OCTOBER 5, 2011. The dream of the ’90s IS alive in Portland! First few hours here and I am SO in love with this city. We’ve seen dozens of cool beautiful girls with glasses; gorgeous loft conversion condos; so many beautify restaurants, lounges and coffee shops; a delivery service which was a three-wheel bike with a huge cart in the back for cargo; a tea restaurant which has live jazz in the evening (we’re off to it shortly); and a movie theatre where you can order food which they bring to you in the movie, plus the enormous Powell’s Books; all just within a few block of our hotel! We’re staying in a lovely little place called The Mark Spencer which is on the edge of the Pearl District. I’m really excited to explore more of Portland over the next three days.
OCTOBER 5, 2011. On our way again this morning. So much left undone in Seattle; we’ll have to be back soon! Had lots of authentic food experiences and met some cool folk. A bit of a glitch this morning: our train to Portland was cancelled as yesterday there was a mud slide on the tracks. However, Amtrak put all the passengers on a bus and we arrived in Portland ahead of schedule. I was pleased on this Seattle trip to see all the incredible work being done to the beautiful King Street Station (see link and photos). Also a big thanks to The Moore Hotel for a wonderful stay.
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/kingstreet.htm
Such a lovely station.
Extensive renovations are underway on the beautiful King Street Station which opened in 1906.
OCTOBER 4, 2011. Today we walked. And walked. Had a lovely breakfast at Lola. GJ’s meal was incredible: tomato goat chefs scramble with the most incredible garlic smashed potatoes (like a roasted whole potato that’s been hit with a hammer). Then we walked through town, popped into a couple shops and ended up at the Frye Art Museum. They had a wonderful exhibit running: Gabriel van Max: Betailed Cousins and Phantasms. Spent a few hours there and then found an amazing Ethiopian place at 110 12th Avenue called Saba. Had a delicious early dinner of the large vegetarian platter which we were barely able to finish. Walked home through rush hour which was fun to watch. Nice to see so many people using the transit system. Rested our tummies for a bit then went back out two blocks for Molly Moon Ice Cream! Food-filled day! (with great art!)
http://tomdouglas.com/index.php?page=lola
http://www.mollymoonicecream.com/
The beautiful Frye Art Museum, Seattle WA.
So good Ethiopian food.
Oh no! Three scoops! Theo chocolate, salted caramel and blackberry.
Two nice restaurants/lounges to report: Long Provincial on 2nd Ave and List on 1st. Some cool things we saw today:
Heading up to Pike Place Market we found this cool light fixture.
Came across this sculpture on 1st Ave outside the entrance to a condominium building. Water flows into the glass from the rain water from the roof.
One view of the Olympic Sculpture Park.
I forgot to take note of the name of this impressive piece or the sculptor who made it.
A long, engraved recognition plaque, this entry caught my eye.
The Belltown Patch Community Garden, a treasure of a garden in the big city.
Belltown Patch Community Garden: a tiny little perfect pumpkin, only 2 inches wide.
Belltown Patch Community Garden
OCTOBER 3, 2011. First morning, Seattle Washington. Wandered a bit before we decided on a pretty coffee shop called Caffè Migliore, 1215 4th Ave. Delicious beverages and pastries, but beware the large size (20 oz) is VERY large indeed!
Yum!
As big as my head! Very tasty and not too sweet; in fact, usually unsweetened and they will sweeten to taste.
OCTOBER 2, 2011. A lovely autumn day, perfect for travelling! Leg one: Victoria to Vancouver on BC Ferries, Vancouver to Seattle on Amtrak. Thanks to K & R for driving us to the ferry and their love and friendship. Thanks to S & J for taking us out for lunch, seeing us off at the train station and their love and friendship.
Main Street Station, Vancouver BC.
The Moore Hotel, 2nd Avenue, Seattle Washington. This bunny towel sculpture greeted us in our room.
There is a place, 20 minutes or so from downtown Victoria, called Butchart Gardens. I can be inclined to cynicism when it comes to touristy attractions, but every time I visit this beautiful place I am awestruck. We headed out with K and R last wednesday, a fantastically warm late September day. The gardens were spectacular. Every time I go, which is seldom (once every four to five years), I have amazing memories of being there as a small child when my grandmother would visit us from The Bahamas. I’ll let the pictures say the rest.
http://www.butchartgardens.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
I think I love the Japanese Garden best.
Lovely stream in the Japanese Garden.
Even the lowly Chrysanthemum is spectacular when grouped in large numbers.
More Mums.
The wall of dahlias.
One of the typical tourism shots, I really love the layers of colour and texture.
Heading off to Moss Street Market, we stopped at Tre Fantastico at the Parkside. GJ had a strong double Americano which he said was amazing. My hot chocolate was as it always is, delicious! We sat outside looking over at St Ann’s Academy. The fog rolled in waves across the city broken by beams of sun that warmed us in autumn glow.
http://caffefantastico.com/humboldt.php
A foggy Saturday morning repast at Caffè Fantastico's Tre Fantastico at the Parkside on Humboldt Street, Victoria BC. Historic St Ann's Academy is across the street.
I loved the detail of the fancy butter in tiny delicate coloured dishes.
One more time I’d like to mention how much we enjoyed staying at the Gold Coast Retreat. Thank you Sulo and Louise. We will definitely be back!
http://www.goldcoasttofino.com/haidaway.htm
Our Tofino home away from home, the Haidaway Cottage at Gold Coast Retreat.
The sun comes out! After a rainy night, we had a glorious day on thursday. We walked towards Tofino first along Chesterman Beach, then on the walking/bike path beside the highway. Stopped for lunch at Tacofino and then onto the Tofino Botanical Gardens, which is beautiful and worth the visit. They offer a $1 discount to entry if you arrive on foot. There’s a nice little cafe there, altho we were denied afternoon coffee by a power outage! The 12-acre property has many types of gardens to explore, most with a coastal temperate rainforest theme. There is a wonderful boardwalk trail through the woods which leads to a small secluded beach with a wonderful view.
http://clayoquotbiosphere.org/web/
The duck pond at the Tofino Botanical Garden with a hut made by local artist Jan Janzen.
Looking out to a couple small islands, with, I believe, Meares Island in the background.
K and R in the garden.
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