15 Hours - The Perfect Day in Seattle

Every Friday I will post an itenerary for what I would do if I only had a day (about 15 hours) in a city. The itenerary will be based on my interests of food, art, shopping and history so you may do it differently and if you're so inclined feel free to let me know what that might be.

This week my home town of Seattle:

See below for transportation options.

8:30 a.m. - Wake up and get ready for a packed and fun day in Seattle!

9:00 a.m. - Walk a block to the nearest coffee shop and get a caffeine fix for the day (multiple stops at different shops throughout the day are highly recommended).

9:30 a.m. - Head to Pike Place Market and stop at Le Panier for a pastry to keep you going throughout the morning and so you don't want to eat everything in site once you're in the market.

10:00 a.m. - Head into Pike Place Market right when it opens and peruse the stalls and shops. Some of my favorites shops to check out and try to get some samples from include:
- Market Spice
- Beecher's Home Made Cheese (great macaroni and cheese)
- The Confectional Cheese Cakes
- Bavarian Meats (Sample the landjager)
- City Fish (Get some smoked salmon)
- Market Magic

12:45 p.m. - Jump on the Seattle Streetcar near Westlake Center and take it to the end of the line at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center on Lake Union.

1:00 p.m. - Cross the street and have lunch at I Love Sushi on Lake Union. Get the Bento Special with Seattle Rolls and Nigiri Set and sit outside if it's warm enough.

2:30 p.m. - Rent a kayak at Moss Bay Rowing Club (in the same complex) and paddle toward Gas Works Park across the way and visually explore the houseboats along the shoreline.

4:30 p.m. - Take the streetcar back downtown and explore the shops at Pacific Place Mall or Westlake Mall.

5:30 p.m. - Catch a bus up to Capitol Hill from downtown for dinner.

6:00 p.m. - Sit down for dinner at Quinn's - an amazing gastropub that will having you trying food you never dreamed of - and it will be delicious. You can order small plates to share (and the plates aren't that small) of which I recommend escargot bourguignon, painted hills meatballs in creamy polenta, and the incredibly tender beef tongue dish. They have a rotating menu so what's online may not be there when you go.

7:30 p.m. - Take a bus/taxi back to downtown in time for some entertainment.

8:00 p.m. - Catch a pre-booked show at 5th Avenue Theater in the cheap seats $25-$29. Catch Me If you Can is currently showing.

10:30 p.m. - Happy Hour at BOKA Kitchen and Bar is only a short walk away. Must tries are the sugar-cane skewered crab cakes (don't forget to chew on the sugar cane for a suprising treat) and truffle fries for a new and delicious spin on french fries flavor.

11:30 p.m. - If you have any ounce of energy left head to Belltown and look for the crowds for where to mingle or shake off the happy hour snack on the dance floor.

Being my hometown, Seattle is the hardest city for me to decide what I'd actually do if I only had a day to spend here. There are many wonderful sites and activities such as Greenlake, the Space Needle, Seattle Center, Museum of Flight, Lake Washington, the Arboretum, Volunteer Park, taking the walk-on ferry to Alki Beach and all of West Seattle, not to mention the International District. The list can go on forever and if I wrote this tomorrow I'd probably choose differently. Fortunately I live here so I can do it all - but I recommend that if you're in Seattle - stay for longer than a day!

Transportation in Seattle

Seattle has a great bus system to get around. You can use the metro regional trip planner to put in the address/cross streets of where you are and where you're going to find out what bus to catch. The above itenerary keeps you in a relative small area so you can walk to most locations within 30 minutes or taking a taxi would be affordable.

The Hardest Thing to Say in French is "American" - My First Lesson

Since traveling to France I've always wanted to learn French. I think it is a beautiful language and as my travels will keep me returning to France it makes sense to learn it as well. Since I do not know a second language yet (curse the American education system) I took it upon myself to get lessons and had my first session yesterday with my tutor Max.

We jumped right in with common phrases and focused on pronunciation.

"Est-ce que tu es français?" - Are you french?

"Non. Je ne suis pas français." - No. I am not french.

"Est-ce que tu es américaine?" - Are you american?

"Oui! Je suis américane." - Yes. I am american.

And this is where I ran into the biggest problem - of all the words I could have trouble with I actually can't seem to pronounce "american" properly! There are two french pronunciations "americain" if masculine and "americaine" if feminine.

In America we say "a-mare-e-kin".

In French masculine it is "a-mare-e-can" but with a little more nasal sound.

And for French feminine it is "a-mare-e-ca-n" with an even more nasal sound.

See the difference? I barely could either - though I could hear the slight subtle difference when Max pronounced it but I couldn't figure it out. It was the one word he repeatedly had to correct me on throughout the lesson.

Nevertheless - I can't wait for my next lesson. I picked up some language books and audio cds and will work on my pronunciation each day so that maybe one day I can pronounce american properly in french.

Having the Patience for a Great Crêpe

I love crêpes.

I had never really had a crêpe until I went to Paris in November 2007. It was a very cold winter while we were there and there was nothing more enjoyable than stopping by a crêpe stand and nibbling on a finger-burning-hot, freshly-made perfect crêpe where they pour the batter and add the fillings right in front of you as you wait.

This past May we went back to Paris for a long weekend and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a jambon and fromage (ham and cheese) crêpe. While walking the Mouffetard we watched fresh crêpe batter being poured and long lines patiently waiting their turn to order. Unfortunately, I didn't get a crêpe there that day as we had other food plans. The next day after visiting the Musêe de Orsay we saw that there was a restaurant serving crêpes out of a to-go window and there was no line - which should have warned me - it ended up that they use pre-made crêpes that they just warm up and put the filling in.

