Seattle Mini-Vacation Recap

Last Wednesday, Sourabh and I headed down to Seattle for a one-night mini vacation. A vacation within a vacation, I guess? Visiting family never quite seems like a vacation, though. Unless family lives in St. Croix or Hawaii, of course!

Growing up in a rural area, visiting Seattle (100 miles away) or Vancouver (50 miles away) was always a big event. It's not quite the same feeling when you live in New York, but I was excited to share the city with Sourabh.

We started the day by going full-on tourist and having lunch on the Space Needle!

The restaurant at the top rotates slowly, so that you complete a full rotation approximately once every hour. Since tickets to go to the top are $19 each and most entrees are ~$30, we reasoned it was a pretty good value for a great view.

Clockwise from top right: Olympic Peninsula and Olympic Mountains, Mt Baker in the distance over Lake Union, Cascades and East Seattle, and Downtown Seattle 

And the views are beautiful (on a sunny day). However, even with the saving on a ticket up the Space Needle, we just weren't very impressed with our food.

Sourabh got a lamb burger with fries (that's goat cheese on the fries)

I had a $27 salad

I think for lunch this works out to be a decent deal. They have a minimum $25-per-person for lunch, so if you get something for under $30, the meal is only $35-40 after you subtract the price of the tickets. BUT there are a lot of great restaurants in Seattle, so if you're going to spend that much on lunch, it shouldn't be for mediocre food.

Instead of the Space Needle, I recommend going up the Columbia Center for only $5 (the view is well recapped here). Especially if you're traveling with more than two people, the Space Needle is just too pricey and isn't even the best view in town!

After our lunch, we headed down to Pike Place Market, the semi-open air market that operates year-round (this is why it's only semi-open air!). Pike Place has a wonderful fish market where they throw fish around, tons of fresh produce, and lots of fun specialty items.

Across the street are restaurants, bakeries, and hole-in-the-wall shops that make everything from delicious Chinese buns to fabulous French pastries (Le Panier -- go there, it's delicious).

We walked around Belltown as the sun was setting, then headed back to our hotel to nap for a bit before having a late dinner at Purple Cafe and Wine Bar. I'd heard about the restaurant when I sat next to one of their sommeliers on my flight to Washington in October. We'd really hit it off and chatted for much of the flight -- she was a fellow runner who seemed extremely knowledgeable about food and wine, so I figured we couldn't go wrong by stopping by!

the wine "cellar" is the circular staircase in the middle of the restaurant!
(source)

Sadly she wasn't working Wednesday night so I couldn't say hi, but the restaurant was still a great pick. We were still pretty full from lunch and snacking our way through Pike Place, so we split a few appetizers and the lobster mac and cheese (so good!!) and had a few of their delicious champagne-based cocktails.

The next morning was unfortunately totally foggy, so we decided to head back to my parents' house early, but it was a great little trip.

One thing that stood out to me was that, while it was fun to walk around a different city, most of what makes the Pacific Northwest a wonderful vacation destination for someone living in a big city is its natural beauty. In the winter, while you can admire it from afar, you can't really hike up the mountains or boat along the waterways.

passing ferries 

We had fun, but when you live in New York, having a dinner out or walking around a city just doesn't have the same allure.  I want to return to Washington with Sourabh when the weather is warm and sunny (so, basically, August and September) so that we can take full advantage of the things the Pacific Northwest does best. We're hoping to take a hiking trip to Washington in the next year or two so that he can fully experience the state. Ok, and so I can continue to feed my mountain obsession!

What's the last place you went on vacation? If you live in a city, do you find visiting other cities loses some of its appeal?

Giving up on TV shows and a Green Smoothie Recipe

Giving up TV shows
I have a very full DVR waiting for me when I get back to New York. Sourabh and I watch quite a few shows, but rarely when they air because we hate commercials. Instead, we typically wait until later in the evening or the next day to watch our shows.

But this year, since I want to disconnect more, I'm going to try to purge some of those shows from our viewing list. Being here in Washington and not being automatically able to pick up shows again has made me realize how much I don't need to watch TV. It might mean that Sourabh watches without me, since we have different tastes and he still likes some shows that I don't.

Bea is so bored by TV. Also, she does not like Kanye's leather skirt (pic taken during the 12-12-12 concert) 

For example, I used to like Big Bang Theory, The Office, The Good Wife, and How I Met Your Mother, but at this point I'm bored with all of those series. I'll probably stick with The Office since it's ending this year, but otherwise I just don't want to waste my time anymore on a show that leaves me cold. Besides, I have Revenge, Parks and Recreation, New Girl, Community (finally returning), and Modern Family to keep me warm (if we're keeping the hot/cold metaphor going...). I just don't want to waste any more time on shows that I feel frustrated by!

Mini Vacation!
In other news, we're off to Seattle today! Sourabh and I are spending two days in Seattle. We're leaving Mason with his doting grandparents (aka my parents since he's their grandpuppy).

see? doting on the grandpuppy

I am super excited to spend two days exploring Seattle since I haven't spent that much time there. While I grew up two hours away from the city and have been there plenty of times, I've never really done more than a few touristy things there. Besides the obvious Pike Place Market and Space Needle, Sourabh and I want to explore a few of the cool neighborhoods like Ballard and Queen Anne's Hill. It's sort of a belated anniversary trip since we didn't go anywhere for our four year anniversary in October so it should be really fun.


