four days in seattle

We are officially back from Seattle and it was an absolutely splendid trip. But on Monday morning I woke up sick as a dog with a dreadful case of the stomach flu- so I've spent the last few days in bed recuperating. All I can say is thank goodness for Gatorade. And hot water bottles. And chicken flavored ramen noodles. 

Anyway. About Seattle.

We flew in on Wednesday night after work, rented a car and drove straight to the Melrose Market for dinner at the absurdly charming Sitka & Spruce. Sheep's milk feta with stinging nettles, lamb merguez with yogurt, poached chicken with saffron.... Mmm.

Afterwards, we drove to the Columbia City neighborhood to meet Daniel's friends Evan and Marissa who had very graciously offered to host us during our trip. They have a dog. Her name is Lola. She is a good girl.

{Lola}

I wanted to steal her and take her home with us.

We spent our first night staying up late, drinking beer and talking, happy to be in Seattle and on vacation.


The next morning dawned clear and pleasant and we drove out to the Hi Spot to visit Marissa at work and binge on cinnamon roles, eggs, cups of coffee and french toast. After breakfast, Evan spent some time touring us around downtown. Of course, we saw Pike Place Market

{Pike Place Market}

Then we drove over to the Capitol Hill neighborhood for a cup of coffee and some continued neighborhood exploration.

{latte @caffe vita}

 Evan had to go to work, so Daniel and I went home to meet Marissa and Lola for a walk in Seward Park. Lola swam in the lake and we took turns throwing her sticks. I really want a dog.


On Friday, we got up (relatively) early and we stopped for breakfast at the Colombia City Bakery, which was heartstoppingly good. Then we drove to Deception Pass. 

We hiked around and spied on bald eagles.

We walked down to the pebbly beaches, through piles of driftwood. We could see to Canada.

In the evening, we took a ferry boat home and then hurried out to dinner at the Corson Building in Georgetown. The restaurant was unspeakably lovely, with soft lighting from Edison bulbs, exposed brick, and big farm tables for communal dining. Every detail was just so, and it was a wonderful dinner after a full day.

On Sunday we fished. Well, some of us fished. I mostly just sat on a pier and drank beer and soaked up some unexpected sun. I also examined various types of bait that Marissa had in her tackle-box.

No fishies were caught, but everyone had a very nice time in the attempt. And we consoled ourselves by buying an obscene amount of seafood and cooking a decadent seafood feast for dinner.

On Sunday, we drove out to Ballard for the farmers market. We stopped by Gasworks Park.

{Gasworks park}

We walked through the farmers market and met up with my friend from college, Bri, and her fiance Robert. We breakfasted on such delicacies as chicken fried chicken and biscuits with gravy at Hattie's Hat and then went for bloody marys at King's hardware.

{margaritas @ King's Hardware}

Because we still hadn't eaten quite enough, Bri took us to Cupcake Royale. Holy buttercream.

{chocolate & vanilla}

I got vanilla. Daniel got chocolate.

Bri got bacon whiskey maple, and I took paparazzi shots of her eating.

{Bri}

Oh my, it was hard to leave Seattle. We are already looking at tickets to go back in August. 

Sitka & Spruce

1531 Melrose Ave. E
Seattle, Wa 98122

The Hi Spot

1410 34th Ave.

Seattle, Wa

Columbia City Bakery

4865 Rainier S.

Seattle, WA 98118

The Corson Building

5609 Corson Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98108

Hattie's Hat

5231 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107

King's Hardware

5225 Ballard Avenue Northwest
Seattle, WA 98107

Cupcake Royale

1111 E Pike St
Seattle, WA 98122