Our last day before heading home. Glo's was just as good this morning as it was yesterday. Angela is on something of a quest to find some hand blown glass balls. The technique is from Seattle and it involves rolling the molten glass in pigmented “dust” that then melts onto the glass in interesting patterns as it cools. We saw some of these balls in the Space Needle gift shop on Tuesday, and more of them in the window of a glassblowing studio we passed on the way back to our hotel, and then even more in a shop on Bainbridge Island yesterday.
Anyway, we stopped into the studio on our (rather circuitous route) back to our hotel from breakfast to see what else they had. While the studio was fascinating, their entire selection of ornaments was in the window and not of any interest to Angela. The quest continued.
We decided to rent a car today since the things we wanted to do were fairly spread out. First stop was the Ballard Locks which connects Puget Sound with Lakes Union and Washington. I'd never seen a canal lock work, and it was fascinating to watch the boats go in and out of the locks. There's also a fish ladder to help the salmon get upstream into the two lakes and the streams that feed them. There weren't very many fish running yet, but there were some working their way up the ladder.
The next stop was the Fremont district and Gasworks Park. Gasworks Park is at the north end of Lake Union and sits on the site of an old coal and crude oil gasification plant. All of the machinery is inert now and there is a lovely park on the site with great views of the skyline and all of the boats on Lake Union. It's said that children (and pets presumably) shouldn't roll around on the grass too much because of the contaminants still in the ground from when this plant was active. Having said that, we could not get away from a family having some professional family photos done with parents and daughter doing just that. You be the judge.
Fremont is a cool area of town with lots of eclectic dining and shopping, but Angela would not be distracted from her ornament quest. Of course, the ornaments take the back stage when it comes to tasting artisan chocolate at a place called “Theo.” Their chocolates were amazing and we snagged a couple treats for later.
Remember the movie “Sleepless in Seattle?” Well, many of the Seattle scenes were filmed at a houseboat moored on Lake Union somewhere. There are actually hundreds of boats on the east and west banks of the lake so we meandered around some of the various houseboat “neighborhoods” trying to find it. Turns out it's in a gated community and virtually impossible to see from land. I think we saw it on the west shore from the east shore, but I can't be sure. Some of the houseboats were really interesting pieces of architecture, while some of them were quite dumpy and rickety.
So, after a day of searching for those glass balls, we've come to the conclusion that the easiest way to get some is just to go back to the Space Needle gift shop and get some there. Between Lake Union and the Needle is a very nice neighborhood called Queen Anne. It reminds me somewhat of the Virginia Highland area of Atlanta, with older bungalow and craftsman houses and a main street of sorts with nice boutiques and restaurants. There was a market going on today, so we were able to experience a little of the neighborhood culture while we meandered through the shops.
We kind of “punted” after getting our balls at the Needle and ate dinner at a pizza place called “Zeeks” that was across the street from the “5 point cafe” from the other night. While it appeared to be just another chain pizza place from the outside, it was actually very good pizza, and I consider myself somewhat of a pizza connoiseur.
We head home tomorrow. I am looking forward to a lazy weekend at home. I need a vacation from my vacation.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Is this where all those doctors in Grey's Anatomy live?
Yelp came through again! “Glo's” was awesome. I had french toast stuffed with blackberry jelly and cream cheese and Angela had the “Glo's Scramble” which consisted of scrambled eggs and tomatoes and green onions topped with sour cream and guacamole. Both of our meals were exceptional, and we had the benefit of a nice walk back to the hotel to start working off some of the calories.
We decided today to visit Bainbridge Island, one of the small islands in Puget Sound. Unfortunately, we picked a bad day to go, since the main street was completely torn up with construction. It was loud and dusty and completely ruined any charm or ambiance this town might have offered. Had we had a car on the island, we could have explored some of the parks and other parts of the island, but we were on foot and forced to contend with the disruption.
