I’ve tried to find as many Thanksgiving freebies as possible this week. Gobble, gobble!

City-Specific Freebies

• Starting January 1, 2010 Washington, DC will charge residents 5 cents per plastic bag they take when shopping. (IKEA already does this.) To help Washingtonians stock up on reusable bags, the city will be giving away more than 120,000 free market bags in the next few months.
• Enjoy free ice skating at New York City’s Bryant Park!
• Detroit-area families that need coats for their kids, take note: Happy’s Pizza and Greater Grace Temple have joined forces in “Happy’s Coats For Kids” Winter Coat Giveaway. They’ll provide 4,000 “FREE” warm winter coats for Detroit-area youngsters on Wednesday, November 25, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the New Rogell Golf Course, 18601 Berg Road in Detroit. The coats are for youngsters 3 – 13 years of age. Financially strapped parents must present a voucher to receive a coat. These vouchers are absolutely FREE and can be picked up from any Happy’s Pizza location found throughout the Greater Detroit-area or at the Greater Grace Temple Bookstore, (City of David) 23500 W. 7 Mile Road in Detroit. Sizes (2T – 2X Large) based on availability. For information, just stop in at your local Happy’s Pizza and ask about “Happy’s Coats For Kids,” or call Greater Grace at 313-543-6000.

Free Flu Shots

• I wrote earlier this week about how/where to get free H1N1 flu shots in Pennsylvania November 20-22.
• Macomb (Michigan) County Health Department is offering two free H1N1 vaccine clinics, both at Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights, MI. They are Saturday, November 21st  from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Tuesday, November 24th from 12 noon to 7 p.m. Both clinics are for folks that fall into a high-risk catergory, such as school-aged children or those with chronic conditions (asthma, diabetes, etc.).

Free Food

• Enjoy a free hot chocolate or free coffee on November 26th until noon, courtesy of the Detroit People Mover. Look for the DPM “Family / Patron Station” inside Angelina Italian Bistro, 1565 Broadway in Detroit, on the first floor of the old Madison Theater Building and across from the Detroit Opera House.
• Double your pleasure, double your fun? How about double your freebies? Now Boston Market lets two kids eat for free on Saturday and Sunday. Good for kids 14 and younger (yeah, mine qualify) and until January 31, 2010. You know I’ll be repeating this freebie in Freebie Friday postings for the next few months–you know, just in case you forget and all.
• Don’t forget that kids eat for free at Denny’s on Tuesday nights–and in some locations on Saturday, too.
• If you join the Dairy Queen DQ Blizzard fan club, you’ll get a coupon for a free DQ Blizzard. Yum. (My fave is the coffee Heath bar blizzard.)

Gratis Gift Cards

• You can earn free gifts cards to Sears when you participate in its new electronics recycling program with Gazelle.com. The new program is providing practical, responsible, rewarding ways for consumers to get value for used, working electronics, and gives customers the flexibility to trade-in unwanted gadgets from more than 20 product categories, including cell phones, laptops, MP3 players and digital cameras. Electronics items that no longer work will still be accepted at no cost for recycling, but consumers will not receive value for these items. That’s still cool since many stores charge you a service fee to recycle your electronics.

Wifi That Won’t Cost You Anything

• Delta Airlines has joined the free wifi fray. It announced an agreement with eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace, to provide complimentary Gogo Inflight Internet service to customers traveling on all Wi-Fi equipped flights from Nov. 24-30.
• Visiting Times Square over the holidays? Well, don’t worry about paying or Wifi service so you can check your email. Starting a few days ago (November 10th), Yahoo began offering free Wifi in Times Square and will do so for the next year.
• Google is sponsoring free Wifi in 46 airports nationwide. Unfortunately, Philadelphia, the main airport I use, is not included in the list of participating airports. You can check it out in this Gizmodo.com article. Maybe your nearby airport is?

Free Shipping
Lots of retailers are attempting to inspire shoppers to buy online by offering free shipping this holiday season.

• Pet-products website Drs. Fosters and Smith (from which I’ve purchased my dog’s pet meds) has eliminated standard shipping costs for all of its pet healthcare-related products.
• ShopatHome.com has put together a free shipping guide so that you’ll have an easier time figuring out which e-tailers are offering free shipping this year.

Every other cool place offers free Wi-Fi. Why not a hockey rink? The Sauk Prairie Ice Arena is now offering free Wi-Fi. So now you can stay up-to-date on SPHYA news, twitter tweets and Facebook happenings anytime you’re at our rink. Cool, huh?

Server name: ICE IS OUR TURF

Courtesy of Beige Alert (via Flickr)

Google, Microsoft and others are making it easier to travel and stay connected this holiday season with free wireless internet. Why free Wi-Fi? It gives you incentive to go online while helping these Web companies promote their name, search engine, or site. Talk about a win-win.

Don’t miss out on these super hot spots. Google announced it will be providing free wireless internet at 47 U.S. airports and on all Virgin American flights. All you have to do is bring your Wi-Fi enabled laptop, phone or device and enjoy free internet now through January 15. Log on at one of these airport hotspots and you’ll also have a chance to Give Back by donating to a participating non-profit. Google will even match your donation. In fact, PICCurrent happens to be run by the non-profit One Economy, which is also part of the Give Back program.

Microsoft is also offering free Wi-Fi at thousands of hotels and airports. But there’s a catch: free Internet use in exchange for one search on Microsoft’s search engine Bing. Not a bad deal. Also jumping on the free Wi-Fi wagon – EBay is providing internet on some Delta flights, while Yahoo’s giving away free wireless in New York City’s Times Square.

