Rambling travels and future travels.....

All, in all, everything about Seattle was spectacular. I enjoyed watching Michaela get carded and enjoy herself. Typically, if she overdoes it, one night, the rest of the trip, she is a hermit and will not continue to drink wine. She cannot. Her body shuts down. Or, she will not allow herself to try to have one glass of wine.
This time, she rallied and I believe had a lovely time.
Jean is a friend for life. I have known her since 96' and although, we do not see each other for years at a time, we still have a wonderful friendship. There are always stories to tell after out adventures, together. Lately, the focus has been on a certain activity I did, while on a busride back from Barra de Navidad. It was a 5 hour bus and I suffered the entire trip. They drank beer and mocked me, while I was oblivious to their joy. Let's just leave it, at that. I had a repeat performance on White Pass, last year. Jean and I spent a day and a half in Walla Walla, WA. She drove over White Pass from her house in Mossy Rock and I had another miserable time.
Spending time with Shari is always an adventure. There is always a walking segment--filled with conversation, memories and random experiences. Costa Rica sticks out in my mind as the most challenging walk. It was hot, humid and I was having spider bite issues. The lesson from that experience was-go the the Western Doctor, instead of trying to self-medicate or tend to the problem yourself.
I wanted to reflect on Seattle and continue on with my travel musings for 2010. At the end of March, Sara Jo and I will road trip it to Santa Fe. Last year she had a milestone birthday and celebrated in town. For my 30th, I flew to Napa and went wine tasting with her, Michaela, Pocketsize and a friend from college--also named Sarah. I believe in celebrating birthdays, every year, in a large fashion. Since Sara Jo was unable to travel, last year, we are going to Santa Fe. It is one of my favorite spots in the U.S., and conveniently, only a five hour drive from Denver. I need to find a hotel, but for the most part, it is a done deal.
We will see Melody, eat at the Chocolate Maven, hike, drink margaritas and enjoy the city. Post Santa Fe, I want to go to New York. I have not purchased tickets, yet; but, I will and soon. It has always been a dream of mine to explore that city.
I am off to the gym. My free pass is about to expire and I need to utilize the final days.....

Day 4....

No trip would be complete without a walking segment. While in Costa Rica, we walked to the beach in Manual Antonio. The sun, humidity and winding hills made for a challenging walk. We cabbed it back to the hotel.
San Francisco, well, is full of hills. We walked from the Tenderloin to the Buena Vista--a famous restaurant, located at the end of the trolley line, for its irish coffees. We took a cab to Golden Gate Bridge, walked halfway across it, toasted life and cabbed it back to the hotel. Yes, it was a full day of walking. I think Shari bought a pair of shoes to combat the blisters.
We tackled the walk factor in Seattle on Monday.
Shari took the AmTrak from Minneapolis to Seattle. Upon arriving, they went to the Space Needle, had lunch, and familiarized themselves with the city. They did an underground tour and dined at some fantastic restaurants.
We began with breakfast at Lola. It is a Tom Douglas restaurant. He is well known chef in Seattle and owns a few other establishments. We had to try the "big breakfast". It consists of yams, grilled octopus, cilantro, yogurt and a sunny side up egg. Sounded intriguing and we enjoyed it. We shared that and lox and bread. The waiter was extremely knowledgeable. He suggested other restaurants for us to check out and knew his menu inside and out.
From breakfast, we returned to the hotel and asked the concierge about the way to Ballard. He said, it is a 15 minute cab ride.
We insisted that we were walking.
He gave us a map and said--no one walks to the Locks.
We began this adventure and stopped at a Peet's coffee shop for a bathroom break and more caffeine to fuel the journey. As we walked through Ballard, we saw cute boutiques, shops and restaurants. We made it to the Locks and chose to walk back to the more populated area. We decided to stop for an appetizer at an inconvenient time. I believe we stopped at the Ale House at 2:30. I wanted to check out Hattie's Hat, but it wasn't open yet.
The Ale House was fine. We shared hummus and chips and salsa. I can always be satisfied with chips and salsa.
In true fashion, we thought we could take the bus back to the downtown area. First, we walked by the water and somehow ended up taking the Ballard Bridge instead of the Freemont Bridge. We followed a sign leading to downtown, or so I thought. We saw a bus stop and a sign that said--WELCOME TO MAGNOLIA.
I have no idea where we went wrong, but I knew, that we had definitely made a mistake.
We called a cab and waited, patiently, to be returned to downtown Seattle. Our cabbie, Carl, was super friendly and pointed out landmarks and other pertinent history to Seattle. He told us that we had seen the best part of Seattle and was surprised that we walked to the Locks. His response---no one does that...
For dinner, I wanted to go to Poppy. I had heard a lot about it and really wanted to dine there. Plus, they had a walnut carrot cake--the selling point. I have been on a carrot cake kick.
I called to confirm the cross road of the restuarant. I despise when people call the Bull and act surprised when I answer. Instead of asking a logical question, typicaly, I get---are you open?
No, moron, I just stand here and answer the phone, for fun, is what I would like to say. However, I don't, and since I feel this way about answering the phone, I try to be prepared with a normal question when the person answers the phone.
No answer.
Of course, they weren't open on Monday.
We ate at Restaurant Zoe. It was close to our hotel and offered several dishes we were interested in. The bartender was pleasant and we had dessert at Dahlia's Lounge--a Tom Douglas place.
Seattle pleased us with adventure, wine and food. Truly, it was the ideal place to celebrate the 4 year anniversary.
Next year, we are going scuba diving. We just need to choose the destination. The qualifications are--it must be abroad and preferably, somewhere, that I have not been. Any suggestions?

