Though I've been off the radar screen for six weeks or so the Coffee Crawl is alive and well in PE. Lou and I had to make an unexpected trip back to the States in mid-July and have just recently returned to RSA. In my absence the Crawlers continued to meet for coffee on Thursday mornings visiting some of their favorite shops in the area. Just days before I left for the U.S. the Crawlers met at The Baking Shop on Main Road in Walmer. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to put up a post on the shop and, upon my return, found that they had moved across the street. I feel that, in order to give The Baking Shop its due, we will visit them soon in their new digs and attempt a Crawl do over.
So, on to this past Thursday's Crawl site, Vovo Telo, located at 27a Pickering Street in Newton Park, and the sister shop of Vovo Telo in Richmond Hill which we visited in April, 2011. All of this week's Crawlers arrived in advance of me... perhaps they thought I'd skipped the country again!.... and were seated at an outside table enjoying the sunshine. As I approached the table I realized how much I had missed the Crawl while I was away.... after all, we've been at this for a year and a half now. Well, after giving hugs all around and introducing my guest, Rebecca (visiting from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.), we got down to business and ordered our Illy brand cappuccinos and Americanos from our waitress, Rabi. The Crawl's signature ordering by a show of hands brought yet another smile to my face. Our coffees, prepped by barista, Uhuru, arrived with the inevitable extra cappuccino (not ever a problem as someone usually scarfs it up!). My cappuccinos were hot and delicious.... expect nothing less from Vovo Telo!
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| Meet the Barista Uhuru |
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| Meet our Waitress Rabi |
Vovo Telo was really busy on Thursday so I had limited time to spend talking to camera shy owner, Phillipa Zeni. In the time we did have Phillipa provided me with staff names and shop hours: M-F, 7:15-3:30, Sat, 8-2, Sun, 8-1, along with an extra breakfast/lunch/pizza menu to take home. She said that though Vovo Telo is expanding from its origins in PE to Joburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town, she is making sure that the Newton Park site maintains a cozy coffee shop feel and limiting the seating to only about 40. Also, just as with the Richmond Hill Vovo Telo, the breads at the Pickering Street shop are baked fresh daily using traditional artisanal techniques and no preservatives. The Vovo Telo breads have been PE resident favorites for years! The other baked goods looked tantalizing as well but, as I had put on a few pounds while in NY, I stuck to the No Food On The Crawl Rule.
As would be expected after a six week respite there was a lot of catching up to be done with this week's Crawlers, Beth and Angela Vieira, June Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, Colleen LeRoux, Margaret Zoetmulder, Fran and Mandy de Beer, and Rebecca Marx. News of weddings, new babies, travels and casino losses were shared by all. At some point the discussion came around to the weather. From what I gather the weather here in PE was pretty horrible while I was away... rainy, cold and windy. Margaret, just returning from an extended trip to the UK, didn't have it much better. The weather in NY while we were there was actually very nice... sunny and hot most days. Since our return we've had no rain here in PE... only nice temps and sunny skies... guess I brought the good weather back with me!!! Knock on wood....
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| This Week's Crawlers Rebecca, Beryl, June, Mandy, Margaret,Stella, Colleen, Beth, Angela, Gail, Fran |
All in all it was good to get back to the Crawl again. Hopefully there will be no more unexpected trips for a while. Routine is good. Now I'm off to practice my bagpipes which I haven't touched for six weeks. This is not going to be pretty....
~Thank you to Phillipa and staff for your hospitality
~Congrats and Best Wishes to Angela on her recent wedding, Aug 11
~Good luck to my son, Jeff, as he starts his new job in Indianapolis
~A special PE Coffee Crawl welcome to Rebecca Marx!
Until next week,
Ellen
