Dhammerica – Day Eleven

The day was supposed to be a Seattle-only day. Our rather generous hosts drove us down and back!

We drove up* to Seattle to reach in time for the 10 am opening of the Experience Music Project. Only, the EMP was closed on Tuesdays, in spring! Damn! This was the only disappointment of our American trip. Not that there were less things to do in Seattle.

Next door is the Space Needle, a magnificent modern American structure. Built in 1962! It affords every visitor spectacular vistas of the city and its skyline. We took some interesting pics using the telescopes provided at the tower and after about an hour of snapping the city, decided to go down - in 40 seconds as the guides will proudly proclaim.

Next stop – the Pike Place Market. The historic market is home to several curiosities, not least of which is the fish market. One would have heard/seen the fish market in connection with the Fish! philosophy which were a rage not too long ago in the world of management literature.
Even with our usual misgivings about meat, the place is still quite a sight. The fish market guys are permanently on show and do afford some entertainment, while at work.

Then we walk around the rest of the market – filled with various t-shirt shops, Chinese curios, florists, grocers, etc.
One level below are other curious places – Lefty’s which is a one-stop shop for left handed people, selling unique objects such as left handed scissors, tshirts with witty lines about left handers, etc; BLMF - a book shop named for Books Like a MoFo (!) – good place for new and used books. We picked up our Pullman trilogy from here.

Next & last stop in Seattle – the first ever Starbucks outlet. For any coffee drinker, ignoring the lack of potency in most coffee sold by them for a moment, this is a must visit landmark. While we had coffee here (obviously!), we were treated to some free samples of caramel flavoured coffee with cream by some pretty hostesses.

Then we had a brief stopover at the Washington Park Arboretum, where we waited for some friends. Another beautiful place and favoured haunt for runners.
We returned to Portland and went over to Whosong and Larry’s – an excellent Mexican place # by the river. Great Food – really heavy as well.

While you wade through your dinner, there is a nice chart about the potency of different chillis to keep you amused.

The riverside locality (Officer's Row) around which Whosong’s is located is also a national heritage area (part of Fort Vancouver), housing buildings from the times of the beginnings of the Confederation. The restaurant also affords one with an opportunity to take some great pictures of one of the several bridges across the river.

Once we return home after yet another hectic day as a tourist, we must pack again for our visit to the Bay Area.

* Our diligent host corrected us that Seattle is up from Portland, not down! These engineers! :p

# Earlier I had written that they do have other cuisines incl. Chinese. I guess I fell for a nice trap in the name. Whosong and Larry is a Mexican place only!