[wink]

I would not have expected that!

I think I've been to two (urban) Starbucks in my life that were both big enough to even have the space to sit there not directly in front of the counter and also not in main train station with dozens of people in it. (And the 2nd ones urban-ness can be debated, it was in Mexico).

At least to me, in Europe, Starbucks is the epitome of McDonalds-but-for-coffee. Not great, but reliable, for a quick stop and not to linger.

[itslennysfault]

In the US Starbucks popularized lingering at a coffee shop. There a lot of HUGE Starbucks that have fire places and couches and are really built to be comfortable places to relax and/or work. However, the trend in the past 5-ish years has been to remodel them to be geared toward pickup / drive thru which is a shame. The exception is the "Starbucks Reserve Roastery" which are massive multi-story stores mostly in touristy areas. The one in Chicago is 4 stories and has every comfort you could imagine, but it is pretty much always packed with tourists (still not a great place to hang out of work).