees delivered in elegant cups, with a complimentary biscuit. (See pic above for proof). My coffee looked a bit like tea, but it was good.

I learnt how to ask a question in Mandarin. I brought with me a notebook which came all the way from Malaysia given to me by Chris a few months ago. The Chinese characters on the front state a very powerful kung fu move. Inside I write down the things I learn in Mandarin, using a bad self-styled phonetics. Then we talk about Abba, the Beatles, and our dissertations. The table next to us had some kind of dried past embedded into it, like a preserved relic in a case in a museum. Something tells me that the real pasta that they would serve up would be a fine thing. Other occupants of this small and busy room have meals - it's lunchtime - and they look good (the food and the people). This is one of those places that needs no posturing or gimmicks, it just humbly goes about its thing in its friendly Latin way.