Saturday, July 31, 2010

day numero uno in seattle

it came and went. the big trip. 8 days. what can i say. we hadn't been on a real vacation since our honey moon to seattle 10 years ago. we are so lame. we talked the whole time about our practicality. sigh. and how i am a homebody. i don't love being hot, so beach excursions are out. seeing how i am married to a red head, he whole heartidly agrees that beaches won't be our venue. but we haven't ever been so we can't knock it. i guess i am trying to say that seattle at 60-75 degrees was perfect for us.


day one was filled. i mean filled. driving. eating. eating.


the first sign of our vacation that indicated it was going to be good was being greeted by mt. rainier. i went on many business trips to seattle in my single days. the weather is a hot topic, also a hot topic, if you can or cannot see the ghostly volcano. guess what we saw everyday? not a cloud in sight for the first 5 days.


the above picture was taken from a little pull out in magnolia park. we weren't sure what to expect when we pulled up in this upscale neighborhood. we saw the park and didn't realize it was for parking and enjoying the view from your car. when we arrived there was only one other car there and the occupants of that car emerged from a staircase. we naturally thought that at the bottom of this staircase, there would be a dramatic view. on we plunged. 140 steps later, it was nothing but a private residential road. i was steadily contracting by the time we reached the bottom of the stairs. on the way up, i was doing the breathing of intense labor. it set the precedent for the trip. steps everywhere and contractions to match. i was up to 40-50 contractions a day, trying to keep a smile on my face and out of the hospital.

so, i turned to food for this trip as my happy place since getting anywhere seemed to be a challenge.


i did my research on the food, the scale doesn't lie either. it was a sad state of affairs after i weighed in this morning. sigh, sigh, scream. i have never gained that much weight on a trip. oh well. scotty even ran every morning along the shore and still gained almost as much as my vegetative self. so there.


the first day we sought out salumi. mario batali opened this one up. actually, we heard all kinds of locals contradict this. many say it is his parents that run it. regardless, his name is tied to this place.


the concept it meat. pig meat. on a sandwich, by the slice or by the pound. fresh mozzarella and other exotic cheeses. pasta, soup. it came highly recommended by every food critic i stumbled across. it didn't disappoint..


this was my dish of pasta with fresh basil and cherry tomatoes with a little balsamic and olive oil. it was so incredibly fresh and light. i loved it. below is scotty fully taken and smitten with his lomo sandwich. i mean smitten. it was all he could talk about the rest of the time.


the place is crazy wild. it is this hallway with a smashed in sandwich bar. after the register there is one table, family style. sit down, eat with locals and visitors alike. they have glasses for water and silverware in vintage anchovy crates. super cool. we opted to visit at 3 and 3:30 ( we went twice) and still had to wait in line 20 minutes. it is a hot spot, and i feel lucky to have eaten there. the hours are tuesday to friday 11-4. must go in seattle.

the rest of the day was spent enjoying the beautiful coast line. we were able to see incredible mountain ranges all around us. i didn't even know they existed because every time i had been there previous, they were hidden in the cloudy ocean mist.

we also partook in a greek place that isn't worthy of a review even though it came highly recommended. the roasted lamb sandwich was good, but nothing compared to salumi. also, the day of arrival, we checked into our hotel. i am a realist. truth be told. it stunk. literally and figuratively. it was right next to the housing authority of seattle. it was one with a kitchenette which is a great concept until the asian family showed up with 3 coolers full of food. every night the smell put me into tears. the bed was so hard after just a few minutes our behinds or sides would be numb. it was awful. really. my poor husband took full blame even though it was a joint decision about the hotel, we had no idea. we wanted to be close to the city without paying the price. boo. it was a good thing we had a bed and breakfast to look forward to in a couple of days.

1 comment:

emily ballard said...

We are planning to go to Seattle next summer. I think I will just copy your itinerary. And eat all the same dishes from all of the same restaurants.