Visit The Beehive for internet safety tips whether you’re out and about, at home, or in the air.

GOOGLE BECOMES SANTA

Google has announced that it will be offering free Wi-Fi at selected US airports and on all Virgin Atlantic America flights within the continental United State this holiday season. Google says the Wi-Fi will be available until January 15, 2010.

For a complete list of participating airports visit Google’s dedicated Free Wi-Fi for the Holidays Website. Google also has a list of FAQs for the eager public interested to learn more about this generous offer.

When you are stuck in the airport terminals due to weather delays with only your laptop for company, you will definitely appreciate the value of free Wi-Fi.

Google has partnered with airports across the country, as well as Time Warner Cable, Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group and many others to offer Wi-Fi. Because Google’s partners don’t have a presence in all U.S. airports Google’s free Wi-Fi won’t cover everybody traveling this season.

Here is breakdown of how this free Wi-Fi offer works:

Get Online For Free

Airports across the country offering Google’s free Wi-Fi include Boston’s Logan Airport, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Las Vegas’ McCarran International, Seattle’s SeaTac and many others. But a number of important hubs like Chicago O’Hare, LAX in Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St.Paul, Dallas-Fort Worth and all three New York-area airports are missing from this list. On the other hand, Google says that Seattle and Burbank airports intend to offer free Wi-Fi for an indefinite period as a result of this free Wi-Fi program.

Prizes and giveaways!

Starting next Monday, you will be able to win prizes by submitting photos of yourself using free in-flight or airport Wi-Fi during the holidays. Google doesn’t specify what the prizes are or what constitutes a winning photo, but it looks like you’ll be submitting photos to Picasa, Google’s online photo storage and sharing service. To get more details about the photo contest, you have to enter your e-mail on Google’s Holiday Wi-Fi Photo Contest page.

Google is also encouraging free Wi-Fi users to open their hearts and their wallets this year. When you log on to free Wi-Fi from any of the participating hotspots this season, you will be given the option of donating to your choice of charities including Climate Savers Computing, One Economy Corporation and Engineers Without Borders USA via Google Checkout .

Google says it will match donations across all the free Wi-Fi hotspots up to $250,000, and the airport that generates the most donations by January 1, 2010 will receive $15,000 to donate to the charity of their choice. Check out Google’s charity page for more information.
What is the catch?

No catch is evident from a careful reading of this offer.  You will not need to enter any credit card or other payment information to get the free Wi-Fi. Ensure that you choose the free complimentary Google hotspot among the available wireless networks. There will be scattered ads as expected with any Google free product, but I expect this to be unobtrusive.

You should also know that Google says it “will have access to some aggregate, non-personally identifiable information.” This should not come as a surprise to regular Google users, but if you’re squeamish about Google and its data practices then free Wi-Fi may not be the gift for you this year.

Simple security while using free Wi-Fi

Sure sounds like a great way to save money, but it is worthwhile to remember to employ adequate security measures to thieves and nefarious hackers who will no doubt, throng airports to prey on clueless travelers.

Public hotspots, are open and unencrypted, and therefore notoriously insecure. There are ways to stay safe, however and here are the top 5 hotspot safety tips:

1) Configure your Wi-Fi device so that it does not automatically connect to an open network without your approval.
2) If there’s a storage device or another PC on your home network, you may have sharing enabled on the laptop you’ve brought to the airport. Before connecting to a public hotspot, make sure that you disable sharing.
3) Use a virtual private network (VPN), to access secure and sensitive information like hospital data.
4) Switch on your personal firewall, (Mac or Windows PC), or a from a third party vendor like Symantec.
5) Avoid paying bills and shopping online at a hotspot? If you do have to, use a hotspot that has WPA2 security.

In a new report, the World Health Organization says that AIDS is the leading cause of death and disease in women aged 15 to 44 worldwide. Throughout the world, one in five deaths among women in this age group is linked to unprotected sex and lack of access to contraceptives, NPR. WHO press release on the report. Factsheet on women’s health, WHO. WHO report: Women and Health (pdf).

“Women generally live longer than men, but their lives are not necessarily healthy or happy,” Margaret Chan, the head of the United Nations health agency, said at the WHO on Monday.

25 people have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack at a market in Charsadda, Pakistan near the Afghan border today, Los Angeles Times.

The D.C. sniper, John Allen Muhammad, will be executed by lethal injection tonight unless Virginia Governor Tim Kaine intervenes. Muhammad and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, killed 10 people in the Washington, D.C. area in 2002, Washington Post.

A memorial service will be held this afternoon at Fort Hood to honor the 13 killed and 30 wounded in last Thursday’s shooting by Army psychologist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan,  USA Today.

Google will be offering free wi-fi to travelers in 47 U.S. airports until January 15, 2010, Daily Tech.

This isn’t the first time I’ve gone on a rant about Starbucks (nor will it be the last I’m sure). Each time I feel slightly guilty, because it’s not uncommon for me to blog from Starbucks. Then again, they get more than a fair share of my wallet, so I’ll get over it by the time I’m midway through this post.

The subject of this rant is the Starbucks Card. First, some background. The card itself offers customers the convenience of electronic currency, though I’m pretty sure baristas get screwed on tips now that fewer customers are dipping into their pockets and receiving loose change. Registering a Starbucks Card means creating an online account where contact details, credit card info, etc. are stored. This gives you access to free Wi-Fi, lets you avoid $0.40 surcharges for soy milk, and enables you to auto-reload your card. This last feature could backfire for certain folks who are super-vigilant of their credit cards transactions (as I am). In fact, ever since I saw how often Starbucks was charging my card 20 bucks, I’ve cut back, perhaps not on my total caffeine consumption, but certainly in downgrades from espresso drinks to house blends and dark roasts.

