Cafes and
Scooters (part 1)
by Jerry Guarino
On my recent trip to Europe,
I noticed a lot of differences from America.
First of all, and quite disappointing, is the
proliferation of cafes in Italy, France, Spain
and London that we just don’t have. Cafes
are a cultural icon there. Here, we have
Starbucks, Peet’s, Dunkin and In-N-Out (although
I can’t find fault with Dunkin or In-N-Out—you
see, I drink tea, not coffee, another point for
England). Still, they are hardly the refuge of
our population, more of a grab-and-go element so
typical of our society. And they have no soul,
poetry, or reason to linger in thought or while
enjoying a short story (see cafestories.net)
They do have thousands of
scooters, recklessly running through the streets,
alleys and sidewalks, ignorant of cars, bicycles
or pedestrians. You can easily be injured or,
worse, jockeying around these demon vehicles. I
also noticed there aren’t many private
bicycles, but they are replaced by those rental
bikes you see in large cities here. It makes
sense. Bikes get stolen everywhere, especially
here. Rental bikes have no such concern. You pick
them up and leave them where you go.
So, I much prefer Europe,
with endless opportunities for eating and
drinking and no stolen bikes. Here, we have cars,
millions of them, crowding everyone from Los
Angeles to New York and everywhere in between.
And parking is the number one problem. If you
wanted to stop at a café, if you can find one
here, you have to park, probably pay and limit
your time to get to the next task. Americans are
constantly moving from one task, job or errand
all day long. Europeans take time, linger, read
and think, a much more preferable lifestyle for a
writer like myself. But even though we don’t
have the cafes, scooters are popping up in large
cities by the hundreds.
Prices for meals are
comparable, but most Italian and French
establishments don’t expect or require a tip—a
norm I wish they had here. With the advent of
ride-sharing, most people don’t take taxis
anymore; the competition means lower costs for
those who don't want to rent a car. Mass
transportation in London is comparable to New
York. My point is you can take a ride share from
the airport to your hotel, and bustle about on
foot without a car. Ride shares and taxis abound
for longer trips. Since cafes are so ubiquitous,
you never have to go to a grocery, unless you
want some yogurt for your hotel room.
People warned me about
crime, especially pickpockets. I never saw any or
heard police or fire sirens during the three
weeks I was there. Here in big cities, you can
pretty much guarantee seeing some sign of crime
and violent crime, which is probably much higher
than in most European cities.
So how is America better.
Well, here is our family, schools and churches.
Here are our memories, our sports teams and where
we fell in love. If only we could import some
cafes, get rid of a million cars and alter our
lifestyle to make room for artists, musicians and
writers. I look forward to my next trip to Europe,
having refined my itinerary and needs to an art
form. I just have to watch out for the scooters.
Cafes
and Scooters (part 1) by Jerry Guarino
Copyright May 2025 – All Rights Reserved
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