sometimes you just gotta get back to basics. so i did something completely different for my 40 days of fika visit today. i left the hip, industrial cafes behind and decided to hang out at a typical american diner. you know a greasy, breakfast all day, sit at the counter, casual, regular folk kind of place.

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what's your feeling on chocolate? like it? love it? addicted to it? and how do you feel about chocolate and coffee? i, for one, love enjoying some of the yummy dark, sweet stuff and sipping on some coffee. and that is exactly what i did.

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i drove up a tree-lined street in a west asheville neighborhood on my way to biscuit head, and this is what i saw when i arrived:

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i'm not perfect. and there are some days that you just can't do everything you want or plan to do. you know that feeling... like 24 hours in a day are not nearly enough. and the way the weeks have been speeding by are not helping the matter. some days it's just not possible to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together...

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confession time: i have been to this cafe a few times already. ok, A LOT of times already. i guess you could say that i like it. but, what do i like some much about it, you ask? i actually can't really put my finger on it. i mean, the atmosphere - the global theme and all that - is right up my alley. there are cozy spots to sit inside. the coffee is good. and cheap. and there are places to sit in the windows. i mean, seriously, that in and of itself makes it cool, right? on top of all of that, there is ample outdoor seating. cute, little wrought-iron tables & chairs. and it is right in the middle of a great area, with tons of people. all stuff that i like very much. all things that make a top choice of cafes in my book.

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ok. i admit it. my tastes are all over the place. when it comes to coffeehouses and cafes, i like everything. or at least, i like something about everything. i think that's my stubbornly optimistic, idealistic, find-the-positive-in-everything personality. annoying to some, perhaps. but, to me, it's just how i am. i can't change. i don't want to change. and i don't think i even could change.

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today's fika experience was a little bit different. i had it all planned out. (mistake number 1). i knew well in advance where i was going to go, so i drove downtown, parked in the parking deck, and descended the stairs from the grove arcade area to wall street. yes, asheville has a wall street - like nyc. only not at all like nyc.

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get in your car and drive down interstate 40 for about 25 minutes to the little mountain town of waynesville,  and there you will find a coffeehouse that claims to be a solution to all your problems, to solve all your ailments, & cure your every need. ok. they don't actually claim that, but their name does... panacea is one of my favorite coffeehouses in the world. in fact, it just might actually be my favorite. the word, panacea, means a cure-all for every ailment, a remedy, a solution to all problems. for me, panacea coffeehouse has been just that place. i have spent countless hours there in my life, discussing life and theology, meeting friends, catching up, reading, working on my computer, and just being. it is a cafe that has been part of my life for quite a number of years, and it is a place to which i have returned anytime i have been in the area.

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it was bound to happen at some point. daily fika overload. not that i've had too much coffee, by any means. i'm not even sure that that's possible. but, the daily finding a new place and experiencing something new is actually exhausting . the impressions, the feelings, the leaving my comfort zones are all good, but it requires a lot of attention and action. so, today, this self-proclaimed introvert had the desire to just go to a comfortable, familiar place. and just be.

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i did something a little different today. i wrote this post last friday and saved it for today.

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