Solution

For the past year or so I've been meeting with my friend, sometime via Skype to do free writes. At first we would spy someone and make up a story writing like mad for ten minutes and sharing what we wrote. 

Later we tried photos and finally we selected at random a sentence from a book. Some of these I've put on the blog http://flashfictionexercises.blogspot.ch/

However as tourist season heats up when my writing buddy and I meet up at the café there are too many distractions including people we know who stop to chat.

Solution?

Do it chez moi. The advantage here, is that we can drink maté. I put the leaves in about a third of the glass, sprinkle cardamon on top, and add hot water. I have my Syrian silver straws, and as we drink down, we add more hot water. I can never drink it without thinking of my wonderful days in Damascus with friends, sipping maté, talking, eating nuts, talking, sipping, talking, eating...and wish that it were possible to do it now but not as hard as I wish that all those I care about there will be all right.