Not all was lost, however, since we enjoyed a nice wine tasting at the retail store of one of the local wineries and some very good gourmet ice cream at Mora's. We also had a lovely dinner at the Harbor Public House. It had a beautiful view of the little harbor area of Winslow. I had a grilled salmon sandwich while Angela had an asian inspired dish with salmon and rice. Her meal was far and away better than mine since I think I got a little “shorted” on the size of the filet in my sandwich. We had a home made apple-blackberry crisp for dessert that was very good with the exception of the julienned apple skin slices.
Oh, we saw a real live crack whore tonight waiting for the bus after getting off the ferry. At least that's what the bum in the wheelchair called her when she walked past. Seattle and Vancouver are very similar; but Vancouver's homeless population seems much less threatening than Seattle's.
We decided today to visit Bainbridge Island, one of the small islands in Puget Sound. Unfortunately, we picked a bad day to go, since the main street was completely torn up with construction. It was loud and dusty and completely ruined any charm or ambiance this town might have offered. Had we had a car on the island, we could have explored some of the parks and other parts of the island, but we were on foot and forced to contend with the disruption.
Not all was lost, however, since we enjoyed a nice wine tasting at the retail store of one of the local wineries and some very good gourmet ice cream at Mora's. We also had a lovely dinner at the Harbor Public House. It had a beautiful view of the little harbor area of Winslow. I had a grilled salmon sandwich while Angela had an asian inspired dish with salmon and rice. Her meal was far and away better than mine since I think I got a little “shorted” on the size of the filet in my sandwich. We had a home made apple-blackberry crisp for dessert that was very good with the exception of the julienned apple skin slices.
Oh, we saw a real live crack whore tonight waiting for the bus after getting off the ferry. At least that's what the bum in the wheelchair called her when she walked past. Seattle and Vancouver are very similar; but Vancouver's homeless population seems much less threatening than Seattle's.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Catching a fish doesn't look that hard
Good Lord 4:45am came early this morning. We were quite a sight at the train station trying to juggle all of our bags + breakfast + coffee. The train left promptly at 6:40, but didn't really get going until much later. We stopped and started all the way to the border. For the first couple hours, the scenery was quite unremarkable. Once we got down closer to the border, the train followed the Puget Sound coast and the scenery turned much more beautiful. The train was not very full, so we were able to have a decent amount of space to stretch out.
We were greeted with amazing weather in Seattle when we finally got there at 11:30. The cabbie got a little turned around finding our hotel, but we finally got there and got checked in after making a couple laps around the block.
Our first stop was the iconic Pike Place Market. We had an amazing lunch at the 3 Girls Bakery. Angela had their claim-to-fame Meatloaf sandwich and I had a cold salmon sandwich with lemon aoli and capers on sourdough. I couldn't believe how good their apple fritter was, either. We got some rugalech for later and left to explore. The market itself was complete chaos; worse almost than the Granville Island Market.
The centerpiece of the market is the famous Pike Place Fish Co. where they throw the fish from the display to behind the counter for packing and purchase. The crowd of people around their stall was almost suffocating. The “show” they put on is pretty good since they yell out what they're going to throw, then they throw it, regardless of what it is. So you might hear “8 pound sockeye!” or “30 pound king!” or “salmon jerky!” After chatting with the “pitcher” for a minute or two he asked Angela if she wanted to learn how to “catch” a fish, and I'm not talking about with a rod and reel. The key is to stand to the side so that if you happen to miss, the fish doesn't smack you right in the snot locker (or worse, right into your nice blouse). After a couple practice attempts with a small fish at short range (that Angela handled like a pro, I might add), she went behind the counter for the big test. The fish came in hot, and Angela caught it like she had a catcher's mitt on. The crowd went wild!
Other than the fish stall, this market isn't any different than the Granville Island market; except that it's not as nice. We did manage to pick up some very tasty Jellies from Mick's and Angela got some more jewelry; this time a leather bracelet adorned with an antique Chinese coin.
