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Part II: The City

Saturday 2/21/09

We woke early, to return the rental car and took a leisurely stroll downtown. At the advice of a concierge in the mall, we headed to Red Fin - yes, a sushi restaurant – for what he called their “amazing brunch.” http://www.redfinsushi.com/ The only bad part of this experience was that we didn’t get to try their sushi. The eggs benedict and croissant with homemade blackberry jam was totally worth forgoing true Japanese fare. We finished up our breakfast and headed back to the hotel to pack supplies for the afternoon.

Onward to Wai-Ching in Pioneer Square. http://wai-ching.com/ Pioneer Square is an eclectic little area of older warehouse type buildings which, I’m told, is the oldest part of the city. The buildings themselves were interesting and beautiful, but the best part was the businesses they house: art galleries, coffee houses, strange spaces with “exhibits” of unknown intent on display, clothing designers… We buzzed Chrissy from Wai-Ching and she let us in to her loft inspired office building. As we arrived on her floor – “The Floor of the Cats,” with the signage and mewing vagabonds to prove it – we were greeted by a friendly tabby. Read more…

Aldente Ideas, Real Real Life 88 Keys, beer, Beerfest, Belltown, Black Bottle, city, Collins Pub, Cyclops Cafe, Ivars Acres of Clams, Pioneer Square, Red Fin, Seattle, Wai-Ching, wharf

I’m the first to admit it, I’m a crazy planner, especially when it comes to vacations. I love researching plans and locations, pouring over maps, finding amazing hole-in-the-wall establishments and making trips in general more fun by creating itineraries that I can feverishly look forward to. I do this because I love it. I love imagining where I will be, and what it will be like. It’s kinda like your birthday as a child. You KNOW your parents got you some awesome gifts – some of which you asked for and others that may be complete surprises – and either way, waiting to find out what’s inside those perfectly wrapped boxes is almost as fun as it is to actually open them and enjoy the contents. My pre-planned itineraries are a lot like a stack of wrapped presents. Read more…

Aldente Ideas, HalfSquare, Real Real Life beer, Elk, ferry, Hall of Mosses, Hoh Rainforest, La Push, Lake Crescent, Minolta, Olympic National Park, Pacific Ocean, Port Angeles, Port Gamble, Red Lion Hotel, Seattle, Starbucks, Twilight, vampire, Washington, West