I was certainly frustrated at this turn of events that not all crêpe stands in Paris are created equal - but it was a good lesson in patience. Next time I will take the time to seek out a place where I actually see the batter being poured, where the lines are long, and the people are smiling and happily devouring their finger-burning-hot crêpes.

For those living or visiting Seattle there is an ever growing population of crêpe options to try out. Here's my list of places to check out!

• Anita's Crepes
  I actually haven't been to Anita's Crepes but I instead took a class from her at Cooks World and got to sample a few of her specialities which were all delicious especially the mushroom filling. Anita is the sweetest thing ever - she started out at the farmers markets where you can still find a stand and has a restaurant between Fremont and Ballard.
  
• Le Creperie Voila
  I've been to Le Creperie Voila twice - it's at the entrance to the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. The first time was when my hubby was going to a video game convention and I waited 45 minutes for a ham and cheese with spinach crepe and fortunately it was worth it! The second time there was no line and it was the perfect brunch while strolling around downtown.
  
• And more with reviews on Yelp

Red Wine on a Hot Summer's Day

It's been 90 degrees in Seattle all week and it's not going to get cooler anytime soon - a rare occurrence actually - and the last thing I'd usually reach for is a bottle of red wine - until now. Lambrusco - it is a slightly sparkling red wine from Italy that you throw in the fridge to chill and pull it out on a hot summer's night to relax. You can find out more about it on Wikipedia of course.

We actually were introduced not to lambrusco, but to what I believe in Rome is called "romanillo" but I can't seem to find exactly what it was. While in Rome this past spring we happened across Ristorante Rust (Via del Teatro Pace, 34-37 near Piazza Navona) and loved their Penne alla Rust (as usual always order the dish named for the restaurant) so we went back a second time before we left. The host recognized us and gave us that extra attention so when we didn't know what wine to drink but were sick of white wines to stay cool he pulled out this lambrusco style red wine and we were hooked.

After returning to Seattle I did my Internet research and found that lambrusco was the closest match. Lucky for me, my husband happened to be at Trader Joe's scouring the wine aisle and found a very affordable bottle to try. It's light, a little sweet and very refreshing. There are other brands of lambrusco out there and I'm looking forward to trying a glass in the near future.

Neapolitan Pizza in Seattle

<><>This past May, my husband Reilly and I stopped in Naples, Italy for lunch at the Pizzeria Lombardi (check it out on Trip Advisor and read my review). We were on our way back from the Island of Capri to the apartment we were renting for the week in Rome and we were tired and hungry so we each had our own pizza - the Lombardi (always order the dish/pizza named for the restaurant). Now Naples is the birth place of pizza and has a reputation for being great pizza - but having high opinions of pizza we weren't expecting it to be that good - but after one bite my heart and stomach melted and I have it say it's probably the best pizza I have ever had. After returning to Seattle we ran across an article in the Seattle Times about 4 Seattle pizzerias that are certified by the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association of Naples meaning they're the real deal. The certification is based on their Marinara and Margherita style pizzas and the pizza dough which is cooked in a wood fire pizza (for full regulations check out the association's site). The article was the incentive for us to try out each one and see if anything came close to our delicious experience in Naples - here are my reviews:Tutta Bella - Westlake 2200 Westlake Avenue, Seattle We have already been to Tuttal Bella's a couple times prior to reading the article about it being certified. While yummy their Margherita style pizza never wowed me like the pizza in Naples and I feel their crust gets a little too soggy.Pizzeria Pulcinella 10003 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle We went to Pulcinella first after we read the article. I was quickly disappointed in the toppings as they didn't use any fresh tomatoes just sauce and it just didn't have any spark but the crust was excellent. My husband and dinner mates had the Sorrento (tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, mushrooms, kalamata olives, capers, and basil) which I thought was quite good - but too salty for my friend. Ristorante Picolino's 6415 32nd Ave NW, Seattle We actually had a couple of slices of Picolino's at the Ballard Farmer's Market last Sunday. The crust was good - thinner than Pulcinella but not soggy like Tutta Bella. I had a mushroom pizza fresh out of their portable wood fire oven that had a generous portion of mushrooms and good flavor. Since we didn't try the Margherita I can't really compare it to what I had in Naples but my husband and I both agreed it was just okay. Via Tribunali - Capital Hill 913 E Pike Street, Seattle Purposely saving the best for last - Via Tribunali actually has 5 locations - we went up to the original Capital Hill location. When we arrived there was a 30 to 45 minute wait for a table so we squeezed into a spot at the bar and had the full menu and immediate service - can't beat that. They have a Margherita D.O.C. (certificate of origin) on their menu that has tomato, buffalo milk mozzarella and basil - but I ordered the pizza named for the establishment the "Via Tribunali" which is the same but also with cherry tomato, ricotta and smoked provola. OMG it was wonderful and just about the same as what I had experienced at Pizzeria Lombardi down to the smokiness of the oil and cheese. We will be back soon. I recommend any of these pizza places and of course don't pass up the chance to stop in Naples for pizza. Naples itself is very different from Rome, Capri, Florence or Venice which are very tourist oriented. While have the reputation of being dirty - Naples is really the people's city of Italy where they seem to live and work and for the few hours we were there it was actually refreshing (and not that dirty)! <><><><>