No, I’m not complaining that Starbucks has made me more financially responsible. As a marketer, I am in disbelief that the company has not better seized the opportunity that registered card holders present. It’s a database marketer’s dream to have access to such a wealth of customer data, including purchase history, buying habits, personal preferences, etc. We’re talking about brand evangelists here, engaged and loyal clientele who are presumably the most receptive to special promotions and offers. Why not a rewards program? A referral incentive? Or dare I say something even more tailored and creative – “Because you like X, we think you’ll like Y, so here’s a one-time coupon.” I have my “regular” drink, but I’m always open to something new.

This is just another example how Starbucks has vastly underutilized the power of CRM. As far as I can tell, aside from an occasional offer to complete a survey and receive a free drink (which may be completely random anyway), I’m not aware of any targeting that Starbucks does to uniquely position its product to the various customer segments it reaches.

Some vegan options

Cuisine: Coffee and Tea
Tofu puffs: 3 out of 5
Price range: $
Times visited: At least a dozen
Location: 450 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 1V4
Hours: Monday to Thursday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Contact: 604-684-5060; www.treescoffee.com

Outside Trees Organic Coffee on Granville Street.

Trees Organic Coffee is the second coffee shop that The Vegan Spoon’s reviewed, and while we don’t intend to make it a habit of reviewing every coffee shop we’ve been to, we do think there are a few that are worthy of mention.

The Trees location on Granville near West Hastings has been around since 1996, and we’ve been going there since 1998. In our dreadful pre-vegan days, we, along with everyone else, scarfed down their cheesecake. It is, after all, what the small Vancouver-based chain is most well-known for. It also offers a small selection of fresh sandwiches, samosas, croissants, and breakfast items—none of which are vegan. There are Italian sodas available, as well as juices, but we’re not sure if the soda syrups are vegan.

While Trees doesn’t have any vegan cheesecake, it does sell a vegan scone. And a fine scone it is, too. It seems to have the flavour of both a cinnamon-sugar donut and a cinnamon roll. Packed with pumpkin seeds, raisins, and dried apricots, it’s made with whole-wheat flour, so it packs quite an iron-rich punch. It also has a perfect moistness and texture that would convince any scone aficionado that it wasn’t vegan. We’re told that the scones are made fresh every day and that it’s always the same vegan scone on offer. This lack of variety is fine, though, because its cinnamony goodness is the perfect accompaniment to a soy latte. Don’t wait too late in the day to get your scone; by noon or late afternoon, you’re likely to find yourself scone-less.

The vegan scone at Trees.

Speaking of lattes, it’s not so much the coffee at Trees as the soy-milk options that got us really excited. It’s the first place we’ve ever encountered where a dispenser of soy milk stands proudly next to cow’s milk and cream dispensers at the condiment bar. (Yes, that little station in a cafe where you get the lids and the sugar is called a condiment bar.) So, if you’re feelin’ the drip coffee, you don’t even have to pay extra for the soy. Some cafes will give you the soy-milk carton if you ask, but other cafes will still charge as much for soy as they would if you’d ordered a latte. And, at Trees, ordering a soy latte will cost you only 25 cents extra, opposed to the 45 to 60 cents charged elsewhere. Of course, still having to pay for subbing soy sucks.

While we’re discussing lattes, we’d like to say that whatever blend Trees uses for its decaf lattes is quite nice. It’s no Continental Coffee, but it definitely holds its own in terms of standing out from those other generic places. You know, Timmies, Blenz, and that other chain from Seattle? Star-something? Anyway, Trees’ decaf blend tastes, to us, very much like dark chocolate without the chocolate flavour, ya know? For some people, it might not be stellar enough to go out of their way for. But at $2.93 (before taxes) for a tall latte, we recommend giving it a fair shake at least once.

Tall and grande decaf soy lattes at Trees.

Should you care to sit down to enjoy your coffee and scone (or tea, as there is an excellent variety of teas available), there is plenty of seating the length of the café, and there’s even a couch—right below the “tree” near the entrance. At the moment, the Canada Line construction leftovers on Granville Street make getting to Trees’ front door quite a hassle. That said, whenever we’ve been there there’s been plenty of customers who have made the roundabout trek to get into the café, and that’s gotta mean something when it comes to Trees’ quality. This also means that, while accessibility is usually no problem for the stroller set or peeps with mobility devices, at the moment this is not so.

Trees is also open later into the day, which is nice for date-night after-dinner coffee or for meeting up with friends before heading out for a movie or a bar. There is an events schedule on the Trees website, and it appears that the Granville location hosts music nights. Their Twitter feed has also mentioned movies. Lately, though, it seems that there is neither music nor movies at Trees. We assume this is because of the ghost town construction on Granville has created. When all is clear, we’ll update this post to let y’all know.

In the meantime, get your tush over to Trees and show ‘em how much you love their vegan scones. Perhaps if enough of us show up and ask for Chi Cake, vegans and non-vegans alike can enjoy cheesecake at Trees.

Some vegan options

Cuisine: Coffee and Tea
Tofu puffs: 3.5 out of 5 (what are tofu puffs?)
Price range: $
Times visited: 7
Location: 1806 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC V5N 4A5
Hours: Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Contact: 604-255-0712

Continental Coffee on the Drive.

