Mexican Mochas and Meanderings...Marcy & Mom Return to Seattle

I knew when I woke up on Sunday, January 9th, it was going to be a good day.  Not only was it my birthday, but I received one of the best emails an anal retentive travel junkie/planner, like me, could get.  An email from Delta Airlines, with the subject heading:

"Your Upgrade Has Been Confirmed"

Those five words are always magic to my ears.  And it made the fact that we would be arising at the ungodly hour of 3:30am much more palatable.  Now I knew that I might be able to actually sleep on the flight from Atlanta to Seattle and not arrive in the Emerald City a complete sleep-deprived zombie!

I know, your asking, why on earth go to Seattle in January?  In a one word answer...Reunion.  Yes, it was the annual Rick Steves Tour Alumni Reunion.  But more importantly it would mean starting the year off  with 5,000 Sky Miles!  :-)  Plus the airfare was ridiculously low for a coast to coast trip, $310 all in, that's including taxes, how could we pass up that deal!

Thursday, January 13th arrives, all to early in my opinion, and I drag my body out of bed at 3:30am.  By 5:20am the car is parked, the security checkpoint has been passed and I am happily seated in the Savannah Airport waiting to board the 6:30am flight to Atlanta.  Oh, and by the way, this was no average run of the mill Thursday flying into Atlanta, for several days before this Thursday Atlanta had been pummeled by one of the worst snow and ice storms in recent history.  I'm talking schools closed for a week, people told to say home and not drive.  Frankly I was holding my breath about even being able to fly into Atlanta.

We board the plane in Savannah,take our seats, order some juice and settle in while the rest of the passengers board.  To my amazement this flight is barely half full, this is definitely not typical of recent flights I've been on, usually the planes are full to the gills with passengers.  The 38 minute flight to Atlanta is uneventful and we land in Atlanta on a clear runway, however there are what appear to be mountains of snow placed strategically off to the sides of the runways.  Oh, yes, it has snowed here BIG TIME!  What astounded me was the thickness of the ice in the areas closest to the terminal buildings, I don't think I've seen ice that thick since my winters in New England!

We have about a 2 hour wait in Atlanta, so I saunter to the nearest Starbucks to fuel-up on caffeine.  The flight to Seattle is scheduled to leave at 10:10am and we are airborne by 10:40am.  We are cozily ensconced in the business class seats and I realize this is the same type of plane we've flown on trans-Atlantic flights to Italy, there must have been about 30 business class seats.

It may not be a big deal to some, but whenever I fly in business class, I am always thrived to be served a meal on real china with real cutlery, not the plastic versions, this flight was no exception.  I had the braised chicken salad with fresh fruit and a lemon meringue pie and mom had the Philly cheese steak.  We proclaimed the meal pretty good and once finished and the trays were cleared away we wasted no time getting reacquainted with the insides our our eyelids!

We landed in Seattle about 5 and a half hours later at 1:10pm local time and found our way to the light rail link train station at the SeaTac airport.  WOW!  This is a great option for getting into downtown Seattle and for $2.50 per person it's a bargain.  From the airport to the University Street station the ride took just over 30 minutes and it was a short, albeit steep, 3 block walk to the Crowne Plaza hotel, which was our "home" for the next 4 nights.

Hotel check in was a breeze and we were fortunate to get a corner room on a high floor with a view of the city.  We stayed at this hotel last year and felt it had a lot going for it.  We like the location, the room and beds are comfortable and the bathroom is clean and ample in size, we couldn't have asked for more.

After we got settled we walked over to Pike Place Market and had a little wander about.  I determined that 4pm on a rainy January Thursday is probably not the best time to visit the market.  Many of the vendors were packing up their stalls, or had already left.  And there where many areas of the market completely closed due to renovation.  I'm glad we were at the market last year to see things before the renovations started.  It will be interesting to see how the market will look when the construction work is done.

By 5pm we were ready for the nectar of the gods that Washington state is known for....it was wine time!  Prior to leaving on this trip I posted on twitter asking for recommendations on wine bars in Seattle near Pike Place Market.  Two responses came with the name of the Tasting Room.  I figure we didn't have anything to lose and it was close to where we would be having dinner, so we went in.

The Tasting Room did not disappoint and on this Thursday night they were running a special.  Between 5pm and 7pm we could choose from any of the 8 selected wines on special for $4 a glass.  What a great bargain!  All the wines in this wine bar/shop are from Washington state and we enjoyed a couple glasses of the Wilridge Winery Melange Blanc.  This place is rustic and homey and the staff was very friendly.

