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October 13, 2006
Sisterly Visit Recap
I had a great time showing off Seattle to Alexis and Derek this past weekend. The first thing we did after getting back from the airport is go out for and some dinner at The Deluxe. Afterwards we met up with Miguel and Rachelle at The Cantebury where I got to introduce them to some fine American microbrew.
Saturday we did the tourist thing. We went out to breakfast, then to the famous Pike Place Market. We then walked northwards towards the Space Needle, stopping several times for beer and snacks along the way. We walked around Seattle Center, and planned to take the monorail back downtown, but once again, it was out of commission due to "mechanical problems". I think there are more sunny days a year in Seattle than days the monorail is operational.
Crossing the first item off Alexis' list of things to do in Seattle, we grabbed dinner at Mama’s Mexican Kitchen in Belltown. Stuffed with burritos and beer, we waddled back to my apartment and crashed.
Sunday we waited an hour for the best breakfast in Capitol Hill, Glo's (I was assured that it was, in fact, worth the wait). Derek wanted to check out Seattle’s dual stadiums (coming from the Toronto area where our MLA team and CFL team share the same stadium, this confounded me as well), so down to SoDo we went. Since neither the Seahawks nor the Mariners were playing, that part of town was completely dead. Luckily for us, we were spared boredom when we stumbled on Seattle’s very own indoor Gold Rush National Park.
We hit the shopping area downtown (ok, I'll admit it, I did most of the shopping), then back south (thank god for the Free Ride Zone) to the International District for Alexis' second and final list item, a fabulous sushi dinner at Fuji Sushi. Our bellies swollen with raw fish, we went to Uwajimaya to check out the weird and exotic fish counter and beer snack aisles. Satisfied, we took out last bus back up the Hill (and were treated to a monologue by a resident bus weirdo).
We were up at the crack of dawn the next morning and drove to Sea-Tac Airport to get those two on their plane. I had a great time hanging out with my sister, re-experiencing the subtle culture shock with US-first-timer Derek (he was absolutely mortified that hosts allow their houseguests to walk onto the carpet with their outdoor shoes on, a custom I'm still not 100% comfortable with) and having an excuse to tour the town, eat some great meals, and most important of all, go on a shopping spree.