I have never been an early riser. More than this it usually takes me a while to start the engines after I wake up. This is quite bad, especially when I travel, because if you want to avoid the crowds when you visit the more important points of interest and want to take some decent pictures of the actual place without having hundreds of unknown heads in the image, it is a good idea to be there early.
In order to overcome or at least diminish this issue, I developed a morning ritual. First thing I do, when I wake up, is to drink half liter of water. This seems to help me start the day quicker. After doing this, the only thing I need to do to get to the full power is get my coffee.
The morning coffee is one of my favorite moments of the day, no matter if I’m in the office working, or at a beautiful terrace while visiting any place of our beautiful planet. It is then when I plan my day, think of new ideas, find the best solutions for the problems I may have to solve, and so on. This is my moment of inspiration.
Still, there are two factors that can make this coffee more or less inspiring:
- The coffee has to be good. If it isn’t, it can be sometimes useless.
- The ambiance (and yes, it can be a good ambiance even if you drink it in the office… just think of a beautiful day and a nice view from your desk).
There are some places in the world where I really enjoyed every cup of coffee, let me tell you about some of them:
Portugal
In this country you can’t go wrong. No matter if you are in Porto, Lisbon, Tomar, Evora or any other city, every cup of coffee will compete for the best one you ever drank. They also have the habit to bring with the coffee a glass of water and a very tasty biscuit, exactly as a coffee should be served. Also, in most parts of this country, people seem to never hurry, this creating a very positive, contemplative ambiance that really helps you focus on your ideas. Obrigado Portugal.
Istanbul, Turkey
Did you ever drink Turkish coffee? It is a bit similar with the Espresso as it is served in a small cup and very strong. The difference is that it is served already sweet and it’s made in a more archaic way. If you didn’t try it yet, I totally recommend it. It is completely different (in a good way) from any other coffee.
Thailand
Nothing compares to a good cold coffee on a hot day. And as in Thailand you have only such days, they usually serve a really great Iced Coffee. Add this to the great peaceful ambiance you’ll get almost anywhere in this country and you have the perfect recipe of great start for your day.
These are my top three places where I enjoyed the morning coffee while traveling, but good coffee you can get almost everywhere in the world. In fact there are only a few countries where it is almost impossible to get a decent coffee. Maybe I’ll write about them in a future article.
What about you? Do you have any morning rituals? How do you get your inspiration? Which are the top three places where you had the best coffee of your life?
