Sophia and Rob's adventures in Seattle.

Day 1 (Thursday): After Rob and I landed in Seattle, we drove our rented red Mustang to our hotel on the waterfront. The room was luxurious with a perfect view of Puget Sound. The decor in the lobby area reflected Seattle's love of art glass. We both needed haircuts badly so we headed to Phase 3, a Gary Manuel Salon close to the hotel. The people there were nice and thoughtful. I also liked that they used Aveda products. We then walked over to the first Starbucks with the original logo of the naked twin-finned mermaid. I had expected it to be much larger and much more packed than it was. We browsed Pike Place Market very briefly because by that time most of the stalls were empty. However, I still got to witness the fish toss at one of the stalls. For dinner we had reservations at Canlis, a Northwestern-style restaurant. We had such a great time that it was by far one of the best dining experiences we've had. We were sat close to the windows so we had a great view of the city. The atmosphere was enhanced by the live piano music drifting from the bar area. The pianist was unique in that he chose popular modern music such as "Float On" by Modest Mouse and our song "Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab for Cutie. They really knew their wine and we were able to taste various Washington wines from our wine pairings. I can't rave enough about the food but I won't do it here because it would take forever. We were so tired that we crashed in the hotel right afterwards.

Day 2 (Friday): We had breakfast in bed the next morning and then checked out of the hotel since we planned to stay on the east side of Seattle that night. I'm going to just briefly summarize what we did because the it may take too long to describe. Our first stop was Pike Place Market again to take a better look at the stuff the venders were selling. I have determined that it's one of my favorite places. I love all the art, innovative crafts, and the culinary delights. The we zipped over to the Seattle Center, home of the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project. We only had time for the Space Needle though. We then took the monorail to downtown Seattle. We visited the Seattle Central Library. The absolute coolest library I ever set foot into. It was almost like a hybrid of a modern art museum with a library. Rob was quick to point out that they used fiber to wire their internet. Hehe! After that, we headed to the Columbia Tower, the tallest building in Seattle, to check out the view from the Skyview Lobby. The view was much better than the one from the Space Needle even though it was not a 360 degree view. Rob wanted to show me the Locks (I forget the official name) which is towards the north side. It was interesting watching a boat get raised and to walk around the botanical gardens. Our next destination was the east side of the Seattle metropolitan area. This is where Rob lived for a few years before he moved to California. We checked into a hotel near Microsoft headquarters. We slept pretty late that night watching Survivorman. God, I missed that show.

Day 3 (Saturday): We bought breakfast at the bakery that Rob's ex-girlfriend works at. We didn't get to see her because she left early but the baked goods were delicious. Rob proceeded to show me around his old stomping grounds. We visited Digipen, his old apartments, the building where his company was, and drove around the Microsoft area. We went shopping in downtown Bellevue and went for a walk in a nearby park. We decided to have dinner at Tini Bigs, a martini lounge on the west side of Seattle. Rob says that Tini Bigs is famous and was featured on the Food Network. I had three of their fabulous martini drinks. My favorite was the pomegranate one (forgot the name). I ordered the dungeness crab mac and cheese. The best mac and cheese ever, next to Alexander's truffled mac and cheese.

Day 4 (Sunday): We only had a few hours before our flight left so we made one last stop which was in Kirkland. We didn't do much there other than have lunch a browse a couple of shops. We tried to go near the water but it was freezing cold that morning. Our trip was concluded when we drove to the airport and flew back to sunny California.

Rob has semi-convinced me that Seattle would be a good place to settle down later on. My only problem with Washington is the dreary weather because I tend to be happier overall in sunnier climates. If we do end up moving up there, I would need a trial period to see if I can adjust to it. I don't know how it would turn out; Shrug I'm such a California girl.