Mean Green Breakfast Smoothie Recipe

Mmmmm this smoothie is SO good. I've made it while I've been home when I'm craving some greens. And since I've been home for the holidays, I've craved greens several times. I love to indulge, but at a certain point, my body basically yells at me until I eat a green.

The best part about this smoothie, though, is that it tricks your brain. You can't actually taste the spinach at all! Just the pear, banana, almond milk, and the sweetness of the maple syrup. I would love to say that I was a spinach junkie who did whatever it took for my next spinach hit, but sadly, I don't really like spinach.

Ingredients
1 pear, chopped
1 banana
1 c. almond milk (more for more liquid smoothie)
1 c. spinach
1 tsp. maple syrup (optional)

1 tsp. chia seeds (optional)

Directions

Add all ingredients to blender and mix!

Do you give up on TV shows or do you see them through to the end? 

Weekend Travels: Home to Washington State

I'm in Washington State!

Since I’m a third-year law student, I don’t have a very rigorous schedule, and I was able to reschedule the Contracts TA session I teach so that I could fly back home to Washington State on Thursday and back to New York on Monday. Being me, I put off packing until the last minute, so I was up late last night packing and only got 5 hours of sleep. Whoops.

I still wanted to get in some kind of physical activity before flying all day, so I woke up at 5:30 AM to run 2 miles on the treadmill in my building’s gym. Who needs coffee when you can run? I jacked up the speed to get the miles done more quickly, and ended up with an 8:27 pace. It’s always easier to run quickly on a treadmill, but still, woot!

I quickly showered off, said my good byes to the boy and dog (cats never care if I'm gone...), then grabbed a cab and headed to LaGuardia to catch my flight. I don’t love the travel process, but I do love traveling, even when it’s just flying back to Washington State for a visit to my family. I grew up in the rural Pacific Northwest, in a small town just about 5 miles south of the Canadian border. It’s a long slog from New York – a 6 hour nonstop plane ride or 8-9 hours if there’s a layover, then a 2 hour drive home from Seattle’s airport. But it’s always worth it to see the fam!

the gate across from mine was decorated for Halloween. not sure if this is encouraging when getting on a plane, but it was fun to see early in the morning.

I spent both flights catching up on some TV shows, starting Scott Jurek’s Eat and Run, and studying for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). The MPRE is a standardized exam you have to take as part of the Bar exam that I’ll be taking in July, after I graduate. You have to pass both the New York State Bar, which is the laws of New York, and the MPRE, which is basically an ethics exam, before you can be licensed as a lawyer in New York. I’m taking it on Saturday, November 3 – the day before the New York City Marathon! Cheering on the runners on Sunday will be my reward for finishing the exam on Saturday.

the fact that Denver's airport needs signs for tornado shelters was concerning to me. I saw Twister when I was little, I don't think being in a women's bathroom would save you from a tornado...

Watching movie or TV shows on my laptop always seems awkward. Yes, I’m watching Nashville and I think it’s awesome. Don’t judge me because it’s a primetime soap (Revenge is awesome, too, but I watch that one with the boy). There was also some partial nudity on one show – oops, sorry, hope I didn’t scar your children. Thankfully it was only over-18’s in my vicinity. I also chatted with my seat neighbor, Janice, who it turns out is a sommelier at Purple Cafe & Wine Bar in Seattle. Next time I have a longer trip I'm definitely going to be dropping by!

Afternoon in Seattle

My flight from Denver to Seattle landed around 2 PM, so we got to do a few fun Seattle  things before the two hour drive back to my hometown. We went to the Seattle Art Museum to see an exhibit on female artists, mainly from the 1950s to 1970s. 

It was an interesting exhibit, although some of the art was a bit too abstract for my taste, especially without any description or context. Still, I'd actually never been to the Seattle Art Museum, so it was great to check it out!

this artist, a Polish Art Deco artist named Tamara de Lempicka, was the main reason my parents wanted to go to the museum, but unfortunately this was the only piece of hers in the exhibit

After the museum, we walked through Pike Place Market. I had specially requested to do that since I love the market so much. There's so much food and so many local artists' stands. I found a few great gifts and picked up a wonderfully fresh honeycrisp apple to snack on the 2 hour drive back. 

the Seattle Great Wheel (a brand new addition to the waterfront) with a ferry coming in to dock 

the amount of seafood at Pike's Place Market is staggering. SO much crab, lobster and fish! 

Pike's Place Market is basically an indoor market since the weather is so often chilly, overcast, and drizzly in Washington 

the original Starbucks logo outside the original Starbucks

Pacific Northwest Starbucks cafes have fresh-pressed green juices! NYC, please follow this trend!! 

how funny is this pot holder? my friend Katie will be the lucky recipient of this gem 

the view from outside Pike Place Market -- you can see the Seattle Great Wheel, cranes for loading and unloading shipping crates, and CenturyLink Field (the Seahawks stadium) 

We ended our afternoon in Seattle with dinner at Umi Sake House in Belltown. Since we were having an early dinner, we were able to order off the happy hour menu. I've become used to New York prices, so you can imagine how excited I was about a $10 sashimi plate! The fish was extremely fresh tasting, too, since Seattle has so much fresh fish constantly coming in to the port. 

(source)

Now I'm home and about to watch the premiere of the first season of Revenge with my parents. Trying to get them hooked like I am!