Our dinner reservation was at the Steelhead Diner which was just down the street from the Tasting Room and after about an hour at the Tasting Room we were off to dinner.

I had read about the Steelhead Diner last year, but during that trip we ran out of time, there are only so many restaurants one can squeeze into a 4 day weekend trip!  So this year, I decided to make a reservation here for our first night and we were thrilled with this "buzzy" restaurant.  On a Thursday night at 6:30pm it was more than half full and by the time we left about 2 hours later the place was packed.  The restaurant located on a corner has big windows which give the feeling of being in an open airy space.  The bar area is fairly large and there is an open kitchen with what I call a chef's table area where diners can watch all the action going on in the open kitchen.

We were seated in a booth just around the corner from the kitchen and there was a small cut-out window just across from our table where, although we couldn't see all the kitchen action, we could see the cooks from the shoulders up, and they were "turning and burning".  Our server was a delight, friendly, attentive and happy to make recommendations.

We started with a Washington State chenin blanc wine from the Ceder Cellar winery.  It was a nice, light white wine that went perfectly with the chicken spring roll appetizer and our main dishes.  I choose to have the black cod, a house favorite and it did not disappoint, it had an Asian flair and was wonderfully flavorful.  Mom had the pork tenderloin dish and she barely needed a knife to cut the meat.

When the server put down the dessert menu we couldn't resist a look.  One item caught both of our attention...the goat cheese cheesecake with pomegranate coulis.  We asked the server how it was, and we both thought her response was classic.  She asked, "Do you like goat cheese"?  We shake our heads enthusiastically yes.  She asked, "Do you like cheesecake"?  Again, we shake our heads enthusiastically.  She then says, "Well, then you will like this".  My take on her reply was that she may not have been a goat cheese fan, but we are and so we ordered one piece.  True to my food photo obsession, I was taking a picture of the cheesecake after it was served, it looked so pretty, and mom was turning the plate around so I could get a better shot and from behind us we here...."No, turn the plate this way".  As we look up, there in the little cut out window is the chef smiling away.  We chat for a few minutes and he tells us the cheesecake is just something he "threw together"...wish I could through something together that tasted that good!  The creaminess of the goat cheese and the tartness of the pomegranate worked perfectly together.  At it wasn't heavy and "gut-busting" like some cheesecakes can be.

As if the cheesecake wasn't enough we had our usual 2 espresso and then we asked our server if they had limoncello...clearly they don't have many customers asking for that because she had to go ask, but they did and we happily ordered 2...after all, we really needed that digestivo!  And, this perfect finale to a great meal, was a ritual we followed for every other dinner during this trip!

On Friday, January 14th I opened my eyes at 4am and refused to get out of bed.  I quickly shut my eyes and went back to sleep.  At 7am I actually did get out of bed, I would say it was the "crack of dawn" but dawn doesn't come to Seattle in January until about 8:30am!

By 10am we were walking out the hotel front door and down a block to Fergy's Cafe.  I small hole in the wall coffee place we spotted yesterday and decided to give a try.  I'm glad we did!  I had a Mexican Mocha with chili peppers and it had a luscious orange flavor.  It was the perfect "kick-off" to a gray morning.

We bagged the idea of going to Salumi, since it was in the opposite direction of the more pressing siren call of Nordstrom Rack.  Yes, this store is my shoe mecca, the entire second floor is shoes, and having found a fantastic deal on a pair of Ferragamo loafers last year, I just had to take a spin through the shoe department this year, and yes, Nordstrom Rack did not disappoint.  Four pair of shoes and two handbags later, plus a few pieces of clothing I sauntered out of Nordstroms Rack a smiling gal!  After a quick stop at Penzey's Spice shop, we made a bee-line for the FedEx store a block from the hotel.  Another reason for staying at the Crowne Plaza was its proximity to a FedEx store, yes, this was not the first time purchases have been shipped home from the west coast, and it won't be the last!

After all the retail therapy we were getting hungry and we were reminiscing about the pizza at Serious Pie we had last year, so it seemed reasonable to make a return visit.  Fortunately for us, we were having a late lunch, around 2pm, so we only had a 5 minute wait for table.  Frankly, I'd have waited as long as I had to for a Serious Pie pizza!.  We started with the duck gizzard and puntarelle salad appetizer and it was excellent.  Then we shared the chanterelle mushroom and truffle oil pizza.  Thank you Tyler Florence, for turning us onto, not only this place, but this specific pizza, it was fantastic!  The pizza dough is so light and crispy, it's the best pizza I've ever had.

When we were full with pizza and salad, we wandered back over to Pike Place Market and picked up a few things and walked back to the hotel for a bit of a rest.

