With big hands the trees on Hakanoa street have an imposing presence. In summer they flesh out with strong big leaves. In winter they sit bare, allowing light through into the houses below. No matter what the the time of year they stand there, strong, beautiful and present with the seasons.

It wasn’t long ago that my partner and I were faced with a big decision: move countries?  An opportunity presented itself and we were out for the day talking, enjoying the sunshine, and it was lunch time so we stumbled into Gourmet Burger Kitchen as they have a fine list of Vegetarian burgers.  Never having been here before we sat down and continued talking about moving countries then read the menu and realized something.  The country in question was my homeland, New Zealand.  On the menu was L&P, New Zealand’s iconic drink, along with Peanut Slabs, and many other Kiwi delights.  The burger restaurant is a New Zealand burger chain which we had both never been to, or heard of.  Coincidence?

Whatever the case we both laughed and enjoyed a can of L&P along with fabulous Vege burgers.

In the North East of England lies a little town called Marton.  This section in Marton was the home of Captain Cook.  Today it features an animal park, museum, and a cafe with a really good espresso to spark the senses and watch the squirrels dancing around outside the window.  The cafe is perfectly placed, and it feels like you are in the trees with them: the greenery is very soothing.

Rapha are a cycling clothing brand here in England.  They celebrated the Tour de France in July by having a pop up shop in London and combined two of cycling’s intimate friends: kit, and coffee.  Coffee riding is perhaps why I became addicted to cafe dwelling.  There is something magic in going for a ride with friends and then finishing at a cafe for a coffee and a danish.  It emphasizes the social element of cycling and of course the caffeine is always helpful to.

I like Rapha’s design: simple, yet they have superb attention to detail.  The coffee was served by Nude, was by far the best coffee I have had in England, and had a twist: it was a piccolo nicely served in a glass which I always like.  Lovely.