seattle’s so nice, i visited twice
I always start out with the best of intentions – to post when I’m away. Yet, I find that I have so many durned photos that I’m dozing off before I even get through the first twenty. Consider it your break from my incessant yammering. But here now. I have photos to share and not a lot of inclination to hang out on the blog tonight. It’s Jeremy’s birthday today and he’s recovering from an outpatient procedure so I think he deserves some pampering, don’t you?
Right! So I started my trip to Seattle last week by seating my bum on the south side of the plane because I like looking at landforms of the western US and because I love volcanoes.
hello mount adams, you are so lovely
My dear friends took me to the Queen Anne Farmer’s Market to grab a bite and peruse the produce stalls. It was there that I found shishito peppers AND padróns in a box side by side. Now I can tell you that shishito peppers and padróns are not the same (I was mistaken in my last post). Padróns are a tad larger in size and darker green in color. So there you have it. Oddly enough, I ran into a whole slew of Seattle bloggers at the market: Becky, Lorna, Jenifer, Julie, and Scott, who was giving a cooking demo.
colorful flower bouquets
i saw a cute bernese mountain dog puppy
crates full of peppers
seattle food geek workin’ the shallots
We started the next morning with a visit to Macrina bakery before my hosts left for work. I hadn’t planned on visiting with food bloggers on this trip, but the schedules panned out and I got to enjoy lunch and a walk along the neighborhood of houseboats with my sweet pal, Tea. She then handed me off to Shauna, Danny, and Lu who took me to go visit with Matt, Danika, and Drake and Lara! I think I’m in love with Seattle folk. Nicest. People. Ever.
choosing breakfast at macrina bakery
my noodle bowl lunch at nettletown
matt
lara
little lu
drake being coy
danny and lu
But the day wasn’t over. Shauna and family took me to visit with some dear friends of theirs before dropping me off at Mistral Kitchen where I joined my hosts at a cocktail birthday party. From there we went to Poppy for a most excellent dinner (came highly recommended by Becky too). They practically had to roll me to the car.
don’t pass up the eggplant fries
poppy’s interior
Before I left for Seattle, I saw rain in the forecast over the weekend. Instead, much to everyone’s delight, we had partly cloudy skies and sunshine. Perfect weather for a stroll around Discovery Park and random wild blackberry noshings.
i ate them
walking along the beach
yay! sedimentary deposits!!
playing around on the driftwood teeter totter
a late lunch from paseo’s: world’s best sandwich (cuban roast pork for me)
in the rose garden (of course, these are cone flowers)
The next morning we made the pilgrimage to Top Pot Doughnuts along with the rest of Seattle. Erin and Caroline wanted to pick up a dozen doughnuts with their women’s basketball team colors. They were going to watch the Seattle Storm beat Atlanta while I attended my other friends’ wedding in the afternoon. We dropped by their friends’ house for some pre-game sugar-loading.
mmm, the best doughnuts
little bendigo is mesmerized by the bubbles
love that this 3-year old knew the largest volcano in the solar system is on mars
At the wedding, I developed an itchy throat which has now bloomed into a cold. More on the wedding later. I don’t like weddings in general, but this one was very special. I cried. In the evening, Erin, Caroline, and I went to Boom Noodle where I got a hot bowl of their Tokyo Ramen to soothe my throat.
hot ramen noodles for me
Despite the cold, Seattle and her citizens were very good to me. I love it there. No wonder we almost moved to Washington (it was a close call between Colorado and Washington). Thanks for a great time, everyone! xo
September 14th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
Everything looks so good, I’ve always wanted to visit Seattle :)
September 14th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
You went to many of my favorite places. I am glad to see you blogging about our special city.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Sounds like a lovely trip. I’ve only been to Seattle once for only a day but I loved it. Your photos really capture the beauty in life. Would it be weird if I wish I could hire you for my future (i’m not even engaged yet) wedding? =P
September 14th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
I just got back from Seattle! Isn’t it just foodie heaven? We have a whole list of restaurants that we have to go to every single time! but clearly that never happens.
I am also partial to the donut-muncher in the Vermont shirt. I don’t know who he is, but clearly he’s my homie.
September 15th, 2010 at 12:01 am
Ahhhhh, great blog. Happy you got to come back for a second round! Just sorry that I didn’t get a chance to see you, but it looks like you saw everyone ELSE! ;-) Awesome! I love the QA Farmers Market!
Come back again soon!
September 15th, 2010 at 1:59 am
I hope your cold is getting better. Seattle looks wonderful and I could eat both the donuts and soup right now, and its only breakfast time! As always your photographs make me want to cook what you have cooked or visit where you have visited.
September 15th, 2010 at 2:43 am
Oh, man, you take the best photos ever! Do you bring your camera everywhere with you? You’re amazing.
September 15th, 2010 at 4:55 am
Great post. We are so in love with Seattle. We keep peeking at real estate out there. I know exactly what you mean.
September 15th, 2010 at 4:55 am
A great trip! I’d love to visit Seattle and eat there.