Honestly, the brew at Continental Coffee on the Drive has got to be the best coffee either of us at The Vegan Spoon has ever had. It was adoration at first sip. Seriously. We don’t mess around with this kinda stuff. It does Starwhoever to shame, hand over mug. The lattes at Continental Coffee are so good we take a one-hour return trip across town just to get a cup. We’d even bet you it is some of the best coffee to be had in all of Canada. Go ahead—prove us wrong.

The prices are fantastic: less than $3.50 (including taxes) for a 12-ounce cup with soy milk (they use Vitasoy). And they even offer rice milk, which is a rare option at coffee bars in Vancouver. Unlike some places we’ve sipped at, the folks at Continental Coffee are wise enough to use unfortified original Rice Dream, which doesn’t separate/curdle as much in your coffee as other brands of rice milk. If you wanna take some bean home with you, you can buy it right there; one-half of the back of the cafe is a retail beanery.

Our enduring favourite—the decaf latte with rice milk—is like the ambrosia of coffee, and this is why: there is a smooth, rich molasses-like note to the brew that is not at all bitter. The taste will make your tongue high-five your mouth. Yup, we’re talking coffee here, not wine.

And if you’re of the dogma of tea, you’ll find plenty of options in this regard too.

For people-watching, this is one of the best places in town to do it. With near floor-to-ceiling windows surrounding almost half of the cafe, and seating inside and out, this is a place where you can park your caboose and read a book, peruse the paper, or surf the free Wi-Fi. Nobody’s gonna hurry you out the door. If you’re inclined to mosey on down the street with your coffee, there are few places in town more funky than the Drive.

This, sadly, is where the love ends. Continental Coffee has no vegan munchies, the addition of which we think could only make the cafe that much greater. And recent remodeling of the inside did away with the cozy little nook that the new prep area currently occupies. A few coats of paint have really brightened the place up, and it looks great, but we preferred it the way that it was—a little incognito. Staying open past 6 p.m. on Saturdays would be a mighty sweet bonus too.

But really, we’re playing tiny violins here. The place is beyond awesome, and there’s little need to question why this place has been a veritable landmark for almost three decades.

An article on Lifehacker Australia today highlights the problem of security when using free wi-fi. I wonder how many people realise that they are putting themselves at risk when they surf the web at fast food and other places. Have a look here for more info.

I’m new to the coffee scene, but I stopped into a coffee shop with a friend of mine to get a caffeine boost. I wasn’t sure what to get, but the person in front of me ordered a latte macchiato. I asked the girl working there what was in that. She said, “I don’t really know, I just mix stuff together.” How do you have a job?

(This post is inspired by Revisited: Hanging out at Panera by davisw. Read his blog. It’s funny.)

I wish free wi-fi were available everywhere. If all places of business had it, I wouldn’t feel so bad using it when I haven’t bought anything significant or borrowing it when I’m not even in the place that is supplying it or getting my jollies out of trying to crack the password. I have such a guilty conscience. It’s time for confessions.

Confession 1: I was headed out of town to meet up with some friends for a weekend at a rental house. I was the only one with that Friday off, so I could get there early to pick up the key before the office closed at 6:00. The only problem was, I had a critical deadline to meet. I had to have web access at 4:00 so that I could attempt to… umm… win a meet-and-greet with my favorite musician! In order to win such a prize, I had to compete in an online, timed, be-ready-right-at-4:00 trivia contest. Leaving from the house would cut it close. If I ran into traffic, I might not get to the office before it closed. What to do?… Well, I ended up leaving the house really early, knocking 45 minutes off my drive, having lunch at Panera, shopping at the mall, and making my last stop at Barnes and Noble to secure some wi-fi. The problem, though, was that they didn’t have free wi-fi at the time and I didn’t know it! Dang you! Embarrassed about returning to the same Panera to borrow wi-fi, I quickly drove to the Panera deeper in the city… and spent $1.50 on a chocolate chip scone… and set up in the far back corner. The result? I didn’t win the contest and a Panera worker kept leering at me, even though I was one of three customers in the place. It’s not like I was taking space away from others.

Confession 2: When I was in search of the baby laptop, I went to Best Buy to do some investigation. I needed to feel how small the keys were and if I could manage using such a small computer. After exploring the options, I headed to Panera… to use the wi-fi… and to have lunch. I should have written that the other way. I promise I went there to have lunch first, but I did go there specifically because of the wi-fi so that I could use my iPod Touch to email the hubby and see what he thought of the computer I was considering. “But, wait,” you are thinking, “why didn’t you just call him?” Good question, lovely reader. Well, my cell phone battery was kaput and I was not at the BB in our town, I was up the highway about 45 minutes. The result? We decided the HP Laptop was the one to buy. When I returned to BB, they said the laptop I wanted was no longer in stock, which is surprising since they told me there were 3 available before I left. In the end, it turned out to be a good thing because the HP laptop didn’t have all the outputs we needed. We got the Asus instead.

Confession 3: The hubby and I were at Barnes and Noble roaming around as we like to do following a big meal out. I rarely buy books but the hubby buys quite a few, along with magazines. Most of the time, the magazines are bought locally and the books are purchased on Amazon.com. If I do happen to find a book I think I’d like, I usually hold off and check on it’s price when I get home. That evening, I found a book I wanted but rather than waiting, I busted out the iPod and used B&N’s (finally) free wi-fi… and went to Amazon to check the price. The result? It was cheaper online but I felt bad about using their own free wi-fi against them and bought the book in person at the store. ugh.

