Scenes from Seattle-an Impromptu Post

Ah, back to reality.  For me lately, life has been moving in fast forward.  Work became “Priorities #1, #2, #3 and #4” over the past few weeks, and I decided I had to take a blogging breather while I was at a conference lately for my job.  When my computer crashed a few times, my battery died while editing photos mid-flight, and my “free high-speed internet service” in my hotel room was like molasses, I figured that I needed to take that as a sign that I needed to take a step back from blogging for a while.  I feel like sometimes a breather can be the best thing in terms of recognizing how blessed you can be in certain areas.

In the meantime, I got to walk around Seattle and enjoy a city I had always wanted to visit.  And it was my 31st birthday, which was a sentimental and symbolic day for me.  New beginnings.  New places, new faces, new worlds ready to open up before me.  I took some pictures one morning at Pike Place Market.  I wanted to share them with you.

Never before have I seen such amazing produce.  I felt inspired, energized, and completely re-fueled.  I may have a strange obsession with produce.  Oh, that shiny colorful produce.  I felt like I was at home.  The vendors handing out slices of Washington apples?  Even in the drizzle and chill, these vendors were celebrating this produce, too.  The famous counter where the fish are thrown?  Happiness pretty much radiates from these men.  And the actual market itself?  I talked to a lot of the craftsmen (and craftswomen) there, completely inspired by the amount of raw talent and creativity that some people in this world harness. *I wish I would have bought the hot pink knitted boot socks from a particular vendor….sigh*. And those flowers.  Giant bouquets for $10.  Some of the prettiest flowers I have ever seen.  I really felt alive in this place.

I was able to see some long-lost friends during my time there (and I realized again how blessed I am to have these friends in my life), and we spent some of the down time in the city going to some fantastic restaurants.  My friend, Andy, was able to get some reservations at one of Seattle’s top-rated restaurants, Canlis, one night.  So we spent the evening overlooking the water, enjoying a wine flight, experiencing impeccable service,  tasting some of the best food I have ever had in my life (I tried the vegetarian tasting menu), and laughing an awful lot.  This was one of the best nights I had had in a long time (it may have had a lot to do with the salted caramel ice cream dipped in dark chocolate for dessert….I think I broke out in hives when I first tasted it because it was overwhelmingly amazing.  I am still getting teased for my very vocal reaction to this ice cream….); it’s one of those moments that I wish I could just relive over and over again.  Warm fuzzies.

On my birthday, my bosses took me to Purple, where I splurged and tried the Lobster Mac and Cheese.  It was a little ironic that I had traveled across the country from the East Coast to the West Coast, only to try Maine lobster, but it was definitely a treat.  I had to make some peace with the lobster first before the first bite.  After the first bite, my peace was made, and I shared the dish with the rest of the table.  They surprised me with a red velvet birthday cupcake, and then proceeded to order various desserts from the menu.  Happy birthday to me.

The other highlight, and yes, this was a major highlight: the macaroni and cheese from Beecher’s down at the market.  Not only could we sit and watch cheese being made (one of those dorky obsessions I have…yes, I watch documentaries on this type of thing…please pardon my guilty confession…), but I got to eat macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, and tomato soup with (yes) cheese on it.  Are you sensing a theme?  I love cheese.  And because it was a trip (and I celebrated my birthday for five days straight), I ate whatever I wanted.

Including French macarons from a French bakery, Le Panier (also at the Market)….and a cheese and cherry danish from another bakery, Piroshky-Piroshky.  And, yes, I did go to the original Starbucks.

I didn’t take pictures of the food from the restaurants because I usually ate it too fast to take pictures.  And, pulling out a camera in a five-star restaurant may have  been a little too much, in my opinion.  But I wanted to show you a few shots from the actual market, itself.  Unedited, raw.  This is my Seattle experience.

So, I hadn’t originally planned to do a post about my recent trip, but the food blew me away, left me feeling happy, inspired, and completely re-energized.  Thank you, Seattle.