Hello, hello, we're back with a brand new episode of Bear Necessities. And today we're going to talk about different cafes that people go to, and why? You'll hear directly from them. I personally am a huge cafe person.
I love to go to different cafes, and that is basically what I spent most of my money on in Berkeley. I try to find local cafes where I can just go and sit, enjoy the atmosphere, and learn about the people and their culture. And that is what I suppose has made the transition a little easier for me at Berkeley. The best thing is, there are so many cafes at Berkeley.
The list goes on and on. From the ones in and close to campus, like the Free Speech Movement Cafe, to the infamous Strata in Milano, to a bunch of other unique cafes a little further away from campus. Let's start from within the campus, and what stories it holds. I would have to say Free Speech Movement Cafe, which is part of Moffat Library, which is close the semester, but Free Speech Movement Cafe is still open.
And it's close to my heart because every Tuesday I meet up with a friend there for an hour or two hours, and we just get to talk and catch up and talk shit. This is not a nice memory, but it's a memory, and it's a memorable one. One time I got coffee and I was going to pay with cash because the time I went before their card reader wasn't working, and so I thought I'd save us all the trouble and use you know, a $5 bill. That was my mistake because when I gave them the $5 bill, they couldn't get the cash register open for like literally three minutes, and they're calling like all the other cashier over and the guy making the drinks, and they're all trying to sort this out.
And I'm like, you can just keep the change because it's like $5 and I was going to tip it anyway. And it's like this long ass line behind me and they're like, no, no, no, wait, I don't know why they wouldn't let me leave. So I stayed and I waited and they finally got it open and they gave me my change, which was like $2, like a dime or something like that. And I'm holding my coffee with one hand and it doesn't have a lid on and it's hot coffee, and I'm trying to put the tip in with my other hand, and this was my second mistake, is that I didn't just give them the full amount.
I should have just put it all in because that would have been easier. But I was like, they spent three minutes trying to get the cash register open if you might change, so it'd be like pointless if I took it all, right? Like I should keep some of it, so it's worth it. And while I'm trying to do this, my hand holding the coffee spasms and I spill hot coffee on my hand.
And I'm still trying to put the tip in, and the cashier's like, oh my God, are you okay? And I'm like, yeah, I'm fine. And I'm like, keeping a straight face, still trying to put it in. Well, coffee is still being poured on my hand because my hand is still shaking.
I don't know what's going on or whatever. And it's like literally like 10 more seconds of this. And I'm like spilling hot coffee on the ground and I'm just like smiling and trying to put my tip in as long as lying behind me and everyone's watching me. And then I get it in and I turn it on and walk away.
It is so fascinating to me how rich the campus of Berkeley is. Not just because of the students and buildings and professors and the company, but because of the memories. Every nook and cranny of Berkeley has something to say. Having a stroll outside campus, one of my friends loves to go to Milano.
She even has a go to drink there. She had a very hard warming reason about why that place is so close to her heart. My therapist plays on bankrupt. It's called Cafe Milano.
And I love going there. So I think I discovered Milano one day while just passing by on the street. I thought it looked really interesting and I went there one day with my roommates specifically. And we just ended up both getting chis and we stay there for hours talking, not even realizing that hours went by.
And since then it's just kind of been our spot and it's just a really nice environment to chat and to break in, have a cheeky lunch. And I like the music that they play there too sometimes. Speaking of traditions, I have a tradition too. I go to the same cafe every Sunday morning and look at a bunch of people spending their time with their children and their dogs at the strawberry green bar.
If I'm lucky, one of the dogs also make a stop by where I'm sitting. And I got the chance to talk to one such person who loves to go to this one unique cafe. That's a little further from campus. So basically it's a cafe and there's a grass area out in front of the cafe and I like to go there on mornings where I don't have much to do and just enjoy a leisurely breakfast and get some stuff done.
I think I have some sort of an emotional attachment to it because it's a bit further apart from the rest of Berkeley and it's not somewhere where I will feel surrounded by students or with school. It feels like a place where I can just go and relax. So yeah, I like that it's a bit more intimate and not a lot of people know about it. Now, everyone's probably heard of Phil's coffee around here.
It's quite popular, right? I have a friend who loves to go to Phil's. Let's hear what he has to say. Probably Phil's coffee in what's called college I would even like to say.
So one time I was in line to buy a coffee and this girl was in front of me and she like needed like a dollar or more to buy her coffee so I just offered her to buy it for her. And we became best friends since that day. Why is that please? Why might that please be close to your heart?
Probably because there's warning. I'm from San Diego. So there's warning San Diego. So it's like, it just feels like home, you know.
How heartwarming, right? These are only four places but there are so many other places in Berkeley where people can go and spend time. I discovered one such place recently. It's called Belmo Cafe.
It's a really tiny cafe with indoor and outdoor seating with amazingly luscious baked goods where people like me who love sweets. And the people who run the cafe, they're so wonderfully friendly and welcoming. When I went there, I went there with a friend who was leaving for a longer time and I think that was one of the reasons that place is really close to my heart. And when I went there, we were sitting outside and I could literally imagine myself sitting in a cafe in a little town in the southern part of France.
I know it's very dreamy but I wasn't Berkeley after all. I felt like I wasn't. And that's why I can't flop that place. Also, if you like smaller places but surrounded by trees and flowers, even caffeinated coffee is a pretty good option.
No matter your interests or personality, everyone has that one place that they call their own. There's something special about finding a cafe and making it your own. Which cafe do you love going to?