Can you make that a Venti?
Rewind back to 2002, the Salt Lake games. I really didn't have that daily latte habit. You know, the one that sucks $3-4 out of your wallet each morning. We were putting in long hours at the NBC News workspace in the Gateway Center. A short walk away, a new Starbucks. I quickly became a patron morning, noon, and night. Now I'm a regular at my local coffee establishment. Hooked. Iced triple grande non-fat, no-whip mochas, and on those assignments with really long days, a quad venti.
Fast-forward to present day - Torino. A friend has already told me, no Starbucks in Torino. Reason tells me not to panic. After all, every corner shop has an espresso machine. What I didn't expect was the "portatile via" ("to-go") size cappuccino was only slightly larger than a AA battery...
Well, what did I expect for €1,20? Now I figure to get the equivalent of a "tall" cup in the U.S. I need to buy two of these little things... and gee, if I buy four I'm close to my Venti.
Fortunately, running back and forth to get the little cappuccinos is even easier than Salt Lake.. there's a cafe in the same building as our workspace.. and there's one directly across the street - half the distance we had to go to get to the Starbucks in Salt Lake. I'm diggin' it and I'm really looking like a coffee junkie... toting around a tray full of tiny cups.
Finally after a few days, the little cafe on the corner stops laughing at us and wises up. They start giving us regular glasses - the size of our grande - to take with us and return later. Now we just look like waiters running the streets with trays of glasses to and from the cafe.
Hopefully I'll break that habit before I get back to Seattle. Otherwise you can just come out to the East Lake Sammamish Starbucks and watch me and a tray of lattes walk around the parking lot.
Comments
Greg,
Good to see you are getting your exercise and hopefully pocketing a few tips. Prego.
Salute,
Pete Cassam
Posted by: Pete Cassam | February 20, 2006 12:45 PM
Greg,
Leave it to you to compare the size of the serving to a AA battery.
We miss you - LOTS. Come home. I'll even spring for a quad venti when you return.
C
Posted by: cynde | February 21, 2006 10:58 AM