Eco of a lovely day

Saturday was another gorgeous day in Icheon. I started it off with sleeping late, then leveling my Alchemist for an hour. Not wanting to completely waste a day like that, I took a shower and headed in to the glorious “outdoors” with a plan. On my way in to town I always pass a little pizza place. It is a chain that sells cheap, but quite edible pizzas for 5000won. It is serious value for money. It is a chain of pizza places, but even with chains you have differences in taste between shops and I thought I would head in to this particular one and get a pizza. Remember, when you order a standard cheese pizza at Pizza School tell them not to put CORN on the CHEESE pizza. The other reason I chose this particular shop was because it is much closer to the pond at Miranda Hotel, where I was planning on spending my lunch. 10-15 minutes after I ordered I was ready to head on. This shop had their preparation plan down pat man. On arrival at the pavilion at the centre of the pond I was greeted with the sight of almost every seat being taken up by Koreans. I said it before and I will say it again. Koreans take advantage of leisure time. Great as that is it also means that in a country as populated as Korea, free spaces like this fill up really fast on beautiful days like this was. Sitting there, with everyone enjoying feeling every breeze meandering through the pavilion, I ate my pizza slowly, enjoying every bite. As I was leaving the pond area I noticed a new coffee shop. Aah Yea! For a town as small as Icheon we have a huge number of coffee shops, and a very large percentage of private, one off shops. This particular place is one of the latter and it came with all the charm you would expect from people who take on this huge project. Café Eco’s (Google Map here) interior is meticulously designed. Various types of chairs are placed at tables with no two chairs at a table matching. Actually, there might have been two, just to stay in tune with the attention to detail. Stuff hangs from the ceiling, a little too much for my taste, but nice for some. Cups are stacked in “haphazard” ways in display windows. Tables are places at odd angles and each has a different feel to it. The music is at a perfect volume and the service is pleasant. At 4300 won for a cappuccino the coffee is not cheap, but if you want to sit and spend time with friends, then think of it as paying a smidge extra for the great atmosphere. Holly’s is where you run in and get a coffee, or sit down and look cool so that people can see just how. This is not Holly’s. This is out of the way, for the people who want to relax.