I returned to Wild & Wood this afternoon, making it my third visit to the coffeeshop. I think this makes this place the most frequently visited coffeeshop of all the ones I have been to, with the exception of Caffe Vergnano, and Taylor Street Baristas.

Why my third visit warrants a separate post from my second visit, in spite of the fact that I'm posting them one after another, is because of what happened during this third visit.

You see, I was determined to try out one of their sweet treats today, although I was incredibly full after a wonderfully delicious Singaporean/Malaysian lunch whereupon I ran into a friend from JC, whom I haven't seen properly since JC. He looked pretty much the same, and he said the same about me, which is probably the best thing you could ever say to a girl, to be quite honest. Suffice it to say that the number of years since we received our A Level results is in the double digit range. Anyway, he was going off to meet some friends in Soho, and he and I arranged to meet up some time soon at the coffeeshop I was making my way to. At that point, I was within walking distance of a number of good coffeeshops. According to my GPS, I was less than 10 minutes away from Flat White, Fernandez & Wells, Nordic Bakery and Wild & Wood. But I wanted a place to sit and read, so, in the end, I made my way to Wild & Wood.

When I arrived, I saw that there was one brownie and one slice of apple cake left. I love baked goods. I really do. I have a fondness for brownies, black forest cake (gosh, I haven't had this in forever), and anything with apple and/or cinnamon (so there was a bit of a struggle between this place and Nordic Bakery). I asked the female barista (I got her name, but haven't the faintest idea how to spell it) which she would go for, but she wasn't able to help, as both taste so different. I stood at the display for a while, and finally opted for the brownie. After all, I'd heard that Clarke's brownies are among the best in London, and I hadn't yet had the opportunity to try them out, West Kensington just being a little too west for me.

"Pick me. Choose me. Eat me," it said, when I stood at the display. Apologies to Grey's Anatomy for mangling one of their most well-known lines.

And it went down a treat. The lady later said that she agreed with my choice as brownies are the ideal choice for a sunny, warm Saturday treat. And in any case, I figured I would just have to return some other day to check out the apple cake!

A flat white

The rosetta's not as pretty as the ones you might find at other places, but the beverage is great. And given that it's less than £2 for eating in, that, in my mind, upgrades it even if it's not as visually appealing.

Anyway, funny story is, after I commenced eating my brownie, the guy half of the couple at the table next to me asked if there were any brownies left. No, there weren't, because I'd taken the last one. I apologised (it was just one of those days when I felt sociable), and his girlfriend laughed it off, telling me it was because I brought the brownie to his attention that he started craving one. I offered him a little bit of mine, but he declined and opted for one of the large chocolate cookies instead.

After this, a young man sat at the same table I was occupying, and, at first, ordered a flat white. It was obvious he was a regular there, as the barista and he had a short chat. About half an hour later, he ordered the apple cake. Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked him how it was. "Really good," he said, and offered me some of his. I'm still on a bit of a diet, so declined, saying I'd already decided to come back and try it some other day. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the female barista laughing at the fact that I was so fascinated by the cake.

And then he and I started talking about anything and everything for the next 30 minutes or so. I'm not the most forward of persons. I don't mind chatting, but sometimes I chat without even bothering to introduce myself. Why bother if we're never going to meet again? But at the end of it, when we were both leaving (as the shop was closing), he asked for my name, and, just as I said, "maybe I'll see you again in there some time", not only did he say "Yes, I'm there most days," he also asked for my number.

Heh.

I explained to a friend a few weeks back (not about me, but about someone else), sometimes, when you're out of a relationship, you're at a stage when you'd just like to see if it's possible for you to attract someone's attention, and for that person to ask for your number, and not the other way round. It wasn't my intention when I struck up a conversation with this guy as I truly was interested in the cake, but I'm glad that I'm still able to have an intelligent conversation with someone. Especially since, in recent weeks, I'd become very worried that the only things I seemed to be talking about were job hunting, job hunting and job hunting!