Wednesday, March 03, 2010

click to enlarge

In Europe, coffee is an unknown beverage.

You can get what the European hotel keeper
thinks is coffee, but it resembles the real
thing as hypocrisy resembles holiness.

Mark Twain
a tramp abroad - 1880

10 comments:

Tom said...

it took me months to get through Innocents Abroad--but i thouroughly enjoyed it. Not sure if i'm ready to tackle another Twain travelogue.

so, what is the state of coffee in Europe these days?

ArtSparker said...

Hmm, did Mark Twain know where espresso was born? Or maybe that's what he was served...

Coffee Messiah said...

tom: Haven't been to Europe since '89-90. First time, I drank a lot of Turkish coffee, once I found it. 2nd year, I brought enough Peets to last the month.

artS: No he was speaking about real coffee, coffee. Espresso wasn't born 'til about 1903.

layers said...

I love Mark Twain and his writing and quotes-- so funny, so observant and still relevant today. though I am not a coffee drinker - gasp! I assume coffee is better in Europe now?

tony said...

A friend of mine, his Partner used to be married to The Manager of the band SIMPLY RED (you heard of them?) The Story is, the first time the lead singer Mick Hucknell was in Italy.he ordered Coffee .The waiter brought him a cup of real coffee , but Mick Hucknell turned up his nose:complained:Insisted the waiter go back & fetch him some "REAL COFFEE" (Instant Nescafe was the only drink he'd ever known).
The English are getting a bit better with Coffee, but We still have some way to go............!

Miles said...

always a pleasure to visit here. like an intimate museum of wonder. glad to see your collage art blossoming, and have enjoyed the many posts surrounding mail art.

Skybridge Studios said...

an oasis of beauty in a sea of wonder in a world of uncertainty

verification: supsyne

Coffee Messiah said...

layers: No problem, we enjoy good tea also ; )
Maybe Italy has it figured out?!

tony:Of course, Simply Red was pretty famous for a short while, even here. I guess if you don't know any better. To each their own.

miles: Hey, nice to see you and hope things are settling down in your new digs. Thanks for stopping in.

sb: Thank You ; )

Subby said...

Ah, but would Mr. Twain be travelling to-day in Europa...

Coffee Messiah said...

sub: Such a different world from then. I'm sure he'd be even more pissed off today, than he was then.