Continuing the Seattle adventure

Coffee. Book read. I spoke to several friends and family members and then Jean got up and made us breakfast. I did watch a little NBA action with Jack. I think he accepted me, finally, at that point.
We drove into Seattle to meet Shari at the Westin. The Westin is conveniently located a few blocks from a light rail station. Instead of taking the shuttle back to the airport, on Tuesday morning, I took the light rail for $2.50. Talk about efficient, clean and convenient. I would recommend to anyone heading to Seattle to consider this option when heading into the city. Do not take a cab or shuttle. The light rail is a lovely option.
We walked to Pike Place Market and it was filled with locals and tourists, alike. They are renovating some of the market and so we perused, quickly, and made our way back to the street. The U.S./Canadian Hockey game concluded as we sat at a waterfront bar. Shari enjoyed a glass of wine and Jean and I drank bloody mary's. I think she was on a mission to get one of those.
We did a wine tasting at a place in the Post Alley. Most of their offerings were Washington Wines and they had small plates to accompany the selections. There was a dog, on the premises, which was annoying. The lap dog was not trained well. It begged, at our table, until his owner, went back into the kitchen to make fare for other customers.
Jean showed us a vegan/gluten free bakery, a cheese shop where they make cheese on the premises and a coffee shop. I was in heaven. I liked the flow of the shops and knew that Shari and I would have breakfast, in this corner, on Tuesday morning.
Jean left. She had domestic issues to contend with--groceries and dinner with the family.
Shari and I walked back down to the pier and made our toast to Brian. Being the 4th year anniversary, we decided, this year, would be about joy. We toasted Brian, his life and released some of his ashes. I opened the bottle of wine from Matthews Winery--it was a blend of cabernet, merlot, petit verdot and malbec--I think.
There were a few other people near us. For the most part, we were able to drink the wine and talk about Brian, openly and freely, with no distractions.
Until, two police cars pull up, on the pier. I am a huge fraidy cat and so, immediately, I cork the wine and put it in my bag. I keep imagining how this must look. The two of us, drinking wine, on the pier. I keep thinking we are going to be arrested.
Shari, like Brian--so much like Brian, has no fear. She continues to look back, almost daring the police, to approach us. I kept thinking--her husband will never let her travel with me, again.
We weren't arrested.
We returned to the Westin and I sat on the couch and spilled the uncorked wine, all over my shorts and the pillows. Lovely and probably karma for my freaking out about the police on the pier.
I showered. We chose How to Cook a Wolf for our dinner. We sat at the bar and ate a hamachi crudo salad, pasta with pork and cauliflower, and a nice dessert. The coffee was delicious. I wanted carrot cake, but they did not have it.
The anniversary, this year, was peaceful. I am thankful, to Shari, for meeting me in Seattle. It was everything it was supposed to be.

