7.9.14 Seattle, WA

Day 22-
My friend Ivan hosted us for a couple of nights in Seattle. We arrived late last night but he hung out with us and showed us the roof top of his apartment. We didn't stay in Seattle for long. Parking is expensive in big cities. His apartment was in a perfect location that had every site within walking distance.

In the morning, we walked to Pike Place Market. We wandered through, looking at arts and crafts. Sampling their foods... including: chili jams, raspberry wine vinagrettes, chocolate covered cherries, smoked salmon. We even saw fishes being tossed. I loved the flower bouquets. I felt that they were very beautiful and inexpensive. The way the vendors arranged the flowers had a strong sense of balance, color, and space. They were very harmonious. So gorgeous!

We discovered Ellenos Greek Yogurt! A man on the corner had a tray of samples and beckoned us to try one, try all. It was the best greek yogurt EVER! The chai was really rich in flavor. We continued wandering and found the Gum Wall. It was surprisingly colorful. It was also sticky. After we put our gum on the wall, I made my way towards Beecher's Handmade Cheese for their Mac&Cheese. I was told that it was so good that Oprah has it flown over to her. The fresh cheese curds were amazing. The Mac&Cheese was creamy. I realized that I prefer baked Mac&Cheese. It was too cheesy for my and I didn't get bread to eat it with to balance out the consistency. Luckily we remembered there was a soccer match. We went to Cantina de San Patricio in Pike Alley. I enjoyed a beer and tortilla chips with my Mac&Cheese from Beecher's.

We continued wandering around the city. I decided that we could walk to the EMP Museum and explore before we had to meet my friend back at his apartment. The EMP was awesome! EMP stand for Experience Music Project. The building was designed by Frank Gehry. the forms were beautiful and reflected the light all around. We entered the building with a very limited amount of time. We explored their exhibits: Sound of Horror Film Scores, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Nirvana, Hendrix, and Music Videos (Spectacle). We sped through the exhibits considering that we had to go back to let my friend into his apartment. He had forgotten he had a work related social event to attend and we forgot to tell him how short our stay was.

We returned to the Space Needle area. I wanted to see the Chihuly Garden & Glass but they wouldn't admit us in for free so we settled for their gift shop. I peeked over the hedges. I didn't care much for his work anyways. It was evening and everything was closing. We walked over the the Olympic Sculpture Park and walked along the waters' edge back towards Pike Place Market. We decide to order something from the original Starbucks. With coffee in our hands, we watched the sunset over the Pacific in the grassy area by the market. We walked back to the apartment and did some travel research. we spent the last night in Seattle having life conversations with our host before sleep.