Jenny (7 January 2012)

One of my great pleasures when visiting Oxford in winter, is to sit with a frothy and delicious chai latte in one of the comfy old seats at Caffe Nero in Blackwells Bookshop. The atmosphere is warm, congenial, and one is surrounded by shelves of fabulous books to brouse from. My times in the café were made more pleasant by the friendly and smiling staff. For customers who wish to use their laptops, there are tables with connections to plugs, and I often wondered if one of these writers tapping away was a future J.K. Rowling. The café also has seating near windows overlooking Broad Street and a little side room with more old leather sofas, so the seating is varied according to your taste in lighting - and of course, availability. Sitting in one of the deep leather seats, I often got to chat to other diners, and the exchange was always interesting, as I suppose other customers shared a common interest in books to be there in Blackwells. I miss England very much, and this cosy café on a cold winter"s day.