Memorial Day Weekend - Seattle in 3 days Part 1/3

I know.... I know.... I should be writing about the South American trip... But, I just went to Seattle this past weekend! And since everything is still fresh in mind, let's take a detour to Seattle, Washington before we head back to South America! The picture above was taken in Kerry Park at night, that is absolutely the best spot to see the city view with the iconic space needle. Beautiful!

So, we left on Friday night after work and came back to LA on a super early flight on Tuesday morning to get back to work on time. That gave us 3 full days to explore the area!

Day 1

What's better than starting the morning with yummy breakfast and coffee! We went to this place called "Tilikum", and the breakfast was absolutely delicious! We had eggs Benedict with falafel instead of typical English muffins, seasonal green hash, and dutch babies (baked pancakes)! It is the first time I've had Dutch babies, and it was G-O-O-D! It is crispy on the outside and so soft inside. I might like that more than regular pancake! (I am going to try to make it) I am telling you, that was a very satisfying breakfast! Then, we walked around the neighborhood a little bit, very clean and very green. There are a lot of cafes, coffee shops nearby, if I were to live here, I would definitely try each one of them out.

There are just too many coffee shops around, and we walked past another one called "Moore Coffee Shop". Time to get another coffee! It is a very cute little coffee shop with waffles!!!!! I love waffles! (But that's just me) If not because we just had a very full breakfast, I would probably go for a waffle. We ordered a latte and a cappuccino, and they are both very good with very adorable latte art. I love individual unique coffee shops, and I can't imagine living in a city without that! I am already falling in love with the city! After coffee, we went to the Pike's Place Market. On the way there, we stumbled across an antique store, which has a very interesting collection of antiques, including old pocket watches, fishing poles, telephone booths, record players, etc. I am not sure if the electronics are still working, but it is definitely a good decor if you are into these kinds of things.

They also have a collection of playboys from the 1950s to 2000s, and I have to say..... it was a lot classier back then! We also saw the aquarium and the pier along the way. It is a cloudy day here in Seattle (as usual I guess), but I have had enough sun in California (I am not bragging), so I am loving the weather here.

Finally, we are at the Pike's Place Market. First, there is the market with fresh seafood, and different market stuff. Besides the farmers' market, there are a bunch of different little stores in the building, like gadget stores, bookstores, vintage stores, etc. There is one photography store called "Reflection on Seattle", and I really like his work. Instead of mundane pictures of Seattle (space needle, Seattle great wheel, the city view, etc.), his photos are all reflections of those icon symbols in puddles of water. Since Seattle has so much rain, that makes it the perfect theme for Seattle photos.
Opposite to the market, there's the FIRST Starbucks ever world history!!!!! Look at the logo, everything was still there! The boobs, the tail, the belly and everything!! I like that logo a lot better than the simplified one right now. I remembered a pictures I found online a while ago, making fun of the Starbucks logo. (shown on the right from google image search)
The Starbucks has a huge line of tourists waiting to taste the coffee from the first Starbucks, but I figured unless the beans are from 1971, the coffee should just taste the same as the regular Starbucks. The street behind the first Starbucks is the Post Alley, which hosts numerous restaurants and bars. Nearby, we found a very interesting bookstore called "left bank books". It has very unique decor and a very atypical selection of books. It also has a lot of chairs and places to sit for people who want a quiet place to read next to this not-so-quiet touristy market. We spent the whole afternoon walking along the pier, the market, and going into all these little stores. It was so much fun! Then, we walked around the downtown a little bit, and I just love the city vibe! There are so many people walking around the street!!! They are not in the car driving around, but walking!!! I guess it is memorial weekend, but still, I love the hustle and bustle of the city life!
I did a lot of research on restaurants that I intended to try, and it seemed like there was a lot of good food here in Seattle! I ended up with a long list of restaurants, but since there were only so many meals in a day.... I had to pick! And tonight, it is the "Barolo"! It is a fancy Italian restaurant. It is located in the downtown/financial district area, so it has a little business meeting vibe. (I have learned from experience that.... it is often not a good sign.... just personal opinion) We did not order any appetizers because none of them looked exceptionally appealing. Instead, we ordered 3 main courses, Rigatoni al Ragu’ d’Agnello (the lamb leg Ragu), Spaghetti alla Carbonara e Zucchine and Branzino con Verdure e Patate (Chilean sea bass). The dinner was good, but that is also the problem.... it is just good.... nothing extraordinary. The menu was uninspired, the combination of the ingredients were very expected..... we did not even order dessert (which is usually my favorite part), because the dessert menu was boring too. The food was good, but this is not a "wow" type of restaurant, and even if I do live in Seattle, definitely won't go there again. But it's just me. I tend to like a bold and creative menu.

Day 1 - Buenos Aires

Speaking of maximizing time, we took a red eye flight on Friday night after work, and our first stop is Buenos Aires, Argentina. We had a layover in Mexico City for a couple hours and we arrived on Saturday night (A direct flight would have been a lot more expensive..... maximizing time with limited budget..... poor student T_T) We decided to stay in a relatively nicer hotel in Buenos Aires called Lennox Hotel. (It's going downhill from there) It is at a very convenient location and very close to a lot of the tourist attractions by foot as well as the subway station.
After we had a good night rest, we woke up early the next day (did not want to waste any time), and we walked around the city. First day of the vacation, first day in a foreign country, everything is so new and exciting and AWESOME. It was a Sunday morning, so the streets were still quiet. I just LOVE the architecture here, everything looks so historical.

Then, we went to San Telmo, which is a oldest "barrio" (neighborhood) in Buenos Aires. This is a very well-preserved area, with cafes, antique stores,  There is a flea market held there every Sunday called Feria De San Pedro Telmo. This is definitely a must-go attraction if you happen to be there on Sunday. Antiques, vintage, handicraft, jewelry, art, street performances, all in one place. I had so much fun picking souvenirs for friends and families. The price is very reasonable with room for bargain. I had a hard time controlling myself not to go too crazy!! I don't want to spend all the money on the first day of the trip!

Anyways. We found a nice historic restaurant for lunch around the area, and the place is called "El Federal". Everything there looks so historical. The tables, the chairs, the tableware, even the people!!! OMG!!! It feels like I went back in time.

Then, we went to La Boca. The early settlers of this neighborhood are thought to be Italian and probably this is the reason this area retains a strong European flavor. If you are a big soccer fan,definitely go to "La Bombonera" ,which is the famous soccer stadium in Argentina. After that. we went to the Caminito, which is a street museums and traditional alleys with colorful houses. This is the place where Juan de Dios Filiberto for its famous tango piece "Caminito". It is a little touristy for my taste, but oh well..... you are in Buenos Aires already, must as well go take a look. There are a lot of street tango performances, and also street vendors that sell tango-related memorabilia. This place is right next to the river Riachuelo, which is very nice to walk around.

This pretty much concludes the first day in Buenos Aires. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada, a couples cathedrals, buildings, memorial sculptures, everything was so pretty!! We couldn't wait for tomorrow!!!!