What is your judgment upon me, readers? Am I just being a resourceful cheapskate? Do I get to slide? Are you in the modern era and have a snazzy smart phone with interwebz access and laugh at take pity upon guilt-ridden peasants like me?

SM Travel Lounge

When in Cebu, are you looking for a place to leave your baggage, go for a clean toilet, buy a ticket and take a cold shower? You dont need to check-in in a hotel but this all can be done at SM Travel Lounge. This is SM’s service specially for transit travellers who just want to roam around the mall to eat and have a last minute shopping while waiting for their flight.

The first Travel Lounge I’ve been to was at SM Iloilo, conveniently located beside the Airport terminal van and the last time was at SM City Cebu. This is perfect for seabound passengers because of its close location to the pier. For a minimum amount of P100, one can leave their bags and take a refreshing cold shower (shampoo, soap & towel not included).

At SM Travel Lounge Cebu, there’s also a coffee shop inside, telephone booth although its not working yet.

from  http://marcopolo.i.ph/blogs/marcopolo/?p=250

I got up at 5am, showered, grabbed my camera and headed out. I could hear the sounds of the traffic and the beeping of the motorbikes already, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened next.

It seemed like the entire Vietnamese population of the town had converged on the streets around the old market. There was all manner of buying and selling going on, especially as the fishing boats were all docking and unloading the night’s catch. There were all shapes and sizes of fish, prawns, shellfish, squid, octopus… the amount on display was staggering. Add to the that the streets were also filled with people selling fresh herbs, eggs, vegetables, even live ducks. Then there were the people buying, motorbikes coming through, people carting ice and so on. I spotted only one other tourist amongst the crowd, camera in hand, and enjoying the scene as much as I was.

From the market I made my way along the waterfront to the Japanese Covered Bridge. The atmosphere was markedly different with all the shops closed, but the streets were no less busy. In addition to the locals were other tourists doing their morning exercise, locals cleaning the pavements outside their homes, people eating at makeshift roadside restaurants, old people catching up on gossip, and dogs. There were heaps of dogs wandering about the streets. I guess their owners keep them indoors during shopping hours, so they were all out enjoying the morning air along with their keepers.

I made a wide circle back through some side streets, taking photos the whole way. I made it back to the hotel at about 7am. I took the free breakfast they had on offer. It turned out that ‘free’ meant for only two dishes. Anything else was extra. Oh well. I had a fruit shake, milk coffee and a banana pancake as I wrote a couple of postcards. I should have skipped the pancake as it was still too early for me and food to get along. Quick check of the email at the internet cafe. Their PCs are horribly slow and unstable. Internet Explorer took forever to load anything too. Next time I’ll take the laptop and save myself a lot of time, if anything.

It’s amazing what a difference a couple of hours makes. By 9am most of the shops were open and the streets were filled with tourists vying for space with locals trying to go about their business as well. There were motorcycle taxis on many corners touting for customers and children going door to door of the cafes hawking their wares as well as shopkeepers calling out to passing customers. It’s a very lively street scene.

I went to the Cargo cafe on a friend’s recommendation and asked for their Eggs Benedict as well as a coffee and a banana lassi to settle my stomach. The lassi and coffee came quickly and were marvelous. I settled in to watch the passing parade. The eggs were certainly taking their time so I called over the waitress, who thought I wanted the bill! I ended up getting a menu and ordering the eggs plus another lassi and coffee. She didn’t know what Eggs Benedict was, in fact it was listed on the menu as the ‘poached eggs breakfast’. My mistake. She asked me to write it down for her so they’d know in the future. Even on holiday I can’t escape being an English teacher! It was a pleasure though since the eggs duly came and were lovely.  The Cargo was a patisserie with some lovely looking cakes in the refrigerated display inside the shop. The shop staff were lively and there was plenty of joyful noise coming from the kitchen area.

After my early brunch I went and bought a t-shirt as a souvenir. They had large sizes, so I had no trouble getting one that fit.

Back to the hotel by 10:30am, feeling like I’d already put in a full day’s effort!

I left again about 12:30. I took the backpack with me this time to take the laptop to the Rendezvouz Cafe Art Gallery, where I’d had such a lovely experience yesterday and use their free wi-fi, but also to perhaps buy a couple of things. It’s a good cause, so why not? I also wanted to pick up some lacquerware, since some of it looked so fantastic. The post office could package up all my purchases to send back to Japan in one go. I purchased a bottle of Coke on the way so I could add to my collection. I try to get a small glass bottle of Coke in every country I go to, since it’s a consistent product around the world, and symbolizes a lot that I like about us (we are all one human race), as well as things I find worrying (globalization, corporatism).

I had a chat to the other Vietnamese guy who runs the Rendezvouz Cafe. He works in a hotel in the town and is volunteering here as a manager as well as one of the English teachers. We had a more detailed chat about the place and what they’re doing here. They’re offering specialised English classes for people who want to work in hotels and security, as well as for people who want it for communication. He told me that his hotel had closed for a couple of months earlier this year due to the combined effects  of the global economic crisis as well as the H1N1 flu outbreak. He said that the streets of Hoi An had been essentially empty and while his hotel had been at 80-90% capacity this time last year, it had been better for them to close for two months. He said even now, even though the streets had quite a few tourists walking along them, things still weren’t back to last year’s levels. Things must have been very tough for the locals. It’s great to see such people trying to do things to make the community better and wealthier.