Cheers,
Rosa
September 15th, 2010 at 5:33 am
….makes me look forward to our trip to Seattle (first one for either of us!) next month…
September 15th, 2010 at 6:00 am
Love Swiss Berner Hunds! Looks like a fun trip.
September 15th, 2010 at 7:41 am
There are a lot of places that I love to visit, but I love living in Seattle! Thanks for the great post! (And the reminder that I must try Paseo and Poppy! (My daughter has asked me to try to figure out how to make Paseo’s beans.)
September 15th, 2010 at 7:54 am
Your trip looked like a blast! Glad you had fun. I’m starting my drive to move there today…just a stone’s throw from Paseo’s. I cannot WAIT to get my hands on one of those sandwiches…you’re not the first person I’ve heard from who has recommended them!
September 15th, 2010 at 8:01 am
I thought you might like this article about the nation’s top food cities http://shine.yahoo.com/event/lifeslittlepleasures/bon-appetit-names-americas-foodiest-towns-2010-2389810/#photoViewer=1.
September 15th, 2010 at 9:22 am
These photos are truly exceptional. It is hard to pick favorites but I love bendigo with bubbles and the blackberries best.
Hope you feel better soon. Seems like a lot of people are getting fall colds.
September 15th, 2010 at 9:38 am
welcome home, little ladybug! wow. i am missing you so much and hope to see you very soon. so glad that you had such a fabulous trip and a good steep in your northwest friends. from our recent trip to colombia, i brought home a recipe for ajiaco soup and black clay olla to serve it up in — i can’t want to share it with you.
September 15th, 2010 at 9:49 am
Loved your photos of Seattle. I intend to get there one day, as it is a mecca for foodies.
September 15th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Seattle is really a special place. I’m so glad you were able to visit twice in one summer! Happy Birthday to Jeremy and hope that you kick the cold soon.
September 15th, 2010 at 10:00 am
Isn’t Seattle magical? I keep trying to convince people that haven’t been here but it never works. It looks like you were in good hands, because those are all places I would takes guests myself.
P.S. That puppy is *adorable*!
September 15th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Wow–eggplant fries! I must try this.
September 15th, 2010 at 10:12 am
I’m so glad Colorado won.
September 15th, 2010 at 10:44 am
If you’ve got to live in a city, Seattle’s a pretty nice one to live in…but ssshh don’t tell everyone! Next time your in town check out “How to Cook a Wolf” on Queen Anne. Also your post about choosing between Washington and Colorado reminded me of the days when I was making similar decisions http://dabacon.org/pontiff/?p=524
September 15th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
As a Seattle food blogger I loved stumbling across this post! Sounds like you’ve come and gone, but next time you visit, here are a few Seattle restaurants that I highly recommend you check out.
http://shutupandcook.wordpress.com/random-things/
Also…fantastic blog!
September 16th, 2010 at 9:54 am
Gorgeous photos! Actually, I believe that’s Mount Rainier. We can see Mount Adams from my mom’s house in Vancouver, WA.
September 16th, 2010 at 11:05 am
“Jen with the camera around her neck?”
Thanks for catching my kids so beautifully. It was wonderful to meet you and I love all the food blogs you just introduced me to! Seattle is great but as soon-to-be-Portlanders…well, you just need to visit it and find out.
Hope you have a powder-ful winter. – katie, john, angus, & bendigo
September 16th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Your photos aren’t just beautiful, they entreat the observer to jump right into the frame and explore. . . They are so appealing!
September 17th, 2010 at 11:30 pm
eula – when you’re looking for a photographer, feel free to contact me for a quote :)
RainyDaisy – little Angus is definitely one of the coolest kids around. He’s smart and funny and yeah – he’s your homie!
Jackie – girlfriend, we are going to hang out eventually, yo. None of this “hi” “bye” stuff at conferences ;)
PerfectingPru – you’re incredibly sweet. Thanks xo
Wei-Wei – ummmm, yes. It’s more like a mental illness than anything else.
Rachel – I hope you guys have a GREAT time!!
Kristina – lots of great places to visit. You’ll have no shortage for your graduate school years :)
cd_mcg – thanks!!
Nichole – *love you*
Manisha – awww, me too :) I love Seattle, but I do like our little mountain hamlet (and all the gal pals I can stuff into it for SNB!)
Dave – ha ha, I would have guessed your were atmospheric science since Seattle and Boulder are the two main places for many of my friends to get jobs. Good choice.
Erina – thank you! Good to know for the next trip!
Alisha – nope, it’s Adams because Mt. St. Helens was far in the background (I have another photo of both of them). I was still a good ten minutes from Seattle by plane.
katie – thanks for inviting me into your home to meet your wonderful family. best of luck on the move. keep in touch!
Stephane – you’re very kind. xo
September 23rd, 2010 at 3:55 am
Hi! I just stumbled onto your blog a couple of weeks ago and I’m so glad to read this post! This entry made me teary, as I left Seattle last year after living there for five years. It’s such a special city and I miss it so. You picked all the good places to eat! … I’m feeling all nostalgic now :)