Did you know that the original Starbucks is at Pike Place Market? You'd never guess by all the people congregating outside as if it were some holy pilgrimage sight. Not being a coffee drinker, I have a hard time appreciating the significance of the place. I guess I might have a similar reaction if I was in front of the original HP garage or Microsoft's first offices or BMW's first factory (oh wait, I was like that in front of BMW's first factory).
The last place we visited at the market is called Beecher's where they hand make artisan cheeses. We were very tempted to pick up a container of cheese curds, since they're so tasty, but decided just to walk on.
Since the weather was so nice this afternoon, we decided not to wait and go ahead and hit the Space Needle tonight while we had the chance. It's a reasonable walk from our hotel and we stopped in at this dive called “5 Point Cafe” for dinner where they serve, wait for it, fried cheese curds from Beecher's. Dinner was quite good; contrary to what you might expect walking in. We both had fish; I had fish & chips and Angela had a fish sandwich with cheddar cheese and coleslaw.
Can I say that the Space Needle is very difficult to photograph? It's so tall, and in order to be able to get a picture with an unobstructed view, you have to get quite close to the base. Even with my 10mm lens, I had to practically lie down on my back to get the whole thing in view. Getting a picture with both of us and the needle in the background was bordering on comical as we had a complete stranger lying down trying to compose a shot with Angela's iPhone.
The view from the top was stunning in every direction. The air was clear and Mt. Rainier was clearly visible beyond the downtown skyline. We stayed until sunset and the mountain just exploded from its base to its peak with the reflection of the setting sun on the snowcap. It was HUGE; completely dominating every other mountain in view.
I think Yelp is going to hook us up again with breakfast at this place called “Glo's” up the street in the Capitol Hill district.
We were greeted with amazing weather in Seattle when we finally got there at 11:30. The cabbie got a little turned around finding our hotel, but we finally got there and got checked in after making a couple laps around the block.
Our first stop was the iconic Pike Place Market. We had an amazing lunch at the 3 Girls Bakery. Angela had their claim-to-fame Meatloaf sandwich and I had a cold salmon sandwich with lemon aoli and capers on sourdough. I couldn't believe how good their apple fritter was, either. We got some rugalech for later and left to explore. The market itself was complete chaos; worse almost than the Granville Island Market.
The centerpiece of the market is the famous Pike Place Fish Co. where they throw the fish from the display to behind the counter for packing and purchase. The crowd of people around their stall was almost suffocating. The “show” they put on is pretty good since they yell out what they're going to throw, then they throw it, regardless of what it is. So you might hear “8 pound sockeye!” or “30 pound king!” or “salmon jerky!” After chatting with the “pitcher” for a minute or two he asked Angela if she wanted to learn how to “catch” a fish, and I'm not talking about with a rod and reel. The key is to stand to the side so that if you happen to miss, the fish doesn't smack you right in the snot locker (or worse, right into your nice blouse). After a couple practice attempts with a small fish at short range (that Angela handled like a pro, I might add), she went behind the counter for the big test. The fish came in hot, and Angela caught it like she had a catcher's mitt on. The crowd went wild!
Other than the fish stall, this market isn't any different than the Granville Island market; except that it's not as nice. We did manage to pick up some very tasty Jellies from Mick's and Angela got some more jewelry; this time a leather bracelet adorned with an antique Chinese coin.
Did you know that the original Starbucks is at Pike Place Market? You'd never guess by all the people congregating outside as if it were some holy pilgrimage sight. Not being a coffee drinker, I have a hard time appreciating the significance of the place. I guess I might have a similar reaction if I was in front of the original HP garage or Microsoft's first offices or BMW's first factory (oh wait, I was like that in front of BMW's first factory).
The last place we visited at the market is called Beecher's where they hand make artisan cheeses. We were very tempted to pick up a container of cheese curds, since they're so tasty, but decided just to walk on.
Since the weather was so nice this afternoon, we decided not to wait and go ahead and hit the Space Needle tonight while we had the chance. It's a reasonable walk from our hotel and we stopped in at this dive called “5 Point Cafe” for dinner where they serve, wait for it, fried cheese curds from Beecher's. Dinner was quite good; contrary to what you might expect walking in. We both had fish; I had fish & chips and Angela had a fish sandwich with cheddar cheese and coleslaw.
