The Pacific Northwest

This Christmas, I decided to explore the Pacific Northwest, a region in the United States to which I had not been. The initial plan was to visit Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. However, Steve and I had to make some changes to our travel plans when his Canadian visa application got rejected.

Hence an international trip was humbled to a vacation with domestic flair. Portland, Oregon supplanted the Canadian city. I was still looking forward to this trip because I would be able to meet up with Yun Xin, a long friend of mine.

My flight to Seattle on December 20 was at 0600, and I had to wake up at 0400 in the middle of the night to catch this super early flight. Oh well, since this flight is almost free (I redeemed my Northwest WorldPerks miles and paid taxes only), I shall not complain. It was not a direct flight; the layover at Detroit Metro Airport was short but I managed to have my breakfast in the terminal before boarding the connecting flight. The snow scene in Detroit reminded me of my hearty enjoyment of snow.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

I met up with Steve who flew directly into Seattle from Chicago O’Hare and we took a bus shuttle to our hotel — Best Western Loyal Inn. Expecting to see a raining scene, I was greeted instead with snow in Seattle. Confounded I was, yet I did not care much as I was tremendously excited to see snow and feel the subzero (in Celsius) breeze. Only during the check-in at Best Western did the front desk receptionist told me that Seattle was hit by a severe snow storm.

Apparently the last time such a “severe” snow storm beleaguered the Pacific Northwest region was more than 30 years ago. Such inclement weather was therefore considered an anomaly and the entire population seemed panicked and did not know what to do. The city of Seattle has only 27 snow plowers. As a result, it took them more than a few days to clear the streets. The city municipal further refused to use road salt, arguing that it will cause unsought pollution in the Puget Sound. Hence there was no effective snow removing throughout our stay in Seattle.

This in turn impeded our travel as more than half of the city bus routes were cancelled until further notice. We had no choice but to surrender the opportunity to visit the Capitol Hill region — St. Mark’s Cathedral, Volunteer Park Conservatory, Water Tower Observation Deck, and the Seattle Museum of Mysteries. With the extra time in hand, Steve and I went to the cinema (AMC theaters) and watched Transporter 3 and The Day The Earth Stood Still.

On the second day, we made an effort to wake up early for the Pike Place Public Market visit. We strolled to Pike Place, which is situated about 1 kilometer away from our hotel. We stumbled upon a beckoning French bakery shop (la pâtisserie française) on Pike Place. The delicious-looking pastries on display lured us to have our second breakfast (Best Western provides guests with complimentary continental breakfast).

Le Panier dans la rue Pike à Seattle

Aptly named as Le Panier (literally, it means “the basket” in French), the bakery is located right across the street from the famous Seattle Public Market and a few shops away from the first Starbucks in the world.

Un croissant aux abricots

We ordered two items — an apricot croissant and an apple tart. They were so good that I went back to Le Panier for breakfast on the following morning.

Une tarte aux pommes

All pastries were labeled in French, and it felt good to be able to understand those labels! I even tried to converse in French with la caissière (the cashier), but she replied that she rather not as she did not speak much French.

Seattle Public Market

The Public Market was certainly one of the highlights of the trip, I shall say. There, I witnessed a scene of local vendors bustling around, forming a unique community of local producers. There was an impressive seafood stall right at the left entrance of the market. The Pike Place Fish Market had a variety of seafood, including the fresh parrot fish and monk fish!

The Pike Place Fish Market

Here’s the fresh parrot fish…

The Fresh Parrot Fish

… and the monk fish — Don’t be afraid, boys and girls!

The monk fish

Check out the fresh jumbo scallops (from another merchant):

Gigantic scallops

And of course, fromage (cheese) too!

Fromage

Then, I dropped by the first Starbucks café in the world! I mean, how could I miss it, being an avid Starbucks fan? Notice the pioneer logo:

La première café Starbucks

I got myself a Pike Place Starbucks Collection Series mug as a souvenir. Can you correctly guess which one?

Starbucks merchandise

Before we left for Portland, we ascended the Space Needle for a bird view of the city. Also, we took a short tour around the University of Washington district and had a Vietnamese lunch there. I was very impressed by the UW campus.

Seattle Space Needle

We spent some of our time (especially me) shopping along Pike Street and Pine Street. Consequently, my wallet is squirming now.

Bon-Macy's at Pine Street

En route to Portland, we had to endure our Amtrak experience. In Portland, due to inclement weather, we did not get to visit parks and gardens. However, we did spend some quality time with Yun Xin and Yusuke. Together we visited the Discovery Museum at the World Forestry Center. I enjoyed learning from the exhibitions there.

Les forêts pour la vie. Les forêts pour les peuples.

In the evening, Yun Xin pampered us with a simple, yet wonderful Christmas dinner (on Boxing Day). It was technically a full-course meal with appetizers, main entrées, and dessert. The dinner, which was totally a fusion meal, started off with a Japanese appetizer, followed by rice with Asian dishes as the main entrée, complemented by mashed potatoes and miso soup as side dishes, along with a bottle of Californian wine. At the end, we made our already bloated stomachs even more bloated by savoring a cake from an Italian bakery as well as some chocolates. We chatted for so long that Steve and I missed the last bus back to our hotel!

A fusion Christmas dinner

The trip ended 8 days later. I flew back via Minneapolis-St. Paul back to Chapel Hill, awaiting the new semester to commence on January 12.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport