Riding the Metro Transit from the airport, after encountering a Chinese man who thrust money at me so that I would help him buy his ticket
The requisite Cousin photo, with me photobombing in the background
Admiring the surroundings on our way to lunch
Love the funkiness of this city!
One of the places I really wanted to try was a place only open for lunch Tuesday through Friday, called Salumi. They sell salami and cured meat products, as well as sandwiches and weekly specials. Unfortunately, I was not the only one who wanted to try their food, as we showed up around 11:30 AM, after dropping all our stuff off at our hotel, and encountered a nearly hour-long wait. Luckily, reviews I'd read of the place had warned me about this, so I knew we'd be in for a long line, and fortunately, Naan (who gets notoriously grumpy when hungry) declared it the best sandwich she'd ever had and worth the wait. Phew. (She was very patient during the wait, too.)
Trying to decide which sandwiches to try
I eventually decided on the Porchetta, which was amazing! Naan and Mooga both got salami sandwiches, which were also fantastic.
Next we hit the Smith Tower, a place Mooga wanted to see, which Naan and I had both never been to. We took the elevator to the observation deck and were treated to a nice view of Seattle. Amusingly, to access the observation deck, you take the lobby up to the Chinese Room, so obviously we HAD to visit.
Ceiling of the Chinese Room
Supposedly, sitting on this chair means you will get married within the next year. Think it works?
Cousins on the observation deck
Beautiful water view
Qwest Field, where the Seattle Seahawks play
Next we headed to one of my favorite places in this city, the Seattle Public Library. This place is just unbelievably cool.
Approaching the huge steel and glass structure
Looking out over the ground floor
After getting our fill of the library, we headed a couple of blocks over to Gelatiamo, a place Salsa had actually recommended to us ages ago, from when she used to live in Seattle. Shweetie and I had visited when we last came to Seattle, as had Naan and Curry. Now I was eager to introduce it to Mooga as well.
Six scoops of gelato between the three of us!
After gelato, we debated what to do. Should we go back to the hotel and rest before dinner or should we power on? We were all tired, as we'd taken really early flights that morning, and Mooga and I couldn't really sleep on our flight because there was a REALLY loud guy sitting pretty close to me and right in front of her. Ultimately we decided to just power on, since we were worried we might not be able to get back up for dinner. We headed on down to Pike Place Market.
Our first stop was the Hat Shop
"Sushi? You think this is about sushi?!"
Nerdy robot
This photo would be more complete if I were in the background photobombing
Much to Mooga's chagrin, Naan did NOT get hit in the face with a fish
We were seduced by the gorgeous fruit and bought some to enjoy later
The vegetables looked beautiful too, but we didn't buy any as we didn't have any intention of cooking (even though our room included a kitchen)
Check out the size of these sugar snap peas!
Luckily no one was interested in getting coffee at the original Starbucks, since the place was pretty mobbed
We picked up piroshkies at Piroshky Piroshky, a place that Naan and Curry loved when they visited
Mooga wanted to try out goodies at The Confectional, so I picked up a caramel cheesecake (thank goodness they were small!)
We headed back to our hotel room to get freshened up for dinner. Yes, that's right. After a day full of eating, we were getting ready to eat again. I had made reservations for us at Le Pichet, an affordable place that had good reviews on Yelp. It did not disappoint and we had a lovely meal to cap off our first busy but fun day in Seattle.
Walking past Pike Place Market on our way to dinner
Ridiculously full after dinner!
The next morning, we headed straight back to Pike Place Market for lunch at Pike Place Chowder, another one of my favorites in Seattle. The line was long, wrapping around the side of the building, but it moved at a decent pace. After waiting in line at Salumi the day before, the line at Pike Place Chowder felt downright short. And fortunately (though I'm almost embarrassed to admit this), we'd already had a full breakfast of French toast at our hotel that morning, so we weren't starving while we waited.
Getting ready to dig in to our chowders and Dungeness crab rolls
We then headed over to Seattle Center, where the city was holding its annual "Bites of Seattle" festival. It was absolutely gorgeous, sunny weather, and we enjoyed walking around to the different food booths (yes, more food). Most notable though, was the Dock Dogs competition that was underway as we approached on the monorail. Naan was practically hyperventilating as she hurried off the train, making a beeline for the spectacle. We spent hours watching dogs race along the dock at the urging of their owners, and then hurl themselves into a pool of water, trying to retrieve whatever item the owner had thrown in. We were amazed at some of the experienced dogs' leaping abilities and amused by some of the newer dogs' antics, like running around on the dock like a Tazmanian devil or being too afraid to jump into the water.
Blue skies and the Space Needle
Go get it, puppy!
Lots of people enjoying the weather and festivities
Mooga's favorite thing we ate all weekend, elephant ears
We had supper at The Alley, which was hosted by Tom Douglas, a chef with quite a few popular restaurants in Seattle
We sampled food from seven different restaurants for just $10 per person
I followed up my supper with this beautiful strawberry shortcake dessert, though it wasn't as good as the elephant ears
The next morning we met up with Mooga's friend, who was going with Mooga up to Vancouver that afternoon. Naan and I were planning to stick around Seattle for the rest of the day then catch our flights back home in the evening.
Brunch at Dahlia Lounge, one of Tom Douglas' many eateries
The infamous pear that rode around in Naan's purse nearly all weekend
After a light brunch, we walked directly to Top Pot Doughnuts. I can't possibly imagine why I gained five pounds in a matter of three days.
This was the coolest looking doughnut shop I've ever been to, kinda like a trendy coffee shop
Old fashioned maple, a combination of my two favorite kinds of doughnuts
We then walked Mooga and her friend to the hotel where the bus to Vancouver would be picking people up. On our way there, we walked past the weirdest school ever.
What's with the rubber chickens?
Here's the side of the building
Huh?
After dropping Mooga and her friend off, Naan and I headed back to "Bites of Seattle." We watched some more Dock Dogs events and had dinner at The Alley again, since they were offering different food selections that day. After a little while, we went back to our hotel to grab our stuff and then headed for the airport. It was a fun and successful first Cousin (and Sister) trip! Where to next, Portland?
All pictures courtesy of Mooga.
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