I sat there for an hour or so, took some more pix of the house and then went back (eventually) to the lacquerware shop, ordered a bunch of stuff then went back to Cordon Bleu for another bowl of sweet, sweet Cao Lao noodles – more addictive than nicotine and a million times better for your body and soul. Back to the hotel to cool off with a beer and the view.

For dinner I went to Mango Tree on my friend’s recommendation. The staff ushered me out the ‘back’ to where I had a nice comfy seat with a view of the river. The atmosphere was very nice but it was a *dark* room, with barely enough light to make everything out. I had a G&T to start things off, which was lovely and refreshing. The free nibbles were a good idea. BUT when the waiter spilled a couple of chips as he moved the plate when he brought the cutlery, he put them back onto the plate with his bare hands! Errrrrmmmmm….. NO!

I had an entree of Vietnamese spring rolls which were loaded with fresh coriander and came with a mildly spicy peanut sauce. For the main I had chicken which came with a tomato and pineapple based sauce, green beans tossed on fresh black pepper and vermicelli. Splendid. It was a bit pricey, as I heard some customers near me mention, but frankly you’d easily pay five times as much in Japan or Australia for a meal that tasty without grumbling, so why bother here?

After walking along the riverbank and through the streets for a while I returned to the wine bar and had the same as I had the previous evening – upstairs this time. Just as lovely.

I bought one more t-shirt on the way home. I wanted to get a Biere Larue t-shirt so I eventually got one. I had some fun with the girls working in the shops and got some wildly fluctuating prices, so here’s what happened, just to give you an idea of how much you should pay. Near the Mango Tree I tried to get one and the shopgirl’s first offer was 320,000 dong. (That’s WAY too much – about US$20!) I walked. That’s not even worth negotiating for. Near my hotel they asked for 50,000 (about US$3-4). That was much more reasonable – I didn’t even bargain with them. The girls working there were much more fun too. It goes to show you should shop around, oh and just walk if they’re being unreasonable.

I thought I was going back to Hanoi tomorrow so I asked the hotel staff what time checkout was. The lady there asked if I was sure I was leaving tomorrow. I said I thought I was… but she checked and they had me booked for three nights. Sure enough, I checked back in my room and I HAD booked three nights for myself! Awesome! I ought to do nice things like that for myself more often!

I was back in my room and in PJs by 9pm. (I had got up at 5am this morning!) I set my alarm again for early so I could go for a sunrise walk again tomorrow. I might as well since I have the chance and I now know where the action is!

“I hope it is a spectacular as I remember it”

Yes! It really is!

I love that it is free, with the one criterion for admission being curiosity! The Gutenberg Bible and Jefferson’s manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence are held here, as well as cuneiform tablets hundreds of years old, and of course free Wi-Fi and laptop borrowing.

A statue outside as you enter

The ornate brass door handle

The grand entrance!

The view from above

Exploring the passageways

And then suddenly you come into this giant chamber! I couldn't get a good photo on my mobile but this room is amazing!

Impressive painted ceilings

The room with free Wi-Fi! Its called the Edna Barnes Soloman room. lots of oil paintings on the walls, great parquetry flooring and intricate pressed lead ceilings. And no books. And people on laptops!

More little nooks

Stairs make one more contemplative, methinks

free wi-fi sih free wi-fi..
Gratis memang. Cuman kalo bandwithnya kecil, terus mesti diakses oleh puluhan gadget, ya ngos-ngosan tuh wi-fi.
Idealnya fasilitas publik yang menyediakan free wi-fi paling nggak mesti mempunyai kecepatan akses di atas 1 Mbps. Sehingga ketika diakses oleh banyak gadget, masih mampu menjalankan fungsinya dengan normal, tidak lambat atau bahkan tidak jalan sama sekali.
Harus diakui, adanya fasilitas free wi-fi menjadi salah satu daya tarik satu tempat layanan publik. Kalo fasilitas daya tarik ini mengecewakan, pelanggan atau customer bisa kabur.

There are 3 locations in the Tulsa area that have FREE Wi-Fi!!!!

They are:

Riverside Market

9637 S Riverside
918-299-5997

Kingspointe

6030 S. Yale
918-481-9727

Cherry Street Market

1342 E. 15th Street
918-382-1700

So, come on out and bring your laptop. Camille’s is a perfect place to study with friends, get that last minute work done (away from the office!) or just relax and surf the net.

While you’re there, you may just be tempted to enjoy one of our luscious desserts or coffees.

Being a full time mom doesn’t mean you cannot mobile. Below is lists of Free wi-fi hotspots in Malaysia that i’ve found. Hope they don’t mind to share….

