As I mentioned in the previous part, we enjoy talking with the baristas in cafes, and we have had a couple interesting conversations recently.
The second one was in Cafè Martèl, where we have been going every day except for our trip to Bolzano. There is one barista, F, who we have seen and chatted with for 20 years or so. It was fun to see the shock of recognition when she saw us the first time on this trip, after 4 years away.
On this trip, we’ve often had a different barista wait on us. She’s always friendly, and helps L get settled in. Yesterday it was not so busy, so I asked her if I could take a picture of their espresso machine, since I’d never seen one like it. (As I mentioned in a comment, I’m no expert.) She lit up, wiped the machine down, and explained some if its benefits, how it’s especially suited the brand of coffee they serve (Segafredo) and more things that, frankly, went way over my head, and not just because of my Italian abilities. I looked it up and the type of machine is a piston lever: you pull down on the lever like a beer tap to start the espresso and when it’s done it returns to its upright position on its own.
I’d originally gone over to order another round of espressos, since we wanted to stay a bit longer (not really required, but nothing wrong with a second espresso …), so when they were ready she brought them to the table and we continued chatting.
It turns out that she (A) likes to travel, and recently did a road trip to Albania. I told her a variant of our standard line, that it’s a lot easier to visit Europe when you live there. The she said she’d like to visit the U.S. and Canada, and we extolled the virtues of Seattle and Vancouver as coffee culture places.
When we lived in Vancouver, we met a few people who had temporary work visas. They could live in work in Canada for 6(?) months. I mentioned this to A as a possibility, though I said that don’t know if that program exists. I think she understood, but wasn’t convinced it was for her.
Anyway, another fun conversation with a barista.