The Market and the Mountain
Posted by Afrojew2 | | Posted On Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 10:01 PM
My nine year old cousin Lizzy made me a cake for my birthday. Well, Jory made the cake, but Lizzy put on the frosting; a real family effort to celebrate my arrival in Seattle and the world on the same day. And what a great day it was. Catching up with cousins Thomas, Lizzy, and Olivia in the afternoon, family dinner with Jory and Uncle Chris in the evening, followed by cake and board games at night. All in all, a great welcome.
I find downtown to be the best place to spend your first day in a new city. Seattle’s downtown is home to one of the most famous markets in the world: Pike Place Market. That was our first destination. Throngs of people choked the halls. Tourists watched the famous fish throwers (though we didn’t see any tosses), townies bough fresh local produce (delicious peaches and plums), hungry folks slipped into crowded seafood restaurants for a bite, artsy folks browsed the homemade craft stands, and all enjoyed the overwhelming smells and sounds of a market come to life.
Ducking into some shops lining the street that absorbed the market overflow, Olivia and I stumbled upon a restaurant I recognized from Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, a show on the travel channel following one man’s nose for great food. Of course I had to eat there, and it did not disappoint. It was a 26 year old Russian bakery called after its famous dish: Piroshky Piroshky. Beef and cheese (or other fillings) were baked inside pastry dough, the sum of which delighted every one of my senses. We even got to watch the master chef at work.
After lunch I found out that sirens are not always beautiful women calmly caressing notes to lure you to your death. In this case they took the form of a homeless looking jug band playing for coins outside what turned out to be the original Starbucks. We listened to them for quite a long time and were only able to loosen ourselves from their grasp by buying a CD and knowing we could hear them later.
Then it was back inside the market for more food. This time at the Athenian, a restaurant that had been in its same location in a world famous market for 100 years. We had to try it, and the crab cakes were spectacular. After we left the market we walked around the city and found ourselves in a lovely coffee shop a few blocks from where we started. A delicious homemade meal and an introduction to Flight of the Conchords for Olivia brought a fitting end to a wonderful first day.
Day 2: Beach day. But first, lunch at the Fiddlers Inn, a local joint. The nachos there (an appetizer) fed both me and Olivia. Lip-smackin good too. I decided to leave the toasted cheese sandwich on the menu for another day. Afterword we all swam in Lake Washington, a five minute drive from the house. Cold water but warm family fun.
And on the third day God said “Let there be hiking,” and there was much rejoicing. Olivia and I drove to Mt. Rainier National Park (see the big mountain), set up camp along White River, and headed for the trails.
As we arrived, the fog cleared and Rainier towered above us, ever watchful, giving us the strength to climb higher and higher. We made it to the top of Burroughs Mountain (7000ft) from which we got an amazing view before turning back.
No, we didn’t climb the whole mountain, we started at 6400ft. We did, however, experience the thin air on the roof of the Cascades while navigating narrow trails carved into the side of the incredibly steep rocky mountainside.
Five miles later we were back at camp and ready to start the fire. Hot dogs, sausages, and smores were on the menu, roasted Chestnut style. The night was long, cold, hard, and brought both of us little sleep, but we talked for hours and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
In the early morning we set off again, this time downhill, headed for some alpine lakes. We found a gorgeous lake nestled between pines, mountains, and dragonflies where we stopped for lunch and for rest. By mid afternoon we were headed home, tired, and sore as hell. Jory greeted us with hot chocolate, a fire (this one in a fireplace), and steaks for later, and we spent the rest of the day telling of our treks and recuperating.
Today I woke up early, unexpectedly so after a tiring two days, and posted some pictures on Snapfish (links in the column to the left). Olivia and I walked to the Wedgewood Ale House for lunch where I had a real Buffalo burger (not the endangered kind, nor the Buffalo wings kind) and a local brew. Again, fantastically delicious. We spent the rest of the day on the shore of Lake Washington and watching more Flight of the Conchords. Yeah, she’s definitely hooked. Oh, and I wrote this. And now you’re up to speed. Ta-da!
I find downtown to be the best place to spend your first day in a new city. Seattle’s downtown is home to one of the most famous markets in the world: Pike Place Market. That was our first destination. Throngs of people choked the halls. Tourists watched the famous fish throwers (though we didn’t see any tosses), townies bough fresh local produce (delicious peaches and plums), hungry folks slipped into crowded seafood restaurants for a bite, artsy folks browsed the homemade craft stands, and all enjoyed the overwhelming smells and sounds of a market come to life.
Ducking into some shops lining the street that absorbed the market overflow, Olivia and I stumbled upon a restaurant I recognized from Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, a show on the travel channel following one man’s nose for great food. Of course I had to eat there, and it did not disappoint. It was a 26 year old Russian bakery called after its famous dish: Piroshky Piroshky. Beef and cheese (or other fillings) were baked inside pastry dough, the sum of which delighted every one of my senses. We even got to watch the master chef at work.
After lunch I found out that sirens are not always beautiful women calmly caressing notes to lure you to your death. In this case they took the form of a homeless looking jug band playing for coins outside what turned out to be the original Starbucks. We listened to them for quite a long time and were only able to loosen ourselves from their grasp by buying a CD and knowing we could hear them later.
Then it was back inside the market for more food. This time at the Athenian, a restaurant that had been in its same location in a world famous market for 100 years. We had to try it, and the crab cakes were spectacular. After we left the market we walked around the city and found ourselves in a lovely coffee shop a few blocks from where we started. A delicious homemade meal and an introduction to Flight of the Conchords for Olivia brought a fitting end to a wonderful first day.
Day 2: Beach day. But first, lunch at the Fiddlers Inn, a local joint. The nachos there (an appetizer) fed both me and Olivia. Lip-smackin good too. I decided to leave the toasted cheese sandwich on the menu for another day. Afterword we all swam in Lake Washington, a five minute drive from the house. Cold water but warm family fun.
And on the third day God said “Let there be hiking,” and there was much rejoicing. Olivia and I drove to Mt. Rainier National Park (see the big mountain), set up camp along White River, and headed for the trails.
As we arrived, the fog cleared and Rainier towered above us, ever watchful, giving us the strength to climb higher and higher. We made it to the top of Burroughs Mountain (7000ft) from which we got an amazing view before turning back.
No, we didn’t climb the whole mountain, we started at 6400ft. We did, however, experience the thin air on the roof of the Cascades while navigating narrow trails carved into the side of the incredibly steep rocky mountainside.
Five miles later we were back at camp and ready to start the fire. Hot dogs, sausages, and smores were on the menu, roasted Chestnut style. The night was long, cold, hard, and brought both of us little sleep, but we talked for hours and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
In the early morning we set off again, this time downhill, headed for some alpine lakes. We found a gorgeous lake nestled between pines, mountains, and dragonflies where we stopped for lunch and for rest. By mid afternoon we were headed home, tired, and sore as hell. Jory greeted us with hot chocolate, a fire (this one in a fireplace), and steaks for later, and we spent the rest of the day telling of our treks and recuperating.
Today I woke up early, unexpectedly so after a tiring two days, and posted some pictures on Snapfish (links in the column to the left). Olivia and I walked to the Wedgewood Ale House for lunch where I had a real Buffalo burger (not the endangered kind, nor the Buffalo wings kind) and a local brew. Again, fantastically delicious. We spent the rest of the day on the shore of Lake Washington and watching more Flight of the Conchords. Yeah, she’s definitely hooked. Oh, and I wrote this. And now you’re up to speed. Ta-da!
what a city! what a country! we're blown away by your pictures of the market and the mountain, ready to hop a train. great to see dear olivia again.