Monday 20 December 2010

Coffee Shop Series - Starbucks Coffee (+ Hamra Christmas Street Festival)


I really like Starbucks Hamra because of their new balcony. If you're a smoker you can smoke up there, you get a great view of pedestrians on Hamra, and when the weather's good it's the best place to sit. Of course Starbucks is a non-smoking coffee shop, so other than the balcony, you have the outdoor seating. The only problem with the outdoor seating is that they haven't taken rain into consideration. I was sitting out there on Friday and it rained on me! Thankfully it wasn't pouring.

The Drinks

I used to love their Frappuccinos, but recently I've stayed well away from them. They taste different now for some reason, maybe it's just me. Anyway, my new obsession at Starbucks is the Caramel Macchiatto. It's perfect if you want to warm up with a cup of coffee and are in the mood for a slight sweet taste.

Other Pluses?

They have Wi-Fi, but it's not free. That's actually the first coffee shop I've written about so far that doesn't provide free internet. I believe it costs $5 for 1 hour, and 10,000LL for 2 hours. The connection is decent.
I don't like the service at all. They got my drink wrong twice, they always add whipped cream to my drinks even when I specifically ask for my drinks without it. They're very impatient at the cash register, they always tell me what I owe before I'm even done ordering. Finally, they are very slow when making their drinks. The last time I asked for a sleeve because my drink was too hot to carry, the man told me that they didn't have any and walked away. I had to ask again for a second cup just to be able to carry my drink.
As you can see, I have some serious issues with the staff at Starbucks Hamra!


Hamra Christmas Street Festival


I walked around Friday afternoon, and then came back in the evening, at around 6. They had some really funky jewelry on sale, I bought a really nice ring! But what impressed me the most was the entertainment which was organized by the AUB Music Club. I only saw 4 performances, and they were all pretty good, I saw:
  1. Hiba Kadri and Sarah Aridi
  2. Jean Pierre Abou Jaoude 
  3. Jamil Jabbour
  4. Tina and Julien 

In all honesty, they were all good, but two of them blew me away. The first was Jean Pierre, wow. Amazing voice. And also Tina and Julien, Tina had a beautiful voice, loved the performances!


Tina and Julien

Jean Pierre





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