On 6th February I mentioned some favourite cafes in Trieste and Prague. I’ve looked at negative files from visits in 2003 and 2004 and found that, however much I liked the coffee, I made little effort to photograph the café. There are just two pictures.
‘Sitting outside the Caffe Degli Specchi. It is bright and clear with the hard blue light of early march. The air is cold, but the sun feels warm on my face; people are well wrapped up. The Piazza Unita d’Italia is packed with families. Tots are dressed in all kinds of cartoon costumes; tiny hands cast fists full of confetti and cover the ground with a dusting of multi-coloured snow.’ Trieste, 1st March 2003
‘One of the highlights off the visits so far: coffee at Café Slavia. Intellectuals, dissidents and debate have been replaced by texting, tourists and ladies of a certain age, but it is still a wonderful place to relax, to dream of better things. John Banville in Prague Pictures described his bleak experience here in the Communist years. Today the cards and ash trays on the tables advertise Bacardi, Red Bull and Bordeaux wines and the menu runs to six sides.’ Prague 21st July 2004