2002-07-21 - 8:17 p.m. the shadow is cast... Where can I sign up to do this vacation thing full time? This has been, thus far, the most relaxing vacation I've ever had. Seriously. I know the gorgeous, sunny, 70-80 degree weather that has allowed me to wear tiny little girlie sleeveless dresses each day has something to do with it...but that's not the whole story. I think a large part of the pleasure I'm taking from this excursion comes from not having booked my time in advance, other than dinner on Friday at Campagne. Travelling alone, without staying with a friend is likely the other major happiness driver. Don't get me wrong -- I love my friends dearly. But when you stay someplace new by yourself, you are allowed a level of time inside your head and alone with your thoughts that can lead to an amazing level of tranquility. Thanks to the sunlight pouring in through my windows, I was up and out of the hotel by 8:30 a.m., after having sent an email to a friend who was, no doubt, horrified at my being up and out so early, given the late sleeping and late nights I've indulged in while here (post-work obligations). I strolled a few blocks to the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel, and sat down for breakfast in their Georgian Room. Reading the newspaper and savoring my chocolate-croissant french toast took an hour and a half or so. It was nearly as tasty as my special secret recipe pound cake french toast (grand marnier is the secret. ssssh!) Mid-day was spent enjoying the Japanese Tea Gardens in the Washington Park Arboretum. I sat on a rock watching the water move past me for a good half hour before moving on through the grounds. What a great spot to sit and ponder the virtue of stillness and see how many paths you may take to end up back in the same place (and all the beautiful sidetrips you miss if you keep your head down and take the quickest, most direct path to your perceived destination.) NOTE: I took a cab to the gardens. This cab driver, like the one who drove me to the club on Thursday night, got lost and asked me for directions. Luckily, I had some clue as to where I was going...if not, I'd have racked up a good $50 fare before he'd have found the gardens. My next stop was Capitol Hill for a visit to Lipstick Traces, Area 51, Red Light, etc. I decided to hop the nearest bus since it should, if nothing else, take me within a few blocks of where I wanted to go. On my two block walk to the bus stop, as I was walking along staring up into the canopy of green leaves, a booming voice said "Coming up on your left side!" I nearly had heart failure, and proceeded to tell the bicyclist of this fact, though I followed the comment up with a laugh so he would know I wasn't angry, just startled. When I got to the bus stop, the bike rider was there. I asked him for confirmation as to where the bus line (11) stopped between there and downtown, and ended up chatting aimlessly about transit/transportation issues for some time...when I finally asked him where he worked, he revealed he's a consultant on the hotly debated Seattle monorail project. Talk about a serendipitous conversation. As we neared his stop, he searched his pockets in vain for a business card to give me. No dice. He then hinted around about it being nearly lunch time, but I didn't take the bait. I had furniture shops to check out, and everything closes early on Sundays. Besides, I almost never eat lunch when it's hot (unless you count gelato as lunch). Capitol Hill was a more spread out version of the Haight or Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley. I saw lots of adorable giftie items at Lipstick Traces, but didn't have any present recipients in mind. At Le Frock, I found a cool cherry blossom pink chinese jacket, allegedly a size small, that could clearly fit two of me in it. All the music shops I went into had large selections of CDs and few -- if any -- records. I came home empty handed after a full three hours of shopping. Dahlia Lounge won out for my dinner choice since I was feeling too lazy to trek out to Belltown. The cool red interior with its mosaics of dahlias (no surprise) won me over immediately, though my food and wine selections did not sustain my initial enthusiasm. I dined on a few bites of a bitter mixed green salad dressed with a bland vinaigrette that was accompanied by a tasty (though too hard) goat cheese crostini. The recommended wine, a local Pinot Gris, was too citrusy for my liking, so I actually didn't finish drinking it. I can't remember that ever happening. When my waitress came over to inquire if I was still "picking at" my salad, I told her I actually was finished with it and did not want any more of it. She didn't ask why, or if I had enjoyed it which was odd for a restaurant of its class. She was lucky that the crab cakes redeemed the restaurant experience for me so I didn't have to leave after having eaten fewer than a dozen bites of food. I chose the crab cakes since they had been listed all over as the "must eat" item on the menu. Though the Lemon and scallion Dungeness crab cakes were tasty, the real star was the assemblage of vegetables on my plate: tiny french green beans, tiny bright red heirloom tomatoes, red flageole beans, and kernels of sweet corn, surrounded by a very light aioli. I could have eaten a full plate of that glorious produce! It is tempting to find something to go do out in the world for the rest of the evening, but it is perhaps equally tempting to go to bed early and sleep in late before going back to the Four Seasons for breakfast again tomorrow... any comments? (0 so far) previous - next recently on almostgoldsf... in defense of an email box I came to do battle with SPAM - 2008-05-17 hello 2006 - 2005-12-31 Happy Thanksgiving - 2005-11-14 bon voyage - 2005-11-05 October already? - 2005-10-09