Day Two

Day Two of the Seattle adventure with coffee, a light walk to retrieve Jack--their son, and a trip to the middle school gymnasium for Saturday morning basketball. I had not been to an elementary, middle or high school game, since I was in high school. I am fairly certain about that.
It was extremely entertaining. Jack's team were slight, compared to the mixed 5th-6th grade team that they were up against. They struggled to stop the lay ups and I believe the final score was 36-15. They were scrappy, though, and the coaches rotated the players in, every five minutes of the game.
Four years ago, I spent a weekend with Jean, Bob, and Jack. At that point, he was engaging and interested in me and his mom. This time around, as 10 year old, he had little interest in me or my sister. At his game and afterwards, he ignored us. Still, he is a cute kid and I enjoy seeing him.
We headed up to Woodinville to wine taste. There are 40 tasting rooms in an area about 40 minutes from Seattle. I was in heaven. I love wine tasting. I was a little disappointed with the rates, to wine taste; and, of course, some of the wineries were sub par. Overall, I loved Matthews, Efeste and Novelty Hill was fine. I liked how most of wineries offered crackers or cheese in addition to the wine. Michaela was our designated driver through this. Although, I made her sample a wine from Matthews and one from Efeste.
Later, we returned to their house and made dinner arrangements. We ate at Brunello, an Italian restaurant, in Snoqualmie Hill--I think. It was family friendly, but they also had a room roped off, for reservations. We snagged that table and it was ideal. I mean, we were separated from the chaos of the main dining room. We were able to have a meaningful meal. Again, the conversation flowed, food was lovely and the wine continued to impress.
Michaela had met Jean and Bob when they were living in Lawrence. We reminisced the international dinners we used to make, friends/acquaintances we had and just being younger. Day Two was a success.
We returned to their house and opened more wine. Again, I was the first to bed. Haven't quite figured that out. Michaela and Jean were up til 3.
The next morning, I know Michaela was hating life since she had to get up at 7 and drive home. Me, I finished my book, and greeted the 28th with coffee.

Seattle

I love Seattle. Truly, it is an amazing city. There are several bars, restaurants and wineries to tempt people to visit. The restaurant scene is fantastic. I wish we had as many options in Denver.
I flew in to Seattle and believed that I would be taking a shuttle to downtown. Michaela was going to meet Jean and I downtown for drinks. I had tried to coordinate with them, but didn't have much success. I knew I had a ride to and from the airport, in Denver, but Seattle was a crap shoot.
My flight was on-time and when I landed, I checked my phone to see where Michaela was. She had called and texted me to say--DO NOT TAKE THE SHUTTLE..i AM PICKING YOU UP.
I have no idea how this happened, but I was happy to oblige. A shuttle is do-able, but I do not prefer this type of transportation. There are multiple stops to completely utilize the gas--which I understand, but it is not the most efficient way to travel.
Nevertheless, I met Michaela outside of the terminal. We hugged and I called Jean to ask how to get to where she was. Michaela has GPS and so I figured we would be able to make it to the city with few problems.
Of course, we were talking and not really paying attention to the annoying voice that would command--in .5 miles, turn left.
REPEAT--in .5 miles, turn left.
After hearing this for awhile, I tuned it out.
We ended up, in the city, but going the wrong way. We figured it out, thankfully, but I knew that I needed to familiarize myself with the area. I would not be able to rely only on GPS.
We agreed to meet Jean at Olive 8. Her brother, Mark, was also meeting us. I have known Jean since 96. She has a twin sister and 4 other older siblings. Until last year, I had not met one of them. Last year, I met her twin, which was a riot, and this time, I met Mark.
It's funny how you cannot disguise mannerisms between family members. They look alike, sound alike and have similar reactions. I laughed since I knew Michaela and I were doing the same thing. Only Michaela and I have been accused of having different parents before. I think you can tell we are sisters due to our laugh, our facial expressions and mannerisms.
Anyways, we met at Olive 8 for cocktails. I had a white wine sangria with St. Germain liquer. I think they thought the atmosphere would be better. We had one drink there and headed to Barolo. Ironically, Barolo was 2 blocks from my hotel.
We dined on tuna carpaccio, mussels and cheese. The conversation freely flowed and ended too soon. Mark had family obligations and we knew that we needed to get closer to Jean's neighborhood.
We needed wine. We stopped at her community wine shop to peruse the selection. They were offering a $10 tasting for Chapellet wine out of Napa. They convinced us that it was ten dollars due to the reserve cabernet.
It would have been worth the ten bucks had they been more generous with the samples. Seriously, I thought I was back in Argentina tasting minute amounts of malbec. I was frustrated with the situation and the wine was mediocre. Plus, the guy that was representing the tasting was more interested in doing a cross word puzzle than selling us on the wine. We were the last custommers and so I kept thinking---why doesn't he drain the bottle? Moron!
We drove to Jean's house and met Bob for dinner. Bob is very straightforward, honest, and an introvert. Jean is all over the place. Super entertaining and troublesome at times. They balance each other well.
At dinner, we ordered a bottle of wine and the waitress wanted to see Michaela's i.d. We all died laughing. Here are the photos from dinner the first night.
Afterwards, we returned to their house to drink more wine. I swear, it never ends. Although, somehow, I managed to be the first one to bed. Noramlly, I want to keep the conversation going.
More to follow....

