I've discovered Seattle

Yes. It's true. For many a year I've had the desire to travel to the Pacific Northwest. I knew I would love it. It's got everything I desire in a state--the outdoorsy feel, seasons, overcast skies, sunshine, a fun downtown area, and friendly people! (I don't feel the need to mention the fact that Seattle is a coffee obsessed city, lest people assume that the only reason I enjoyed my stay was the fact that I had the most AMAZING ristretto cappacino at Café Vivace: http://www.espressovivace.com/retail.html . Much less impressed was I at the recent Starbucks attempt toward instant coffee, Via. Let me just say that I took the "taste" challenge about 5 times--don't judge me--and I was very much able to tell which coffee was instant. Good idea Starbucks, bad implementation. I would consider myself happy, however, because through the tasting experience I now have FIVE free drip coffee's at the bucks.

I should probably just keep talking about Starbucks. Because, this past weekend, I experienced my MECCA. I made the pilgrimage all the way to Seattle to go to the FIRST EVER STARBUCKS!! It was great. Everything I imagined it would be. I engaged the barista in some friendly dialogue, to try and extend my welcome in the birthplace of awesomeness, and discovered that the original Starbs is the only one that still pulls their espresso by hand. And yes, I could taste the difference. Added to the wonder, was the sensational slap base that was being played outside the front door.

Pikes Place market is great. They have men throwing fish around, plenty of farmers market vendors who give you free food (the apples....AWESOME), the home of the best tea in the U.S.A., and donuts. Theses donuts are a local phenomenon apparently. It's this tiny little vendor that makes baby donuts. The whole experience was more entertaining than anything, methinks. If you can, picture a man with longish hair, glued in such a way that parts of it are sticking out at all sorts of acute and obtuse angles to his head. In addition, he's wearing cutoff jeans with long, striped socks in yellow and green. His signature move is to throw a donut in the air, poof open the bag, and have it land perfectly on a pillow of powdered sugar. At point of landing, the tongs he's been using spin around his left hand in a nifty, and oh-so-impressive flourish. At one point, Maddie and I remarked that he had a natural gift for the delicate niche of donut kiosks. His reply, "I've only dropped one donut. In 2005. It was a bad year for me. It was also the year my entire family died in a bobsled accident." Now...a few things here. 1) I wasn't sure if he was serious, so I was hesitant to laugh. 2) He'd been working at the donut kiosk since 2005?! Hindsight says, I definitely recommend (cinnamon sugar is best!). Please view. http://www.seattlepi.com/photos/dailydozen/

I feel at this point I should bring up the Seattle favorite, Pho. It's pronounced Fa (or Fuh). Like the beginning of a very bad word. Apparently, it's a meal you don't want to miss whilst in the city. It's a Vietnamese type of soup, with chicken and noods (as in noodles). You put bean sprouts and basil on top to flavor, and then squeeze in a little lime juice to make it kick. On our most intense day of Seattle immersion (yes, the day we experienced the donuts) we decided to have a late lunch of Pho. DELICIOUS!! I'm convinced that part of the reason it tastes so good is because it's a big, steaming, bowl of wonderful that gets served to you when you come in from the chilliness outside. At least, this was my experience with Pho. (KAPSIE--we need to go to Pho Saigon when I'm in CO!!)

Other highlights of Seattle include: The Seattle Public Library (the woooonder!); Discovery Park (I love the Puget Sound, and no, I didn't get to see Free Willy, or any orca's for that matter); Queen Anne (huzzah!); bookstores galore (I could meander for days and days and days in these beauties); thrift and vintage stores (legit ones!); Fremont (Hello Thai food); Coffee (and more coffee, and them some additional coffee); Cary Park (the skyline of Seattle is beautiful); hanging out with Annie! (hooooray!); Pioneer Square (classy).

All this to say, I'm in love. I need to go back. Soon.