Seattle and Vancouver, eh?

We recently returned from my premier visit to Seattle and Vancouver! Our rented Volvo offered heated seats for all of the rainy weather. We stayed at the Edgewater in Seattle, located on a pier, the same hotel The Beatles stayed in and fished off their balcony.

Our first dinner was at Cafe Flora in the Madison Avenue neighborhood: "A creative world of vegetarian foods." The most memorable foods were the "Caesar" salad (they used capers instead of anchovies to add that salty edge) and the lavender gelato for dessert. We also found a great cider beer - Spire Mountain. If you like cider, you'll love this brand!

Day two was for more neighborhood exploration. We ate breakfast at the Wayward Cafe in the University Neighborhood. It was the scariest place to eat delicious vegan food ever! With some "death metal" playing in the background and the cashier who may or may not have been the nude model in the painting behind us, we chowed on some of the best tasting and least pretentious vegan grub we've had.

Over in the Ballard Neighborhood (known as one of the top 10 "green" neighborhoods in the country.) We stopped into a music shop for some theme tunes for the trip. Choices were: 1) Local Artist: The Dept of Energy - Held by Waits. Great for tooling around the hills under overcast skies. 2) Album Been Meaning to Buy: OK GO - Oh no! Awesome album!! These guys bring WAY more to the table than just great choreography. Detailed descriptions of vague concepts paired with catchy drum and guitar work. 3) New Album of Artist We Like: Miss Kittin - Mixing Me. Cool techno beats, kept us awake during the drive up to Vancouver.

We drove up to the Microsoft campus in Redmond and cruised around with the company Prius cars. We also visited the Space Needle, rode the Monorail, shopped at the Pike Street Market and discovered a sculpture walk. It was nice to return to the fireplace in the hotel room. And the hotel coffee? Starbucks, of course!

Before our trek to B.C., we stopped at the 14 Carrot Cafe for brunch. A great place for veggies and non-veggies alike. "The Jewel of Eastlake." If you go, split a meal, because they give you tons of delicious eats like tahini French toast and fresh fruit. Great art as well. And we found this place from our trusty TomTom GPS. In Vancouver, we were on the top floor of the Pan Pacific, which impressed me with their double-hinged doors and half-recyclables waste bins. We visited Stanley Park, an amazingly huge wooded park with many vantage points. In the fog and mist, the moss-covered trees look like something out of a magical movie.

Everyone we met in Vancouver was so nice it made you wonder what was going on. We ate at a fabulous 24-hour vegetarian joint in an old house named The Naam. After being informed that - No, there is no list of names, just a queue (that we had just barreled through), we waited in line. :) There we had an incredible Mediterranean appetizer (and we have a Greektown here!) and, of course, a tasty local brew. We cruised through the Gas-Light district and saw all the great shopping to be had downtown. All the shops are right next to each other, so it must be easy to go on a spree (this we did not do.)

We raced the flood waters back from the Pineapple Express to Seattle and had a bite at one of Kevin's favorite haunts: Six Arms. "Another basic classic British-style-pub-meets-Deadhead kind of place." Veg-friendly, micro-brews and fantastic decor, how could we go wrong?

We had a great time on our West Coast adventure, and have more pictures on dreaddontdie!
Also check out my vacation video at http://lauriebillen.com/5%20yr%20trip.zip!