Seattle!

It's been over a week since my last post. What have I been up to?

Mostly I've been out visiting Andrew D'Avis in Seattle. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures during this time, despite having brought two digital cameras with me. So much for my new "take more daily photos" resolution. Here's a breakdown of what I saw.

Runs:
-Lake Washington
-Interlaken Park/ran part of the marathon course
-Volunteer Park
-Humongous hills up to Capital Hill; my Philly legs were put in their place!
-Very eclectic architecture. Each house seemed different; moreover even each window on each house was different.
-Sprawling buildings/lots more "space" for a city

Coffee Shops:
-Victrola Coffee & Art http://www.victrolacoffee.com/
-Bauhaus Books & Coffee http://www.bauhauscoffee.net/
I was not disappointed!

Restaurants/Pub/Other Fooderies:
-Spinasse http://www.spinasse.com/ Highly recommend this one. Food was great, but the ambiance was excellent. Designed like you are in an Italian dining room and can see through to a homey kitchen. Very cool!
-Volunteer Park Cafe http://www.alwaysfreshgoodness.com/. Smells divine as soon as you walk in! Great waitress. Great food, though I was so tired from travel I don't remember what I ate. I do recall a nice bottle of Syrah from Columbia Valley, Washington (l'Ecole no 41, 2005).
-Honey Hole http://www.thehoneyhole.com/
-Dish Cafe http://seattle.citysearch.com/profile/10783787
-Kimchi Bistro http://www.yelp.com/biz/kimchi-bistro-seattle. Small family owned restaurant. Very nice people there. Had very filling and tasty Dol Soht.
-The Stumbling Monk http://www.drunkenmonks.org/. Great selection of Belgians.
-Pikes Place Market
-Madison Square Market (coop)
-Dave Zucker's Pi(e) Party! However it was on 3/13 as he had to leave for China on Sun. Thanks Dave for inviting me! It was the most memorable Pi Day! There were many, many tasty pies; I sampled at least 10. There was a raspberry/strawberry one that was quite good. Well, actually that's the only one that I can recollect with any clarity, so it must have been very good...
-Last night, went to Charlie's apartment for dinner [cooked by Andrew's housemate (lamb ragu, very tasty!)]. Then Andrew and I made chocolate souffles. Turned out well if I do say so myself!

Yes, we ate well!

NB. Of all of the wines we drank, I didn't like any of the European wines--which was odd because I'd had those wines before on the East Coast and know that I've liked them before. There was a 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape that I was very disappointed in. It was really acidic and never opened up even after a half hour of breathing. On the other hand, all of the West Coast wines were impeccable. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this phenom. In any case, I was glad to finally try some good California wines, in particular a Pinot Noir. I was very impressed. I am completely ignorant when it comes to West Coast wines.

Cool views:
-The Library. Thanks to Andrew's friend who works at the library, I was able to get a look at the cool conveyor belt system that ushers/organizes the incoming and outgoing books. Pretty high tech! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Central_Library
-The view from Charlie's apartment. Amazing! Can see all of Seattle skyline, the Needle, Elliot Bay. You could really see how quickly the weather changes there. The apartment had sunshine, but you could see rain falling out over the bay. Clear view of the sunset (well it got hidden in the end by little storm clouds). But you could imagine how wondrous it would be on a clear day.
-First night there, walked up to Volunteer Park. Great view of Elliot Bay and all the mountains that surround Seattle. There's also an art museum, a green house, and an interesting circular sculpture. I forget what it actually was, but it reminded me of The Death Star with it's center blown out (yeah, a little strange, but come on, I was on EST and I'd been traveling all day).
-I was blown away by views from path around Lake Wash. To be so close to the mountains, but still in a city. Awesome! So much green too. I almost (ok, I did) tripped several times just because I couldn't tear my eyes away from Nature.
-Up on Cap Hill it seemed as though there was a great view from every street corner: mountains, lakes in both directions.
-Drove out to Puget Sound. Wow! The wind was crazy that day. I'd say this added to the magic of the shore. Lots of dogs and other people strolling the beach and tide pools, having a relaxing Sunday morn. There were seaweeds, rocks, shells, and drift wood to play with/on. This is one of the downfalls of Philly: no beaches, no lakes, no waves. I felt utter glee from being out in nature like this; energized by the wind and surf and salty smells!
-The Fremont Troll http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2236

So, yes, I had a great time in Seattle. Is it the better coast as Emily Meshberg incessantly argues? TBD.