Three Sightings in Prague

Snow. The first of the year. And a good amount of it too. I woke up at dawn to the sound of a neighbor shoveling the sidewalk. But by the time I headed out in the afternoon, there were few pristine tableaus left to capture.

(Children tobogganing down Petrin Hill)

French toast! At the Globe Cafe. (Sorry, no picture—I was starving.)

I'm a huge fan of the New York style brunch—pancakes, sausages, French toast, maple syrup, eggs benedict, hash browns, omelettes, mimosas, Bloody Marys, the works.... Alas, Prague is not big on brunch. A few places try, but the two essentials—pancakes and French toast—are usually missing. Until I turned up at the Globe—an expat-owned bookstore slash cafe—today for brunch with Iulia.

I've been to the Globe a few times but never for brunch. Word in the expat grapevine was that in the past brunch there wasn't much to write home about. But things have improved under new management. The cafe has spruced up its looks and its menu/kitchen. The new Globe takes brunch seriously it seems—during the set hours the kitchen only handles brunch meals and you can't order anything but. Fruit drinks are freshly squeezed and you can have a "brunch cocktail" too. I ordered French toast sprinkled with almond slivers, bacon and scrambled eggs. Verdict? Tastes like the real thing. The bread though, could have been thicker.... Will be returning to sample other fare.

Ethan Hawke? Well, I didn't see him.... Heading towards Narodni Divadlo tram stop after brunch, we ran into Darcie, her friend Kevan and his girlfriend. Kevan was pretty sure he had just spotted the actor walking up Narodni about five minutes before. If so, where could he be headed? We all wondered. Cafe Louvre? Could we chase him down? Too desperate, and probably dangerous with the snow. Maybe accidentally drop in for tea at Louvre....