Two women sitting nearby were drinking coffee and looking at some kind of x-ray or something. They knocked over a chair on their way out and then apologized to me, I guess in case the incident had left any psychological scars. It's raining rather heavily outside.

On the wall next to me is a framed painting of some Roman ruins. Slight ledges and flat columns embellish the walls of the café and have been painted to look like marble. All the way on the other side of the bar is a "Revenge from Mars" pinball game. My espresso came with a packet of sugar cubes and a cup and saucer that have light blue-gray marbled stripes on the edges, overlaid with a simple Aztec-style line.