CHESSNOID

Got up early this morning and made coffee in our room. The hotel has a nice mini 4 cup brewer. I ran to the drugstore and bought some of my own preferred coffee and some filters yesterday. The ones they had in the room didn’t taste too good to me.

We ordered room service after reviewing the menu. By chance the room service is provided by Red fin restaurant next door. We ordered the Fertatta and Banana Macadamia nut pancakes. The Fertatta was delicious and the pancakes were below my expectations. The order automatically has an 18% gratuity included with a $2 delivery fee added. For hotels, that is actually quite reasonable. We were both still tired from all the walking we did the day before, so when we got up our bodies exhibited pain. The kind of pain you get after working out the day before. It’s the good type of pain that is usually alleviated with some strategic stretching.

As we sat in bed eating our food, we could see the rain start to fall through our open windows. I really love the rain and for some reason it makes me feel really good inside. I get positive feelings of happiness during the downfall. I know that most people get depressed with this kind of weather and I have no explanation why I am attracted to it. I simply know it is the weather I love and gives me positive vibe.

I watched some TV and most of the news was about the rain and the flooding it was causing and the high cost of gas and the way it was ruining most peoples vacation plans for the holiday weekend. I could relate. One of the considerations I took in planning this trip was not renting a car and trying to do everything by walking or taking public transportation. Seattle is probably one of those places that makes it easy to accomplish that. Seattle has free bus rides within the city in a bus free zone that covers most of downtown.

So we decided to do some tourist stuff today. We heard about the Seattle Underground tour of the city below the city. I guess there was a big fire that allowed it to rebuild the city above a city that would flood. We took the bus in the free zone down to Pioneer square. It was easy on and easy off getting to that area.

We checked out the tour which cost $14 a person. The groups were huge. I would say the group we were in was probably about 40-60 people and there were 3 groups. They only accept cash and they were raking it in. The tour was about 90 minutes long. The guide spoke of the history for a good 20 minutes before the tour started. Then we went underground for about 10 minutes then went back up to street level. We would walk about a block then enter into an alley way 3-4 more times repeating the talk with the tour guide. Very historical and even comedic at times. When it was finished, I was starving. We decided to go back to Pike’s Place Market to get a fresh fish lunch. The night before I saw a news story about King Salmon being the thing to eat right now. Sure enough we got to Lowell’s and there special was King Salmon. I tell you it was wonderfully delicious and I enjoyed every bite. It came with rice and broccoli to make it a complete meal. I had 2 ups of coffee. I think they use Tully’s Madison blend.

Now getting from Pioneer Square to Pike’s Market was a challenge because it was prime time after 3pm and the buses were literally packed like sardine cans. There were getting more packed at each stop we made. When we got to our stop, I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to get through the crowded bus. Luckily, other people got off the same stop.

When my wife and I finished eating lunch, we walked around the market and it sure was packed. There were a ton of people and I don’t think they were all tourists. I think the market place is full of great deals, The seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, and flowers are extremely inexpensive. We stopped by a Russian shop called Petrovsky’s and picked up a few pastries. One was a potato and onion pastry, another was a coffee cinnamon pastry, and the last was a almond filled pastry. All were pretty yummy. We picked up a hot cup of coffee at Star bucks and got there Pike Place Blend. It was perfect way to end the night. Surprisingly, the venti size cup of coffee was only $1.85. That seems more in line with coffee prices from any restaurant.