Seattle!!!!

Thursday

Soooo we finally made it to SEATTLE! WOOOO! We stayed in Marco Polo Inn (Motel?). It was much nicer than any of the reviews on Google made it seem. The room was clean, there was HBO, a microwave, and a fridge with freezer space. The guy who ran it was super nice and friendly. He was nice about the door not opening with the key he gave us (made us a new one) and the room not having a remote. He also offered us an extra amount of coffee every morning when we came down to get some, literally pushed us to fill mugs of it! On Thursday we went into Fremont, the closest district to our hotel. We saw the Fremont troll which is under the bridge and a touristy spot. We also walked down to the area that had the shops and restaurants. We checked out a few little shops. One was a consignmen/vintage type shop that had a lot of goofy things like old boyscout shirts and army jackets and crocheted sparkley, velvety stuff. It was interesting to look at but the shop was HOT. We also looked in some high-end boutiques that had home decor and backpacks/bags that both Tom and I liked. We took a business card so that we could stop back once we had more income to spend on stuff like that. There was this one shop that sold rugs and carpet that made us giggle because they had a Persian rug outside the store with a giant tiger laying on it all Aladin style. We stopped and ate lunch at a vegetarian restaurant (YAY for me!) called something like Silent Nest Heart (???) that was opened because of some Buddhist guy. Honestly, I have no idea what it was called but the food was BANGIN'. Tom ate some vegetarian tacos with black beans and I had a guacamole “bacon burger”. The bread and burger in my meal was made on-site and was delicious. Instead of fries they give you fried potatoes and they have special spicy chipotle ketchup. SO GOOD!!! The service was also excellent and I feel that we will definitely be going there again. We walked back to the hotel after that because I had a horrible tension headache, most likely from driving so much, and laid around for a few hours before going to see We are the Millers at the movie theatres. GO SEE IT!! It was definitely worth the money. Hilarious. The theatre was really nice. It was in a shopping plaza but it was interesting because it was built up so there were a couple floors.

Friday

We woke up early again Friday. Drank a bunch of coffee and ate pizza and Charlie's zucchini bread for breakfast. We checked out at around 10ish and went to Bellevue. Bellevue is outside Seattle and you have to take SR520 to get across the water to get there. I was a little freaked out because signs kept saying that the bridge was closed for boat traffic but we got over the bridge fine because the closure was for noon to 12:30. We found the Plato's Closet in Bellvue pretty easily. It was pretty nice! Tom found a pair of Levi's on the cheap. It was funny because, in true Seattle area fashion, someone had their puppy in the store and it was no big deal. Except I was gushing because I'm still getting used to the fact that people take their pets EVERYFREAKINGWHERE around here. We also went to Ross because it was right next to Plato's Closet and Tom found a nice shirt and sneakers. We headed back to Seattle afterwards. We went towards Pike Place Market and parked in a garage for a few hours while we walked around the market and downtown. Tom did find another pair of Levi's jeans at a shop in the market for cheap. While in the market we experienced our first encounter of individuals freely smoking marijuana in Seattle. It made us laugh because there were a lot of tourists and kids walking around who started making funny faces and coughing and just generally freaking out. We walked to the city Target after that to kill some more time since it was close by. It's not really the greatest Target. They definitely have limited stuff but it is pretty cool because it is three levels with escalators with special things to take the cart up to the next level. We headed back to get the car from the garage at quarter after 4 because we figured that traffic would be crazy on a Friday afternoon and boy were we correct. I NEVER WANT TO DRIVE AGAIN!!!!! It was insanity. Sooo much gridlocking. We had to detour so many times just to get the few blocks to the place where we had to pick up the keys and such for the temporary housing. I couldn't even park and had to just let Tom out of the car to get the packet. I drove around the block and it took more time to do that than it took Tom to get the packet! Then we had to go a few blocks to where we were actually going to be living for the next month. That wasn't too bad because the parking garage is down a back alley off a street that isn't too busy BUT they gave Tom the wron information in the packet that he got. So he had to go speak to the leasing office while I waited in the car for 45 minutes hoping that I wouldn't get a ticket or towed! Once we got it all figured out we finally started unloading the car. It was a little weird because we had to go up the elevator in the garage then out onto the street and around the corner to get into our building and take our stuff up to our apartment. It only took three trips thankfully. It was funny because there is a restaurant/bar on the corner so everyone sitting in their booths by he windows were staring as we hefted everything up the street. Once we got settle we headed out to get groceries and dinner at Whole Foods. I am in love! I seriously feel that I may beg to be hired there. It is a happening place on Friday night! They have a crapload of food in their buffet area plus they have a coffee/juice bar and a wine/liquor/beer bar! Tom got hot food while I just got a salad and smoothie. Did I mention it is all organic? The food part was only $14 and we got A LOT!. The smoothie was expensive but it was so good! We got food that should last us about a week. I also bought a pair of red canvas Tom's Shoes that they sell at Whole Foods. We chatted up our cashier then came back to our apartment, put our food away and had an alcoholic beverage. We didn't even finish the drinks before we went to bed around 10! Also, I used the gym which is spectacular! They have free yoga classes almost every day!

Saturday

We slept in a bit later today. We stayed in bed until closer to 10. Tom made eggs with some peppers and I ate the rest of Charlie's zucchini bread. We just lazed about for a few hours before deciding to head back into downtown to get a few things we forgot yesterday such as laundry and dish detergent. We looked around a few places like Free People and then stopped Nordstrom Rack. Tom bought a pair of gym sneakers while I bought a few tank tops. I love all the nice shopping places within walkin distance! We came back to the apartment to eat and laze about again after. Didn't really do much today. I did text David who is a guy from home that is working for Amazon as a recruiter. We ended up going to Capitol Hill and having a few drinks with him and a little tavern. They have really good beer out here. There was a really nice watermelon beer that was delicious at this place. Tom and I are still trying to get the hang of it out here. For me it is so weird seeing so many homeless people. A lot of them have dogs which is even more depressing! :( It is also weird being here because since people sleep on the streets so often you never know if someone is just sleeping or something is wrong! Yesterday a woman passed out on a bench outside our building and the ambulance came! I hope she's ok because she was there for a while before anyone thought to worry about her! Overall though I think we're both really enjoying being here. Seattle seems very safe and friendly for a city!