Sweet Sweet Seattle

So it looks like I may be changing the title of this blog from "Queen of LA" to "Queen of Seattle." You'll all still stick around, right?

Just kidding! (That may have been my lame attempt at a belated April Fool's Day joke.) But seriously - I LOVED Seattle. Who knew such an awesome city was just a short two hour flight away from LA?! 

The first thing everyone asks when they hear we went to Seattle is "How was the weather?" Guys, I am not kidding, we could not have been luckier. It was 65 degrees and sunny the entire time we were there. It was crazy beautiful. I cannot even imagine the city when it's raining, I felt like every day there must be just gorgeous. I took a million pictures so I'm just warning you - get ready for a major photo explosion!

Ram and I arrived in Seattle on Saturday morning and checked into our hotel, The Alexis, which was highly recommended by several pals on Facebook - we loved it. It is a small but upscale boutique hotel on 1st Avenue just five blocks away from Pike Place Market - we walked there in less than 10 minutes. Perfect location! After checking in we headed to Serious Pie, a Tom Douglas restaurant, for a late lunch and then R indulged me by taking me to the VERY FIRST Nordstrom ever created! I bought a bracelet and he sat comfortably in a chair and played on his phone so a good time was had by all. On our walk back to the hotel we passed by a little square where they had BRIGHT BLUE tree trunks - isn't that cool? 

That night we headed out for a romantic late dinner at a place called Tavolata, which was EXCELLENT. We loved the vibe - it felt very San Fran/New York-esque and modern to us, and the food was just delicious. We ordered a bunch of things to share but the highlight had to be their famous ricotta gnocchi - look how huge they are! 

I love a gentleman in pink :)

Our first stop Sunday morning was to Pike Place Market. I was SO excited! The market was probably the number one reason I chose to go to Seattle - I love Farmer's Markets and artisanal food and little stands so this was right up my alley. Sadly, it was Easter Sunday so the famous fish-throwers were not there, but everything else was open and amazing! We took a picture with the famous Pike Place Market mascot, the brass pig named Rachel:

The flowers were STUNNING and so reasonably priced. I wish I could have gotten a few bunches:

We stopped at Beecher's for some of their famous mac & cheese. I gotta be honest with you - I liked it, but it wasn't my FAVORITE mac & cheese I've ever had...

We ate some delicious piroshky's from Piroshky Piroshky, and stopped by the VERY FIRST Starbucks, established in 1971! God bless you, Starbucks. Thank you for my daily chai tea latte. Check out their original logo!

That afternoon my mother and grandmother arrived! After a delicious oyster lunch the four of us headed over to another special Seattle attraction - Riding the Ducks! We boarded what looked like a normal open-air bus for a driving tour around Seattle to see different famous sites and landmarks... and then the bus turned into a BOAT and we splashed into the water and cruised around Lake Union for a look at the beautiful skyline. So freaking cool. 

Look at those two crazy kids :)

When the bus turned into a boat and we hit the water, Ram was SO EXCITED :)

The tour concluded with a little dancing between the captain and my grandmother. Oh, the hilarity.

That night my grandmother requested a seafood dinner, so we dined at a fish restaurant called Seastar. Look at the four of us - so cozy :)

On Monday, our last day in Seattle, we woke up early and hustled over to another famous Pike Place Market institution for some deliciousness - Pike Place Chowder came highly recommended and did not disappoint. I am a lover of chowder and this one was PHENOM. (Yes, we broke Passover early. No, I am not sorry about it.) I'm already dreaming of the next bowl I can get my hands on...

That afternoon we visited the EMP Museum and I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I saw Ram so happy. We saw an awesome exhibit on the history of Nirvana which I loved, an exhibit about the making of horror films (I took one look at a clip of something horrific and promptly exited the room to sit on a bench and play on my phone), and a very cool exhibit on the history of sci-fi, which made Ram the happiest boy on earth, particularly after he got to pose with some Dr. Who memorabilia...

By the time we left, my feet were KILLING ME from all the walking, so I self-medicated by a little jaunt to the mall, while my mom and Ram went on another famous Seattle tourist activity, the Underground Tour. They said it was very cool - I'm happy they had fun, because so did I... I came home with new earrings and a sassy pair of silk pants! 

And then it was time to go! We look happy here but inside we were filled with sorrow :(

Seattle, I LOVE you. Thanks to everyone for their fantastic recommendations - I can't wait to go back. And yay for crossing another item ("travel someplace new")off my "27 For 27" list!