A Wander Around Seattle

My ASEH panel presentation was Saturday afternoon. The audience was small (That's what happens when you're scheduled right after lunch.), but engaged. It went well and I think we were all pleased. I went out to dinner with friends that night and was up well past my normal bedtime. I thought I'd sleep in this morning, but nope, I was up around 7:15.

So I strolled to the local doughnut shop, Top Pot, for a sugary treat and to try the Ovaltine latte I had heard about. After I ordered, I ran into two of my friends from the night before. So I had a nice conversation over a maple bar and Ovaltine latte. Oh, and the latte was yummy!

Afterward, I decided to set off on my little adventure. My plan: Take the monorail (which dates back to 1962 and the World's Fair) the two miles to the Space Needle. Have a wander there and see the glass museum. Then I would walk down to Pike Place Market, look around, and cap it off with lunch at this Indian place I had noticed the night before.

My adventure was as good as I hoped. And I even scored something for dinner. The photos from Chihuly Garden and Glass will be in a separate blog. But here's the rest of my adventure:

I took this as I was walking to Top Pot. The monorail runs along the street, as you can see.

The monorail ride lasted only a couple of minutes. Here's a shot I took when I was sitting backwards. I was a bit miffed at myself. If I had been sitting forward, I would have been able to get a shot of the EMP (Experience Music Project) Museum as we approached. 

I had to settle for a photo of the EMP Museum from the monorail station. It's not as cool.

The centerpiece of the Seattle Center: The Space Needle. I didn't go in it because I wanted to save experiences for when Steve and I eventually come here together. Maybe that's corny, but I don't want to visit Seattle with him having seen everything. So I enjoyed the Space Needle from the ground only.

The Space Needle and the sun's lens flare.

After I was done at the Seattle Center, I set off for Pike Place Market. You remember those gorgeous mountains from the harbor tour? There's a big downside to being so close to them . . . hills. Lots and lots of hills. My calves hate me right now from stomping up and down all these hills!

 See? Steep!

This is the edge of what I assume is the Olympic Sculpture Garden. There's the cool silver tree in the midground, left, and the red pinwheel-thing further back in the middle. And then the glorious mountains in the distance. I know, steep roads. But ... snow-covered mountains!

 I noticed this waterspout had planters attached to it.

 I made it to Pike Place! I've been here before, of course. I was going to visit it on Friday afternoon. But it was so crowded and the waterfront beckoned. It was pretty crowded today, too, but I was able to have a look around without being overly bothered by the press of bodies.

 It's tulip season! We don't have much in the way of tulips in Florida, so to see such an array at the market was exciting for me. Tulips are so very pretty.

 I was jealous of the people who were able to buy bouquets of the flowers. 

 I love these bi-colored ones.

These are peony tulips. The ones on the left remind me of English roses.

 I am in line for Piroshky, Piroshky. It actually snakes back around behind me. It moved quickly, though, so I probably only waited 15 minutes or so. I've heard about this Russian bakery and I decided I would pick up a savory option for dinner later.

 These were my choices. I wanted the cheddar and garlic roll, but they were sold out. :-( 

 I snapped this just before I went into the Kastoori Grill on the right there for lunch. I enjoyed some incredibly delicious Indian food there. I'd go so far to say it was some of the best I have ever eaten. 

 Apparently, I'm now one of those people who take photos of their food. I just thought the presentation was kind of pretty. And practical. The tealight kept the curry nice and hot. I had kashmiri kofta, which was vegetable and cheese balls in a tomato cashew curry. Like I said, it was delicious.

 Heading back toward the hotel, I saw this building that reminded me of the Flat Iron in NYC.

Isn't this manhole cover interesting? 

Before I returned to my hotel, I went to the Westlake Center. It's a multi-story mall. I wasn't shopping. The light rail station is below it and I wanted to get my bearings for my return home tomorrow. I'm going to be schlepping a tote and my case and I didn't want to be wandering around trying to find my way.

From there, I returned to my hotel. I knew I wanted a bottle of water for the evening, but I didn't want to go into the drug store carrying bags of food (I had leftover naan from lunch). When I got to the hotel, I saw water for sale at the front of the little bistro there. I picked up a liter bottle. When the cashier said my total was $5.48 I almost fell over. I should have said "no thanks," but I was so stunned I just paid for it and walked away. Clearly Westin Seattle has been taking pricing advice from Disney. I mean, I would pay less at the airport!

Anyway, this was my little Seattle adventure. I'm not sure when I'll get the Chihuly photos up. Once I get home, real life has a tendency to get in the way. Hopefully I'll have them soon. But here's a preview. As they'd say on TV: Next time on Back and Forth Across the Pond . . .