Above is a link to the pictures I took yesterday. If you click on a picture you’ll find exciting descriptions providing a depth not present in the brief captions. Below, you’ll find discussion of things I didn’t take pictures of. Whee!
I arrived in Seattle at 2:30 AM Monday night/Tuesday morning, so sleeping was top on my list of things to do. Tuesday, morning, though, Kevin and I started off with a 1 PM breakfast at Piroshki On Broadway, a very cute Russian bakery/restaurant. I had never heard of piroshkies, but loved the warm and savory beef & cheese pastry served by a thick Slavic woman with a thick Russian accent. From there we made a requisite stop at Starbucks and sat outside until scared off by the stench of other patrons and local street-dwellers.
Later in the day we headed down to Pioneer Square to take the Underground Tour Kevin had heard about. For $10 each we spent 90 minutes learning about the history of Seattle and walking through the underground sidewalks and buildings buried when they redistributed the cliffs to level the land in the late 19th century. Our tour guide, Gael (pronounced Gayle), was sharp and funny (though trying much too hard) and clearly enjoyed her job. While my preference is to see that kind of thing without the non-stop narration of a guide, it was a good time, and educational too.
When we parked to take the tour, I noticed that we were right in front of a place called Cow Chip Cookies. Maria James had recommended Cow Chips to me, but I’d never have remembered to seek them out had Kevin not parked where he did. I’m glad she’d mentioned them, though, and that we happened upon the small store, as they were as delectable as promised. Along with eating warm, soft, chocolatey cookies, we also learned from the woman behind the counter that they don’t have Tootsie Rolls in Australia.
It had been overcast during my entire previous visit to Seattle back in May, so although I’d heard people talk about Mt Rainier I had no firsthand proof of its existence and, to be quite honest, was beginning to believe that it was just a giant myth designed to separate the posers from the true Seattlites. Since the weather on this visit has been beautiful, though a bit hazy, it seemed time to dispel my misconceptions, so we headed south on I-5 to get a bit closer. It turns out that this mountain does exist and is as impressive as it is purported to be. Even now, in late July, its peak is shrouded in snow, hovering so far above the horizon it could easily be mistaken for clouds.
After driving through Seattle’s rush hour we were getting hungry, so we headed back to Capitol Hill to the Wing Dome. Kevin loves the wings there, believing them to be the best anywhere, so I was excited. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The owner apparently conducted focus groups to create her recipe prior to introducing Seattlites to the idea of hot wings in 1994. The focus group, though, must have had flawed taste as the result, while good, resembles traditional buffalo wings only in that it is chicken wings covered with sauce. The sauce tastes nothing like our East Coast wings and, frankly, would not be capable of sating my cravings. The blue cheese provided was sub-par as well, as if they’d simply taken grocery store salad dressing and poured into a small plastic cup. Kokomos is still the best.
To finish off a very full day, we then walked to Kincora to meet Lydi. A laid back “Irish pub” place with a neighborhood feel, but overwhelmingly loud and swelteringly hot. After a few drinks, we relocated to Bad Juju where they had a fish tank in the wall…fifteen feet up. Vastly different from Kincora, Bad Juju was of the dark and deliberately cool atmosphere. Had it been crowded I imagine the patrons would have been annoyingly trendy for my taste, but as we were nearly the only ones there I enjoyed it.
I’ll be in Seattle until Friday morning, at which time Kevin and I will hit the road for the following two weeks. I hope to be blogging throughout, so stay tuned!