I have come here to Cafe Gourmand twice... it is a very contrasting experience. This boulangerie and cafe would fit well into any city in North America or Europe, and the parties and coffee are exceptional. The internet is real here and has been a blessing to allow me to update this blog.
The cafe is in the heart of Bujumbura, a very loud and bustling throbbing mob of people. The streets are filled with tiny booths selling cell phones. The air is thick with smoke from brazier fires throughout the city, as this is the main cooking method. Radios play loudly in languages I don't understand. Police with guns are scattered everywhere, or security guards. Throngs and mobs describe the character of the streets downtown. In the centre of this is the oasis of the cafe.
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| Downtown Bujumbura from the roof od Cafe Gourmand |
There are big metal gates, and the fences around it are wired with sophisticated electrical systems. The building rises three stores above the seeming chaos on the street below. I am sitting on the rooftop terrace, drinking an iced latte. There are plants around me and the faux wicker furniture could have been purchased at the Bay... The waiters even speak English! For this, I will pay about the same as I would in Canada for a coffee, an exorbitant price for Bujumbura... 3200 francs. A thousand francs is worth about seventy cents. I will try to add pictures of the cafe the next time I can log on!
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| The roof top terrrace |
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| Security fences aounrd the gates of Cafe Gourmand |
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What a study in contrasts! Stay well!
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