Izba

Waking up, today, I felt extremely refreshed and ready to welcome the day. I e-mailed, showered and got ready for my massage at Izba.
Izba is a Russian Spa in Denver. They offer a variety of services and specialize in the banya treatment. Basically, it is a 15 minute dry sauna session where they take oak leaves and beat your back, douse you with honey and dump a bucket of water on you. From this, you rinse off an enjoy an hour massage. The Banya Session in fantastic and a wonderful way to detox.
I walked there. I wanted to make the most of my day. A little overcast, but a steady 45 degrees.
I arrived with minutes to spare. My male therapist walked me into my room, explained that I needed to begin in the dry sauna and that he would return momentarily. I had had this guy on an earlier visit and I thought I remembered that he liked to joke. I didn't feel funny. I wanted to relax and not talk during the experience.
I laid down and waited.
It was hot, but not stifling. The therapist came in, checked the heat, applied some peppermint essential oil to the room and left.
For 15 minutes, I laid there, and endured moderate heat. In addition to the light massage, I listened to his lame attempts to make jokes. He commented on the fact that he liked to joke and laugh. I remained mute. I didn't want to encourage this.
Afterwards, I showered and he began the massage. I knew I was tight, but did not realize that the entire massage would be trying. He worked on my back, the back of my legs, my feet and then I flipped over to have my front addressed.
He knew that I had sustained some injury from running and so he tried to work on my IT Band through my stomach. It hurt and it was uncomfortable. I was covered and didn't feel exposed in that way...I just do not enjoy having my stomach worked on. I laughed. Then, I started tearing up.
Immediately, he felt terrible for making me cry. I think crying can be good and realistically, I consider the last few weeks and know that I have not been that emotional regarding the time of year. I needed the release even if it made the joking therapist uncomfortable.
He finished the massage with the comment--wow--what a difference in your legs...actually, you entire right side is constricted.
I showered and sat in their foyer. After each service, they provide hot tea and orange slices for clients. I reflected on the experience and was thankful that I made time for it.
I am relaxed, somewhat sad, but joyful in my life. I hope to have 12 massages at Izba this year. I feel it is important to have body maintenance and feel that with each session, my right side will be less restricted. I called my aunt to ask why my right side would be so jacked up, emotionally. She said that the left side of the body is more involved with past emotions and the right is more present. I suppose it it right on, with my current state of affairs.
Nevertheless, I am thankful for the massage. Enjoy your day!

In an effort to be kind to myself.........

In an effort to be kind to myself--I bought flowers today. Purple, lovely and very beautiful.
Two weeks ago, I bought flowers from the local Whole Foods, made dinner and drank wine. Those flowers survived until today.
I have concluded that I should always have flowers in my house in 2010. And, Whole Foods will keep me stocked.
Anyways, last Thursday, in an effort to avoid erupting verbally on someone, I painted my room. I started the process of it. I painted three walls and then stopped so that I could meet the Goddess, for drinks. Her birthday won.
The following day, I flew to Seattle--which, believe me, I know, I need to blog about--and returned Tuesday evening.
I closed, last night, and worked today. I suppose, I am trying to explain why I didn't finish painting or blogging, until this evening.
I had a small amount of paint left. It was in a 5 gallon bucket in my box that once held my Egyptian Cotton Sheets.
I taped the wall, prepared my chair with newspaper, and had a large cloth covering my floor. I started painting and realized that I did not have much to work with. By far, the 4th floor lacks paint and is sketchy; but, it is painted and that is what I am focusing on.
Afterwards, in an effort to clean up and rearrange my space, I put my bed back together. I had washed the sheets. I made the bed. I plugged the t.v. in my room. I situated the dresser.
I rinsed the paint brush and roller. I cut my new flowers. I threw the five gallon bucket out into the garbage. It was mostly empty and as I contemplated te lack of trash, I realized that I had left my Overstock.com receipt in the box that held the 5 gallon bucket of paint. It had my name, my address and I couldn't remember if it had any other pertinent information. For sure, I knew it had my name/address.
I returned to the garbage bin.
I considered the depth of the empty bin and returned to my house. I thought I could top the bucket with trash from my house, but I couldn't, since I had been out of town and had recyclables only.
I went to the bin, for the second time, and put my limited trash on it. I returned to my house.
I contemplated the entire identity theft thing. I had to go back outside to get that darn receipt. I walked out. I jumped up on the side of the trash receptacle, grabbed the bucket and lifted the box out. I found the receipt. SCORE. I had to do it.
Then, I realized how comical the entire situation was. I knew if someone had been watching me, they would have thought--what a moron! But, I had to have that receipt.
I am being kind to myself, my needs and desires. Tomorrow, I will get a massage at Izba--LOVELY! Over the next few days, I will blog about my experience in Seattle.
Be well.