E=mc2

When we where first married we lived in Rocky River, a lovely suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. There where a couple of great coffeehouses in the area which, now that I think about it, I really quite miss.

There was also a great bagel place, part of a chain in parts of the mid-west, called Einstein Bagel Bros. Not only did/do they serve great bagels and delicious muffins, they also have my favourite flavour of coffee - vanilla hazelnut blend.

Anyway, Einsteins Bagels have yet to cross the Atlantic (please come!) so we wanted to make a point of stopping at one during our trip. In fact, such was our desire to get a cup of vanilla hazelnut that we sought out a hotel for our first night that was located near and EBB. And so, bleary-eyed with jet lag I made my way to West Lafayette (a university town in Indiana) on Tuesday morning for breakfast. I wasn't disappointed and I bought a couple of bags of beans to bring home. (Readers are welcome to come over for a coffee taste sensation.)

I have to say, I do like American university towns. The leafy campus, the buzz of students, cool bookshops, and of course great coffeehouses. Plus, I think, an essence of sentimentality because it reminds me of visiting my wife (then my international girlfriend) when she was at university - the place where I first experienced coffeehouse culture.