KL & Selangor

1) All timezones listed free hotspots (inc whole M’sia Starbucks) Goto Timezone list
2) 1 Utama new wing
3) Certain KFC outlets during weekdays from 2pm to 6pm (pls visit KFC.com.my)
4) Hai Siang Kopitiam /Haipeng ( Bdr Puteri Puchong)
5) Simply Penang (bdr puteri Puchong)
6) Star Junction (Bdr Puteri Puchong)
7) Kopikau (Bdr Puteri Puchong)
Station 1 Coffee both in Puchong Jaya & bdr puteri)
9) Rasa Sayang restaurant (bdr puteri Puchong)
10) Everyday food court (Pusat Bdr Puchong)
11)Telawi Street Bistro – Contributed by earl-ku
12) Cafe 1940 (The Vurve, Bangsar & 1U)
13) Ming Tien Food Court – Contributed by leongleong
14) Projet Bangi Petrol Station – Contributed by ayiez_laugh
15) One Stop chinese fastfood beside Sharkey pizza in IOI mall Puchong)
16) lobby of Megan Philleo Avenue II
17) Centrepoint BU
18) Quicksave car car boutique, USJ 7
19) Lunch Box (Technology Park)
20)Stranger Restaurant and Cafe in Sec. 19
21) KLIA & LCCT -Sepang
22) 5 to 1- Jalan Udang Siar, Taman Sri Segambut
23) Vanessa, Taman Setapak
24) Friendster Cafe & Restaurant, Plaza Emerald, PJU 8 Damansara
25) Vistana Hotel, Klang
26) MYSpot Jalan Semarak
27) Restoran Kereta Jln 9/23E
28) Jing-Si Book Cafe, Bukit Bintang
29) Telawi Street Bistro, Bangsar
30) La Bodega, Bangsar
31) Megalane Bowl, Endah Parade
32) Plaza @ Lim Kok Wing Uni, Cyberjaya
33) Prescott Metro Inn Kajang
34) Prescott Hotel Klang
35) Prescott Inn Kuala Lumpur
36) The Raintree of Kuala Lumpur
37) The Royal Selangor Golf Club
38) PLUS highway Sg Buloh R&R
39) Steven’s Corner, Pandan Indah, KL
40) Telawi Street Bistro Bangsar Kuala Lumpur
41) Universiti Hospital Petaling Jaya
42) izzi Pizza at Jalan Sultan Ismail Airzed (FOC)
43) Long Black Cafe, SS2 (next to Coffee Bean)
44) The Curve, Level 1 (infront of 1901 / Kim Gary)
45) Mcdonald’s, Jalan Mewah Utara Orientations Network McDonald’s Free
46) Hoca Cafe Ampang Ampang Point (near Coffee Bean) Free
47) BlueLine Kwick Print Elinet Damansara Utama,
49) HELP College (lobby) Pusat Bandar Damansara Free (?)
50) JomKita Cafe Free (order drink n get WEP access key)
51) Between Mandarin Oriental & the taxi stand @ Suria KLCC (opposite BSN)
52) McDonalds Pusat Bandar Damansara Orientations Network Free
53) Meeting Point Cafe Jalan Pudu, opp Swiss Garden Hotel Free
54)Mc Donald’s Mont Kiara No 1, Block D, Free
55) Mc Donald’s Pusat Bandar Damansara Block A
56) Raju’s Curry House Jalan Gasing Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya
57)TechStop One Utama
58)Front of Toyota Dealership, IOI biz Centre Puchong
59)Petronas Station Ali Lok Enterprise (opp USJ Summit Shopping)
60)UPM Serdang UPMNET Admin, BTM, FBM, FEP, and FSKTM area
61)McDonald’s Taipan USJ
68) McDonalds Shah Alam Shah Alam, Section 3
69)Sri Hartamas; Backyard Pub;Streamyx;Free
70)Bar Med Desa Sri Hartamas Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
71)Barflam Bar & Restaurant Bangsar Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
72)Bayou The Javanese Brew & Caf Mont Kiara Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
73)December Restaurant & Bistro Mont Kiara Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
74)Grappa The Trattoria Bangsar Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
75)Hello Station Bangsar Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
76)Japanese Dining Bar Bangsar Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
77)Mezza Restaurant Bangsar Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
78)Poison Bar Jalan P Ramlee Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
79)Restoran Hungarian Paprika Bangsar Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
80)The Red Chamber Bar & Restaurant Bangsar @status unknown
81)The Roof Bangsar Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
82)The Rox Bangsar Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
83Vintages Bangsar Kuala Lumpur @status unknown
84)University of Nottingham-Student Lounge, Jalan Conlay @status unknown
85)Maju Junction-Big Shot Archery @status unknown
86)Menara KL-Mega View Banquet Deck, @status unknown
87)Menara KL-Observation Deck @status unknown
88) Most Coffee bean outlet listed in Airzed (request p/wword frm counter) Info Here
89) Yes car Care Centre (Proton Service) -Opp DHL Puchong
90) Tsim Tung – Pandan Indah
91) Quan Kopitiam -Pandan Indah
92) Gasoline restaurant – Sri Kembangan
93 Kopi Chye -Pandan Indah
94) Old town kopitiam -Pandan Indah
95) Yippie Cup & another cafe 2 block away -SS2, PJ

MELAKA

1) Numeous area around MITC City, Air Keroh Melaka,
2) Bangunan Wisma Negeri Ayer Keroh
3) Melaka Sentral
4) Perpustakaan Negeri Melaka
5) Still Thought Caf� Kws Perindustrian Bt Berendam
6) Most Coffee bean outlet listed in Airzed (request p/wword frm counter) Info Here

Penang:

1) Craven Cafe Penang – Contributed by darkages
2) Pearlview Hotel coffee house – Chai Leng park, Perai
3) Chepanze Brasserie Gurney Plaza
4) Manila Place, Gurney Plaza
5) IS Coffee@ Megamall, Prai
6)Thumb Cafe, Pekaka,
7)Redbox Gurney, Gurney Plaza
8)House of Notebooks, Gurney Plaza
9)Equatorial Hotel Bukit Jambul
10)Sri Weld Food Court Beach Street Food Court along Beach Street
11)SG2 Cafe Bukit Jambul Free
12)Red Cafe behind Craven Burma Rd
13)Belaroma Beans & Brews, Cosmic Cafe, Easyway Cafe,
14)Winter Warmers Prangin Mall Ground
15)Northern Point Cellular & Accessories Free Cornucopia Pulau Tikus
16)Old Free’s Association Cafeteria and Patio area only Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah
17)Craven Cafe Tanjung Bungah,
18)Tari Cafe Tanjung Tokong
19)BigBites @ Ivory plaza
20)Most Coffee bean outlet listed in Airzed (request p/wword frm counter) Info Here
21) Penang.pantai.seagate

