Not that easy to find a place to draw and paint (watercolor) in a city you don’t really know … I must admit that Starbucks in France / Holland / US makes life a lot easier for nomad painters like me. The Starbucks’ philosophy is the same worlwide. Enter, buy a drink and stay as long as you want. That works also for Coffee Beans & Tea Leaf in some cities like West Hollywood or LA but it is not the firm line of many others. I can tell ! 🙂
You never have the stressful feeling that people and / or employees (always nice and helpful) want you to go. Nobody, ever, have looked at me the wrong way. The multi-generation customers and the cultural melting pot of the crowd also boosts my inspiration … Could I ask for more ?
Nevertheless, I always try to renew my drink every 60/70 min. I keep in mind that these people have not made their business projections with 5$ customers drawing & staying at a table for 5 hours !
My favorite Starbucks so far …
Amsterdam – Oosterdokstraat , close to Centraal station – Great view – Inside and outside
Paris – 26 Avenue de l’Opéra – Upstairs
Paris – 24 Bd Saint-Michel – Upstairs
NYC / Central Park – 152/154 Columbus Avenue – Large Table
NYC / Lower Manhattan – 13-25 Astor Pl – Great light on the porch
West Hollywood – Coffee Bean – 8735 Santa Monica Blvd – Inside and outside
WeHo – a special thank you to the wonderful employees of Café Primo – 8590 Sunset Blvd
NYC – November 2013