We don’t get a lot of sunny, clear days in Seattle during the winter. And usually when we get them, it’s during the week. So when the weatherman predicted a weekend of good weather, I knew I had to get outside and do something. My original plan was to head down to Pike Place Market and walk around, but I’ve done that so much. Instead, I decided to look for a place with a view.
It didn’t take me long to decide on Upper Queen Anne. I can see the hill from my condo, and I’m in Lower Queen Anne all the time for shows, but for some reason I very rarely make it to the top. So I took a bus, aiming for Kerry Park, a place well known for its good views of downtown Seattle. Being unfamiliar with the area, I got my bus stops mixed up and rode too far, so I ended up walking through Kinnear Park, which gave a nice view of the Olympics and the Sound.
There were a bunch of these trees with bright pink flowers that were really pretty.
Views are great from Upper Queen Anne. The architecture is really nice, too… not just the super modern condos that you see elsewhere.
Walking from Kinnear to Kerry, I walked up through some really pretty upscale neighborhoods. Lots of BMWs, Lexuses, Mercedes… and a small house on sale for $929,000! The noon light wasn’t the best for facing east, so I snapped a quick photo and walked up Queen Anne Avenue in search of food.
Walking up the hill, there was quite a bit to look at. Lots of pretty, old houses, a picturesque church, and one of those gigantic television towers that is easily visible from my condo (about 10 miles away). I also passed a bunch of restaurants that I know about but have never eaten at… Betty, How to Cook a Wolf, and Emmer & Rye. (Particularly interesting to see Emmer & Rye – the chef, Seth Caswell was the chef for the Outstanding in the Field dinner I attended last year. His restaurant opening was delayed by a LOT, but it looks like they are finally open now!) I need to get to this neighborhood for dinner more often! I also passed some cute shops, but my growling, hill-weary stomach was telling me that I needed to find lunch first.
I was in the mood for sushi, and I knew of Ototo Sushi up there, but it appeared to be closed for lunch. Across the street, however, was Chinoise Cafe. When it comes to Asian food, I’m wary of any restaurant that tries to serve multiple cuisines, whether it’s East-West fusion or “get all your –ese foods here.” This placed served Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, kimchi fried rice, and yam fries. Right. Well, in the end, I didn’t have anything to complain about. They had outdoor seating, so I got to enjoy my sunshine, and I did appreciate being able to eat salad rolls and sushi rolls at the same place.
Shrimp salad roll, spicy scallop roll, and negihama roll.
After lunch, I did a little shopping, admiring pretty $16 boxes of notecards at gift shops, then decided that I needed to sit down indoors for a little while. Queen Anne is home to one of those great tea places that the Eastside can’t seem to hang onto. Teacup Cafe, a non-frilly cafe that focuses on serving tea as much as it does on selling it.
The tea came on a cute tray with milk and sugar. The cafe also had a fireplace. It seems like the charred sticker on it renders the text unnecessary.
Finally, the sun had moved enough to where I decided it was time to head back to Kerry Park. It was crowded, as expected, but the view was nice, with Mount Rainier peeking out in the background. There was some sort of puzzle hunt going on in Seattle, and one of the stops was here. The participants had to get makeup put on their face, put on a veil, and get their photograph taken at the viewpoint. I think all of them were guys, and the people doing the makeup were particularly mean/untalented.
View from Kerry Park, both with and without the crowds.
After that, it was time to take a bus back downtown with just enough time to grab a piroshky at Pike Place Market before things started shutting down. Since everyone and their dog was out running around, the line was really long, but it’s worth it. Sadly, they were out of my favorite, the potato, onion, and cheese, but beef and cheese is a reasonable substitute. Add one last stop at the Perennial Tea Room, and that’s a pretty good Seattle day.
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