Perak:

1) There is one modern kopitiam in Jln Tupai Taiping (can’t remember the name)
2) Ipoh Padang ( Jaring ) *need register
3) MovenPeak Steamboat restaurant – Ipoh
4) All PLUS Highway R&R in Perak
5) BSO Technologies SB PDA & PC Shop , Medan Istana ,Ipoh
Kedah

1) Andaman Resort Langkawi – whole hotel inc to the rooms

Pahang

1) Intan’s Oven Biscuits Cafe Kuantan
2) Coffee bean, Genting Highland (request p/wword frm counter) Info Here

Kelantan

1) Hayaki Cafe

Johor

1) Sebana hotel Kota Tinggi
2) JB AIA building
3) Kenny Rogers Summit Shopping mall Batu pahat
4) Skudai Skudai Parade, 5th Floor Individual ACE Archery Center Free
5) The M-Suite Hotel Lido beach TMNET Lobby, reception, cafe & bistro Commercial
6) Most Coffee bean outlet listed in Airzed (request p/wword frm counter) Info Here
Sarawak

1) Institut Eksekutif, Crown Towers, Kuching
2) Mega Hotel, Miri
3) Sri Aman Computer Centre, Sri Aman
4) ParkCity Everly Hotel Bintulu
5) Miri Airport Executive Lounge
6) ParkCity Everly Hotel Miri
7) Bestberry Cafe, Jalan Petanak @ free
Bing Coffee Company, Jalan Pandungan @ free
9) Crown Plaza Riverside Hotel
10) Damai Lagoon Santubongfree
11) E Magic Corner, Jalan Song @ free
12) Hilton Hotel
13) Pandan Thai Delight Restaurant @ free
14)Al Fresco Sidewalk Cafe @ free , Miri
15)Grand Palace Hotel @ free , Miri
16) Hai Ma Coffee Shop @ free , Miri
17) ParkCity Everly Hotel @ free , Miri
18)San Francisco Coffee @ free , Miri
19) Sea Horse Bistro @ free , Miri
20) The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf @ free , Miri
21)The Other Office @ free , Miri
22)Miri Airport Executive Lounge Airport Road Miri
23) Most of central Miri. provided by deconnexion
24) King Ing Hotel @ free , Mukah
25)Qintai Inn @ free , Mukah
26) Everly Hotel @ free Sibu26) Paramount Hotel @ free Sibu
27) SugarBun, opposite Tanahmas Hotel @ free Sibu
28)SugarBun, Pedada Road @ free Sibu
29) Tanahmas Hotel @ free Sibu

Sabah

1) Beverly Hotel Kota Kinabalu

source

UPDATE – This pub is now called Treacle as I found out when I wandered past yesterday (9th May 2009)   http://www.treacleedinburgh.co.uk/    Will do an updated post once I’ve eaten there.

Popped into Baroque at 39-41 Broughton Street for a very quick bite to eat before a show and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of food.

We were more than happy to pay 6.50 for our burgers, but the staff pointed out that it was 2 meals for 10 pounds, even better.

They do a nice selection of cask ales, ciders and have a huge wine list, so something for everyone.

Food was served promptly and this was the chicken burger that we both had.

The chips were seasoned beautifully and the salad had peppers and onions in it mixed in a lovely Italian dressing. Burger was cooked well and I was overall really impressed with this quick bite to eat.

Would definately pop back here for a quick bite to eat another time.  The pub also has 2 for 1 drinks on a Friday afternoon/ early evening and free wi fi

Suitable for disabled ?   Yes, one small step into the premises and lots of room to manouvre once inside.  The toilets are on the same level, but the doors are not the widest so it may prove a little tricky for a wheelchair user.

new restaurant in Miracle Mile called Toshi’s Fresh Asian that has pretty good food – I’ve had salads, soup and rice-beef dishes over a couple of visits – is offering a coupon sent to you weekly when you give them your email address. test the menu at 5757 wilshire across from courtyard building where e! entertainment is and a couple of blocks east of the variety building. seems to be open mainly for lunch and draws from lots of office towers in the neighborhood. the place has been busy at lunch both times i was there. free wi-fi included.

In an announcment to customers Virgin Trains have said …..

Free wi-fi is now available in First Class on all our Pendolino trains. That means it’s even easier to feed your twitter addiction while doing a spot of shopping. Add that to our quickest trains ever, running even more frequently and an award winning new weekday menu served at your seat. And there you have it, just another reason to book in advance at virgintrains.com

This is great news for all train users in the UK……. and a great reason to ‘upgrade’ to first class.

Now we just need something similar in Ireland ………

I visited the V&A Waterfront this morning. And, as always, had to get something from vida e caffe. Ordered a caffe gelado and chocolate frio – with cream. Yummy greatness! I was, however, disappointed with the milk Lindt chocolate (nothing beats dark chocolate).

Whilst there,  I signed up for a vida e caffe loyalty card. Patrons accrue 5% of the value of their bill and can load the card with cash to spend only at vida e caffe. Plus patrons will soon be able to use free wi-fi at vida e caffe by simply logging on using their loyalty card. Despite the fact that they are Portuguese, we love vida e caffe!

P.S. Vida e caffe in Stellenbosch serves the best orange juice on this planet – perfect for the morning after a heavy night out.

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