Oh, the places I went to get this information. In my last post in the destinations blog series I described how doing YouTube videos about aesthetically pleasing, hole in the wall coffee shops and restaurants would be a smart idea considering what a large part of Japanese culture revolves around food and drink. This semester I went around to a variety of different coffee shops and restaurants in search of places that would meet the mark in providing a unique look into food and drink culture in Victoria. This is the first on my list and probably my favourite as well.
Sitting unassumingly across from a Thrifty Foods parking lot in James Bay and squished between a hair salon and an eye doctor, this coffee shop certainly fits the image of “hole in the wall.” It is by far my favourite coffee shop in town, with its hidden rooms lined floor to ceiling in books, its cozy couches, and open nooks that look out over the street.
This place is what you would get if you were to take the old Russel Books, turn it into your living room and then also sell coffee there. It also happens to be the local watering hole for all of the elderly in Victoria. I have never had so much fun eavesdropping in my entire life. Not that I had much choice in the matter. They practically shouted their conversations. No joke, this is word for word a conversation I overheard.
Elderly Lady 1: “Oh is that Margret over there?”
Elderly Lady 2:”Margret? Oh please no. Not Margret, I can’t stand the woman!”
Elderly Lady 1: *gasp* “She’s coming over here.”
Elderly Lady 2: “Figures. I heard that she’s been going to a cafe over in Oak Bay but then,” (lowers her voice to a shouting whisper) “she got kicked out. Now she has no choice but to come back here.”
Very Hard of Hearing Elderly Lady 3: “Hmm? Margret? She talks too much. Oh is she here?”
Elderly Lady 2: Leans in towards the deaf lady. “YES. SHE’S COMING IN NOW. OH LOOK AT THAT. I THINK SHE IS TALKING TO KATHRYN.”
Elderly Lady 1: “Kathryn? Ugh! She’s even worse than Margret!”
Please note that both of the women in question were about twenty feet away from where these shouting gossips were sitting. I was less than three feet away.