Can I say that the Space Needle is very difficult to photograph? It's so tall, and in order to be able to get a picture with an unobstructed view, you have to get quite close to the base. Even with my 10mm lens, I had to practically lie down on my back to get the whole thing in view. Getting a picture with both of us and the needle in the background was bordering on comical as we had a complete stranger lying down trying to compose a shot with Angela's iPhone.
The view from the top was stunning in every direction. The air was clear and Mt. Rainier was clearly visible beyond the downtown skyline. We stayed until sunset and the mountain just exploded from its base to its peak with the reflection of the setting sun on the snowcap. It was HUGE; completely dominating every other mountain in view.
I think Yelp is going to hook us up again with breakfast at this place called “Glo's” up the street in the Capitol Hill district.
Monday, June 20, 2011
I sure am glad we didn't go to Capilano!
You just knew that we'd be going back to Joe's for breakfast this morning. The vibe this morning (being a Monday) was completely different than yesterday. Angela had blueberry pancakes that were delicious and I had the same “3 cheeser” omelet with chorizo sausage. The hashbrowns were even better today than yesterday.
Since the clouds were still hanging over the mountains, we decided just to go to Lynn Canyon. We briefly considered Capilano, but decided against it since it's kind of expensive and Lynn Canyon is free. The trip to Lynn Canyon took about an hour total on buses and ferries, but it was quite worth it. The suspension bridge there is smaller than at Capilano, but for a guy with a moderate fear of heights, it was plenty high and “bouncy” for me. After seeing some pictures of the Capilano bridge, I might not have made it all the way across. The park was really nice and the hiking trails were excellent.
Back at the visitor's center, we enjoyed a surprisingly good crèpe with bananas, strawberries and nutella.
Back in Vancouver proper, we did a little merchandising for “Canada” tee shirts and whatnot. We enjoyed a simple dinner of savory crèpes at a place called “Cafe Crèpe.” The same Cafe Crèpe as in Santa Monica where we ate with our friends Adam and Carlisle when we went to visit a couple years ago.
Tomorrow is a very early morning since our train to Seattle leaves Vancouver at 6:40am.
Since the clouds were still hanging over the mountains, we decided just to go to Lynn Canyon. We briefly considered Capilano, but decided against it since it's kind of expensive and Lynn Canyon is free. The trip to Lynn Canyon took about an hour total on buses and ferries, but it was quite worth it. The suspension bridge there is smaller than at Capilano, but for a guy with a moderate fear of heights, it was plenty high and “bouncy” for me. After seeing some pictures of the Capilano bridge, I might not have made it all the way across. The park was really nice and the hiking trails were excellent.
Back at the visitor's center, we enjoyed a surprisingly good crèpe with bananas, strawberries and nutella.
Back in Vancouver proper, we did a little merchandising for “Canada” tee shirts and whatnot. We enjoyed a simple dinner of savory crèpes at a place called “Cafe Crèpe.” The same Cafe Crèpe as in Santa Monica where we ate with our friends Adam and Carlisle when we went to visit a couple years ago.
Tomorrow is a very early morning since our train to Seattle leaves Vancouver at 6:40am.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The most interesting flea market ever!
My breakfast place turned out to be a winner: Joe's Grill on Davie St. There was a bit of a wait, but it was worth it. Angela had a “Bacon and Cheddar Benny” (Canadians say “benny” to indicate some variation of Eggs Benedict) and I had a 3 cheese omelet with chorizo sausage. The hash browns were quite good. The weather today was better than yesterday; but still what I would call “sunny.” We took the bus to Gastown and were surprised to see a Crumpler store. I love Crumpler bags, and it was cool to see an actual retail outlet. I was actually able to get some replacement parts for my camera bag, too. Gastown is a little different from Yaletown in that it appears more focused on boutique shopping than on dining. There were some very nice “First Nations” art galleries and jewelry (spelled “jewellery” in Canada) boutiques and Angela had a good time perusing the different shops. She's not yet met a shop that doesn't have something to catch her eye and bring her in. Gastown does have something interesting: a steam powered clock. It plays a little tune every half hour through little whistles.
