Cape to Milan

For Caroline’s Spring Break, we headed to the Pacific Northwest–one of my personal favorite parts of the world.

First, I handled some work in Portland (no blog post on that…Portland will have to wait until a future trip), then met up with Caroline and spent a couple days with my sister in Seattle.

Caroline, pictured in front of my sister’s house in South Seattle, with our trusty rental car in the background.

As you might guess, the trip up and down the PNW entailed a lot of driving–definitely bucking our normal travel style. Alas, even in the PNW,  intercity public transit is far less user-friendly than it is in most of the world.

If something were to cause me to have to leave Atlanta, Seattle would be near the top of my list.

The city is filled with gorgeous views over downtown, the lakes, Puget Sound, and the surrounding mountains…

…and with equally gorgeous neighborhoods.

At times, Seattle reminds me a lot of Atlanta. This street could easily be Inman Park or Virginia Highland. The biggest differences are that the political bumper stickers are several notches to the left, and the houses are twice as expensive!

Having my sister as a guide meant we checked out lots of areas that are off the radar for most tourists. This area, Ballard, is an old maritime district.

Caroline and my sister, exploring the nooks and crannies of Ballard.

Ballard has turned relentlessly trendy in recent years. Case in point: this shop specialized in vintage bikes and wine. Or take the adjacent oyster bar, where we had dinner: we arrived at the restaurant at 5:15, and were told by the hostess the wait was already over two hours!

Another area I would have never found on my own is Georgetown–historically home to the old Rainier brewery…

…and, more recently, a vintage trailer park market.

When my sister was busy, Caroline and I saw some of the more mainstream sights downtown. We didn’t go up the Space Needle–didn’t seem worth it in the frigid, drizzly weather.

Pike Place Market–another classic Seattle landmark.

Mmmm…veggies!

Downtown Seattle. A far more attractive place than downtown Atlanta, I’m afraid.

We quickly developed a theory for why Seattle pioneered the coffee shop: so that people had a dry place to warm their hands! We must have stopped for coffee once an hour. Walking around in 40-degree rain for a few hours definitely takes a toll.

In terms of modern libraries, I’m afraid Seattle has got Phoenix beat.

Caroline in a sea of red.

We took a quick wander around Seattle’s sculpture park–another neat attraction, although much less cold-weather-friendly than the market or library!

And, last but not least…

…we indulged our addiction to Flywheel’s spin classes at the Seattle branch! We go to this gym often enough in Atlanta, we figured we might as well try it out in another city.