Hope your weekend was good. Mine was more than fine but shorter than I would've liked 🙈

This time the #tcsp prompt is to find out our favorite time of the day to dine with friends at a coffee shop. Mine is at noon, mainly because I, probably due to my #lifestyle, have cultivated this tradition of having some free time only at noon. One gets used to routines and gets to like them, I guess.

In my particular experience, eating at a coffee shop has always meant that I've spent the day away from home, busy, but not doing my usual work. I may have spent the day running errands, like Christmas shopping, for example; or at a personal care appointment, like this time when I was coming back from getting my hands and feet done--one of the sweetest benefits of my second job ❤️--. I was with my eldest sister, who is my boss at my second job; we stopped at La Principal, a traditional bakery here in Lechería. I find this place nice, and here I can eat a decent meal at a decent price.

Below you can see part of the inside of the place so you get an idea of the atmosphere.

Really sunny outside. One of the reasons I love this time of the day (noon) to take refuge in this cool and pleasantly lit place.

They have redecorated the place, and now it looks better than before. It used to be a little lifeless, but now with the brick and wood designs, it looks warmer and livelier.

The area where they prepare the coffee and serve the ready-made breakfasts looks pretty nice if you ask me.

Here, some GIFs 👇👇 I must have been going through caffeine withdrawal when I made these videos 😏

For us Venezuelans,

generally, besides the usual thing, like being the place you go for coffee, coffee shops are ideal for breakfast, an afternoon snack or a "light" dinner--if we can call bread, pizza, sandwiches and hand pies light food 😛--, but not for a well rounded meal. That being said, I can tell you that they have a complete menu at "La Principal," where there's a big chance you'll find the right dish to satisfy you.

And, certainly, they have coffee and other soft drinks.

This day, we had brunch.

The place looked as comforting as usual and was as quiet as usual. Even when the place gets crowded, the noise is muffled quite well.

I ordered a huge chicken empanada with my doppio;

they served it with guasakaka. My coffee came with a tiny cookie; I called it dessert.

Below you can see a photo of me and the big empanada. 👇👇This is part of a photo I've already used here👇👇, but it's the only one where you can see I am actually there 😁 and you can get an idea of the size of the empanada 👌

My sister ordered an ham and cheese omelet with her cappuccino and an infinity of orange juice.

I couldn't help myself and ordered another espresso

while she finished an orange juice and was getting ready for another one. Noons are hot here. For some reason, my thirst this day was only for coffee.

Being able to restore energy with a good coffee and delicious and varied food is priceless, especially if it is in a place with a fresh and enjoyable atmosphere, where you can hide from the bright sun at noon, while sharing a pleasant moment with your friends.

In short, even though I love to visit a café at any time and eat tasty food at any time, haha, midday is the time when my friends are more likely to have some spare time, now that our kids are young adults already and can manage.

There was a time when my favorite time to go out to eat with my friends was in the evening. But those were different times. Then come obligations, children sometimes, work...; and in the case of my country--as I imagine it must be for many others, unfortunately--insecurity. There was a change in events and customs, as well as in the feeling of going out at night. So long story short, midday gained popularity as an ideal time to meet friends, go out to eat, go for a coffee. And although things have changed somewhat and one can be safer being out at night, once you form a habit, it sticks like a tick.

How about you?

What is your favorite time of the day to dine with friends

at a coffee shop?

All text and images are my own. I have taken the pictures with my Redmi 9T cell phone. And if any GIFs here, I've used GIPHY for all them.

Thank you so much for your visit :)

Banner by @andresromero 🖤