Chinatown is pretty much adjacent to Gastown, so the walk there didn't take long at all. However, we were mildly delayed by a sight unlike any I've ever seen. Apparently on every Sunday there is a flea market of sorts where the homeless population of Vancouver is encouraged to offer up for sale or trade the belongings they've collected over time.
There is a very nice Chinese garden there and we walked through the free portion. In general, Chinatown areas don't really interest me, except for the herbal shops with all of the herbs and whatnot in the jars behind the counter. They look like the kind of place where a witch would go to make a magic potion or whatever.
By the time we had walked up and down the main drag of Chinatown, the clouds had parted sufficiently enough that we decided to rent bikes and ride around Stanley Park. A quick trip on the #19 bus and we were in front of Spokes bike rentals. Stanley Park was beautiful. There is an 8km loop around the perimeter seawall as well as several gravel trails that chris-cross through the interior of the park. The seawall offers fantastic views of the downtown, the Lions Gate bridge, and Granville Island as you make your way around. We rode all the way around and then along some of the trails in the interior of the park; stopping periodically for photos and wild raspberries, and then rode further down the seawall until road works basically closed off the bike lane before turning back. About half way 'round, we came upon a very curious vignette. It was low tide, and there were many large starfish that had been exposed when the tide went out. Apparently, seagulls love starfish and several birds were chowing down; some even had entire starfish in their mouths as if to protect their bounty.
After about 4 hours of riding, we'd had enough and decided to look for a place to eat since we didn't eat lunch. We wound up walking all the way down Denman St. to the southern portion of downtown and stopped at a place called Milestones. Angela had this watermelon and beet salad and grilled sablefish over seaweed gnocchi that she raved about while I had a simple bacon cheeseburger and caesar salad.
It was an easy bus ride back to the hotel. Tomorrow, I think we're going to go over to North Vancouver and check out Lynn Canyon or Grouse Mountain if the clouds go away.
Chinatown is pretty much adjacent to Gastown, so the walk there didn't take long at all. However, we were mildly delayed by a sight unlike any I've ever seen. Apparently on every Sunday there is a flea market of sorts where the homeless population of Vancouver is encouraged to offer up for sale or trade the belongings they've collected over time.
There is a very nice Chinese garden there and we walked through the free portion. In general, Chinatown areas don't really interest me, except for the herbal shops with all of the herbs and whatnot in the jars behind the counter. They look like the kind of place where a witch would go to make a magic potion or whatever.
By the time we had walked up and down the main drag of Chinatown, the clouds had parted sufficiently enough that we decided to rent bikes and ride around Stanley Park. A quick trip on the #19 bus and we were in front of Spokes bike rentals. Stanley Park was beautiful. There is an 8km loop around the perimeter seawall as well as several gravel trails that chris-cross through the interior of the park. The seawall offers fantastic views of the downtown, the Lions Gate bridge, and Granville Island as you make your way around. We rode all the way around and then along some of the trails in the interior of the park; stopping periodically for photos and wild raspberries, and then rode further down the seawall until road works basically closed off the bike lane before turning back. About half way 'round, we came upon a very curious vignette. It was low tide, and there were many large starfish that had been exposed when the tide went out. Apparently, seagulls love starfish and several birds were chowing down; some even had entire starfish in their mouths as if to protect their bounty.
After about 4 hours of riding, we'd had enough and decided to look for a place to eat since we didn't eat lunch. We wound up walking all the way down Denman St. to the southern portion of downtown and stopped at a place called Milestones. Angela had this watermelon and beet salad and grilled sablefish over seaweed gnocchi that she raved about while I had a simple bacon cheeseburger and caesar salad.