We were started to get that "sluggy" feeling and knew if we didn't get moving we might not ever leave the hotel.  We decided to check out the hotel lounge and went for a glass of wine.  My suspicions were the lounge wouldn't be a "happening" place and it was confirmed when we walked in and were the only ones there.  It's really a pretty nice lounge with floor to ceiling windows, so it's not on the top floor, it's just above the lobby, but it was a nice room.  After about an hour we decided to grab a taxi and head over to the Bell Town area to Spur Gastropub for our dinner reservation.

When we enter Spur it is crowded and buzzing.  There is definitely a "mood lighting" ambiance going on, candles flicker on the tables and the lighting is low.  I heard about this place last year and thought it would be fun to check it out.  We started with a bottle of rose wine and it was a bit of a miss, but hey, we can't always pick a winner!  The portions here are on the small/appetizer size.  We began with two starters, the first was the salmon crostini which was OK, but our least favorite of the whole meal.  I think it was our least favorite because it felt more like a summertime dish, it was cold & crisp.  The second starter was a chanterelle mushroom and cauliflower gnocchi, this was delicious, and more to our liking on this windy evening.    For my main dish I had the waygu sirloin with root vegetables, this was the first time I've had waygu beef and it was fantastic, with a mustard sauce poured over the beef.  The beef was creamy and very tender.  Mom had the braised lamb shank and that was also delicious, she didn't even need a knife to cut the lamb.  We capped the meal off with two espresso and 2 limoncello.  The meal was good, but there just seemed to be something that left us feeling flat, I can't quite put my finger on why.  By 10pm we were in another taxi being whisked back to our hotel.

Saturday, January 15th dawn gray and soggy again, but the temperatures are in the low to mid 50's which makes the rainy days slightly more bearable.  We left the hotel shortly before 8am, made a stop at Fergy's cafe for another Mexican Mocha and walked to the Hertz rental car office at the convention center, about a 10 minute walk from the Crown Plaza.  We went through the rental car paperwork and within 10 more minutes we were settling into a red Toyota Yaris.  I set up the GPS unit (affectionately known as Mimi) to get us to Edmonds and off we went. 

Mimi worked like a charm, and we arrived in Edmonds in about 30 minutes, found a parking spot with no trouble and headed straight for Starbucks.  As if the Mexican Mocha we had an hour before wasn't enough! We made a stop for juice and a muffin, hey, we needing something to wash down our vitamins!

Now the whole reason we even came to Seattle was about to start!  After increasing our vitamin intake, we ambled over to the Edmonds Conference Center for the Rick Steves Test Drive a Tour Guide lecture series and tour alumni reunion.  The first session on our agenda was the presentation about the Tallin, Helsinki and St. Petersburg tour.  The guide doing the presentation was great and I left the room more eager to see that part of the world than ever before! 

We had a short break and we were about to see a few of our favorite people, Francesca and Etelka, two terrific guides!  We chatted a bit with both ladies and then it was time for us to go to our tour reunion.  It was lots of fun chatting with like-minded travel junkies and it was interesting to listen to what Rick had to say about travel.  I even won a complete box set of all Rick's PBS shows, because I traveled the farthest than anyone else in the room to be at the reunion!  We got to see and catch up with several of the tour guides we've had on previous tours and before we knew it, the reunion was ending.

The reunion ended at about 1:30pm and we walked around the corner to Olives wine bar for lunch.  Lunch was nothing out of the ordinary, I had a burger, mom had a reuben and we were finished just in time to stop in at the Savvy Travel shop to browse around for a few minutes before the next Test Drive a Tour Guide lecture.

The afternoon lecture we choose to go to was about Portugal and yet again, my travel antennae was on alert.  Portugal seems to be a great destination, not only because of the people, food, and culture, but it appears to be a bargain!  I'm keeping this little nugget of information for future travels!

At about 4pm we drove back to Seattle and parked the car at the hotel and went for a glass of wine at Purple.  We found Purple last year when we had a glass of wine there and really liked the place.  We decided it would be a perfect spot for a pre-dinner drink.  Next time we really need to have dinner here!  When we walked in the bar was packed, there was just one seat left and we grabbed it.  Mom sat down and when I stayed standing the young man seated next to us, got up and gave me his seat...WOW!  and here I thought manners had died....not in Seattle!  There was a white port wine on the menu and having never tried it before, I gave it a shot.  Not sure if I'd try it again, I wasn't a big fan, but it was interesting!

