I'm one of those people who can go out without lipstick, but not without a book in hand. It's for those times when I'm in between appointments, or when I just want to chillax in the middle of the day.
And since I go around a lot for my job, I have discovered some pretty quiet cozy places where I can just sit in a quiet corner and read while sipping a hot cup of coffee or tea. Check them out if you'd like to work alone or catch up on your reading in peace.
1. Soul Shop. It's a small cafe inside Crossroad 77, at the corner of Mother Ignacia Avenue and Scout Reyes in Quezon City. They have pasta, sandwiches, rice meals, and coffee and tea too (try chai!). One time I had to wait for the car coding scheme to be lifted at 7 pm and thoroughly enjoyed my three hours' waiting time here reading my books, organizing my schedule, and checking out their magazine rack. You can bring your laptop and use their electrical outlet for P20.
2. Wheatberry. Sometimes you can have the whole second floor to yourself on a quiet afternoon. Service is prompt and polite. Since Wheatberry is a bakeshop, their desserts are always worth tasting. You can't miss it: it's right beside Max's Scout Tuazon (the original Max's) near Roces Avenue in Quezon City.
3. Starbucks at Metrowalk, Meralco Ave. near cor. Ortigas Avenue, Pasig. What I like about this Starbucks are the big glass windows which let the sunlight in on an early morning or early afternoon. I can get lost in a book for two hours here in some quiet corner while having my mint tea with honey.
4. Coffee Bean on Tomas Morato, Quezon City. But only in the morning. The second floor is still quiet then. You can enjoy your eggs benedict in peace while going over the day's paper. Free wifi for those with Swirl cards.
5. Bo's Coffee at 4/f Atrium in Megamall. But never on a weekend. I've done some copyediting/proofreading here on weekdays while having a strong americano, all the time eyeing that blueberry cheesecake (maybe I'll finally try it next time). :-) I think wifi is free too.
6. That coffee shop at UP Jorge B. Vargas Museum, UP Diliman. It used to be called Cordillera Coffee, but someone told me they changed their name already. Coffee's really good, and when you're in between chapters, it's relaxing to look at the trees lining the UP Oval. It's outdoors, though, not air-conditioned, but it's breezy outside anyway.
7. Gloria Jean's, 2/f Megamall Bldg A. Most of the kids are at Starbucks, so expect some quiet in here.
8. Figaro on Banawe Street, Quezon City. Upstairs, it's quiet in the mornings.
9. Paseo Center on a weekend afternoon. Most of the restaurants are closed, and you can park yourself in front of Country Style with a cup of coffee the whole afternoon in peace. But you'd wish the air con's in full blast. Paseo Center is on Paseo de Roxas, Makati City.
10. Dome at Podium. It's one of the places open very early at Podium (7 a.m.). Take a corner seat and read or work until the mall comes to life at 11 a.m.
BOOK OF THE WEEK: I started reading Parenting Teens by Evelyn Ramos Pajaron, published by Church Strengthening Ministry and I'm lovin' it! More on this book in another post.
VERSE OF THE WEEK: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9