It was an easy bus ride back to the hotel. Tomorrow, I think we're going to go over to North Vancouver and check out Lynn Canyon or Grouse Mountain if the clouds go away.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
I wonder if this is where witches come to shop?
Disembarkation day. We arrived in Vancouver this morning to a gray, rainy day. There wasn't too much rush to get out, since we were in the last group to be let off the ship, so we had a leisurely breakfast in the dining room; browsed through the “outlet” store where they were trying to unload tee shirts from old cruises, last season's jewelry and fashions, and other nick knacks; and generally just waited for our time to disembark.
The whole disembarkation process took about 20 minutes from when we were allowed to leave to when we pulled into our hotel in Vancouver. Thankfully our room was ready and we were able to get settled before heading out for Granville Island.
Granville Island was amazing. The public market there is enormous and today it was totally chaotic. The crush of people was actually unpleasant. There were all types of vendors: artisans selling their crafts, produce vendors, seafood vendors, prepared food vendors, bakers, florists, you name it. Everything looked and smelled divine. We had lunch from a couple food stalls and ate outside under cover. It was still sprinkling a little, but the sky was brightening.
The entire “island” is full of the market and various artists' galleries and shops. It's very cool to have so many galleries concentrated in such a compact area. Angela was enamored of a broom shop and after some waffling, decided to purchase a handmade broom. The proprietor was actually making a broom while we were in there. We spent several hours browsing around before returning to our hotel to unload our rain gear, cameras, etc.
Based on the concierge, we had dinner in a section of town called “Yaletown” at a place called “The Hub.” I had some really good Mac & Cheese and Angela had grilled Halibut over risotto.
Hopefully the weather tomorrow will be good enough to ride bikes around Stanley Park. We're going to go to Gastown and Chinatown tomorrow morning. I think I've found a good breakfast place for tomorrow morning, too. Can't wait to try it out.
The whole disembarkation process took about 20 minutes from when we were allowed to leave to when we pulled into our hotel in Vancouver. Thankfully our room was ready and we were able to get settled before heading out for Granville Island.
Granville Island was amazing. The public market there is enormous and today it was totally chaotic. The crush of people was actually unpleasant. There were all types of vendors: artisans selling their crafts, produce vendors, seafood vendors, prepared food vendors, bakers, florists, you name it. Everything looked and smelled divine. We had lunch from a couple food stalls and ate outside under cover. It was still sprinkling a little, but the sky was brightening.
The entire “island” is full of the market and various artists' galleries and shops. It's very cool to have so many galleries concentrated in such a compact area. Angela was enamored of a broom shop and after some waffling, decided to purchase a handmade broom. The proprietor was actually making a broom while we were in there. We spent several hours browsing around before returning to our hotel to unload our rain gear, cameras, etc.
Based on the concierge, we had dinner in a section of town called “Yaletown” at a place called “The Hub.” I had some really good Mac & Cheese and Angela had grilled Halibut over risotto.
Hopefully the weather tomorrow will be good enough to ride bikes around Stanley Park. We're going to go to Gastown and Chinatown tomorrow morning. I think I've found a good breakfast place for tomorrow morning, too. Can't wait to try it out.
Friday, June 17, 2011
If the ship is a rockin', don't bother knockin'
Not much to say about today. We woke up to the ship rocking and rolling since we had to traverse some open water with a beam sea. It wasn't bad enough for the crew to put out the sick bags, but it was definitely noticeable in the dining room at breakfast. It was tough to find enough things to do to fill the day. We walked another 6 laps around the boat, started packing, had some more cookies and milk on the plaza deck, browsed the shops to see if we could find a decent “Alaska” tee shirt, chuckled at some of the corny photos taken during the cruise, played backgammon in the “Card Room,” ate some more cookies, etc., etc. Again, dinner in the dining room was not memorable. What was memorable was the disruption brought about by the second “chefs' parade” in two nights. This time it was to show off about 30 or so Baked Alaskas. A little over the top? I think so.
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