Seattle Walking – Day 2

July 9, 2009

The Saturday morning sun shone brightly through the window curtains waking us up from a sound slumber. No alarm clock, Amen! One bad habit I wake up to each day is a ‘need’ for coffee and the stronger the better. In fact, my eyes refuse to open unless I have a hot cup in my hand. It’s strange how that works. If it weren’t for that habit of mine, we would have slept in for at least a couple of hours longer. Al head out to find Starbucks in the lobby (the Hotel Monaco offered free Starbucks in the morning – great perk, no pun intended (-:). Once we were bright-eyed and bushy tailed, we head out for our first full day walking tour through the Emerald City.

The first place we headed to was the world famous Pikes Market. For those of you who have yet to visit the reknown marketplace, it’s located walking distance from the Harbor and Puget Sound. Both indoors and outdoors for blocks upon blocks, you can find farm fresh produce, fresh fish on ice (OMG, Salmon to die for), organic honey, herbs, breads (I could have taken all the bread home), flowers, arts and crafts, street musicians, and restaurants. After walking to and through the market, we headed towards the Harbor. The Harbor was an entirely different experience than the market. Although they coexist side-by-side in a geographical sense, the environments were very separate and independent from each other. The area was lined with souvenir shops, restaurants, and docked boats. This is where the ferry’s cross over from Victoria BC and transport people to and fro Seattle. This is also the same place where cruise ships board. At the gate of the ferry boarding area stood two members of the Royal Canadian Army in full uniform. It felt as though we were in a different country as I listened to them speak french to one another.

After leaving the Harbor we walked to City Center. This is where the famous Space Needle, Science Fiction Museum, amusement park, concerts, events and tourism take place. We were fortunate to have witnessed an international naturalization ceremony, where over 200 people from over 75 countries became U.S. citizens. We walked through City Center and then headed towards the Monorail to catch a ride back to the area of our hotel. It was time to freshen up and find another Seattle hot spot for good eating. Our walking had worked up quite an appetite.

Al suggested we dress-up since he had found a fine french restaurant named Chez Shea (pronounced Shay Shay). We stopped at Nordstroms Mac counter on the way back to the hotel for a quick overhaul on my make-up after a long day. I had left my makeup bag with my evening shades at home. Mac is well-known for dramatic evening makeup application and of course, everything had to be perfect. At the Mac counter we met a woman named Nicky who was opening up her own makeup studio in Olympia, Washington. Her husband is an artist and they were venturing on a shared dream. With the collaborated efforts of artists and musicians in Olympia, their dream became a reality and I promised we’d be back to visit. So far, all of the people we had met were friendly and good natured. In my life I have traveled to areas where people will literally tell you to go back home. Seattle is definitely not one of those places.

Chez Shea was located above a store up the street from Pike’s Market. On the web site it stated that the restaurant had a breathtaking panoramic view of the Harbor. When we entered the restaurant we had to go up a flight of stairs and I wondered how older or handicapped people could access this great place. I noticed that many places were designed with stairs and no elevator access. When we arrived upstairs the decor wasn’t what I had expected for a fine french restaurant. The panoramic view was a typo I’m sure. Perhaps I watch the food network too much but I was a little disappointed. The linen napkins and tablecloths were a great touch and the service was superb (our waitress knew the menu upside down and pronounced every dish with a precise accent) but the place was small with about 12 tables – most set for two. I later realized because the restaurant was ‘reservation only’ that the food had to be exquisite since there was obviously a gourmet chef in the kitchen preparing food on the fly (not literally).

In my life I had only gone to french restaurants twice before this, so the menu was unfamiliar to me. Al is world traveled and lived in France for a short period and was very familiar with the french lingo and dishes. After eating a superb five course meal, the only thing I can remember to write about is the Fromage. That’s a fancy word for cheese. The cheese was so fresh it melted in my mouth. Once we were served, the disappointment of the decor vanished and was replaced with tremendous appreciation for french cuisine.

After we left the restaurant we concluded our day with a nice walk back to our hotel. The second day of our walking tour in the Emerald City proved to be a gem in my book of treasured memories.