At 8pm we walked one block up the street to Sazerac for our dinner reservation.  This restaurant is at the Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton Hotel and we had been here last year for drinks and it was a fun place, so we thought we'd give dinner there a try.  We weren't disappointed.

The service here was very good, friendly and attentive, but not hovering over us.  We started with a bottle of the Chateau St. Michelle Horse Heaven Vineyard sauvignon blanc and a love affair with this wine has now officially started!  We had two huge appetizers, looking back, we really should have just had one and shared, but hey, we were on vacation!  I had the warm St. Andrea cheese with grilled bread, it was a gigantic chunk of cheese and it was delicious.  Mom had the rustic pork pate and it was a huge slice of pate and it was terrific.  For my main dish I had the scallop on a skewer and it was very good.  Mom had the fried catfish on a bed of grits.  The fish had a chipotle kick.  We ended the meal with espresso and limoncello.  Fortunately for us, our hotel was just two blocks a way and it was a quick walk back from Sazerac.

Sunday, January 16th was our last full day in Seattle.  We slept in a bit and left the hotel at about 9:30am.  We set Mimi to go to Woodinville, Washington and off we went to the Chateau St. Michelle Winery.  We arrived in Woodinville in 30 minutes and found a Tully's Coffee.  And now I will admit, I wish there was Tully's Coffee here at home, because I (GASP!) prefer it over Starbucks!  We had a little breakfast at Tully's and after an hour we drive two minutes up the street to Chateau St. Michelle.  We arrived just after 11am and found that in 15 minutes a complimentary winery tour would be starting.  We got lucky and were the only ones on the tour.  It didn't take more the 20 minutes and it was interesting to see how the winery operates and learn about it's history.

At the end of the tour we got to taste 3 different wines, a red, a chardonnay and a muscat.  I was really surprised we both liked the muscat and they were offering a deal, buy 3 bottles get the 4th free.  And, this particular muscat is only sold at the winery.  So, after perusing the shop we made a few purchases including a case of the Horse Heaven winery sauvignon blanc and 4 bottles of the muscat, all to be shipped to us back home....how easy was that!

The Columbia Crest winery is right across the street from Chateau St. Michelle, but we felt we were "wine-d out" (hard to believe, I know!) so we passed on going to Columbia Crest.  Instead, we reset Mimi to take us back to Edmonds.  Mostly because we wanted to go back to the Savvy Traveler shop and look around without the crowds and stop in the cute little kitchen shop a few doors down from the Savvy Traveler.  I glad we went back to Edmonds, and we got to walk around without the swarms of "Rick-nicks" buzzing around town.  It really is a a cute little town.

At about 3pm we left Edmonds and headed towards Seattle.  In an effort to become familiar with the route to the SeaTac airport, instead of going directly back to the hotel, we took a ride to the airport.  Simple, enough, but driving back here at 4am tomorrow, I wanted to make sure I knew where I was going.

We arrived back at the hotel around 4pm and started getting our bags together, it would be another very early morning tomorrow!  At about 5pm we walked over the Sazerac to had a couple glasses of wine and more of the St. Andre cheese, after all, we didn't have lunch!  After a few classes of wine and cheese we walked a block to Tulio for dinner.  We had dinner at Tulio last year and we liked it so much we wanted to have our final meal in Seattle there.  Plus, it's just around the corner from the Crowne Plaza.

We had another great meal at Tulio by starting with a salumi platter that included homemade mortadella, ahhh, memories of Bologna!  Then, against our general philosophy of ordering different dishes, we both had the roasted chicken with lemon risotto, it was perfection.  The chicken was crispy in the right places and juicy in the right places and the risotto was deliciously creamy!  We had a bottle of Cabanon white, and we ended the meal (as usual) with espresso and limoncello.

We were back at the hotel by 9pm and given the fact that we had a 2:30am wake-up call, we had to "sleep fast".  I dragged myself out of bed when the phone rang and jumped in the shower.  We were in the lobby by 4am, jumped in the car and at that hour of the day (or maybe it should be that hour of the night!) we were pulling into SeaTac by 4:30am.  We parked the car in the designated Hertz area, left the keys and headed to the terminal.

We caffeinated ourselves with Seattle's Best Coffee and boarded the plane at 5:30am for the 6:10am departure.  We had no luck this time with getting an upgrade and the gate agent made us check our carry-on bags saying they were too big.  The pilot was really "hauling ass" because the flight was just over 3 hours, WOW!  We landed in Atlanta an hour ahead of schedule!  This gave us plenty of time to drink more Starbucks and wait for the flight to Savannah.  The last flight was also on time and we were home by 4:30pm.  Good thing too, because I was ready for a good, long night's sleep!