Ranger Review: Seattle, WA Edition, Part 1






We were SO excited to head to Seattle for the second part of our honeymoon trip.  Thanks to Big Dave, we stayed at the beautiful Alexis Hotel and enjoyed being in the city.  We didn't over-do it...we relaxed by the fire in our room and ate wonderful meals.  Our only big road trip was out to Mt. Ranier for the day.  Yep, we climbed all the way to the top and made it back for dinner.  Remember, we're park rangers.

Alexis Hotel, Seattle, WA
We loved our stay at the Alexis.  Our room was bigger than our apartment, with a fireplace, living room, dining area, separate bedroom, and nice bathroom.  The entryway alone was huge.  The decor was really modern, but there were still touches from the historic building that the hotel is in.  The service was great and our room was kept spotless.  It was located just blocks from the Pike Place Market and we really liked being able to walk down the street for coffee or dinner.  We'd definitely stay at the Alexis again!


Lobby...



Author's Suite Entryway...



Bar Area...and door to bedroom (on right)...



Fireplace in Living Room...



Rumor has it, Maya Angelou stayed in our room just days before (seriously!).  It is, afterall, the Author's Suite...



Can't get your own ice around here...



Bedroom...



Postcards at Wine Hour...






What do you think about that?




Cherry Street Coffee, Seattle, WA
We found the 1st Street location of Cherry Street Coffee just two blocks from our hotel...and we were in love. They just have a few locations in Seattle and it had a neighborhood feel.  We were shocked when they were out of bagels one "morning", only to realize that it was 1:00 pm.  We had no idea what time it was...that's what honeymoon's are for.  Chris' favorite Cherry Street drink was the Milky Way, while I could not get enough of their mochas.  They were incredibly delicious...even with non fat milk! That justified the whipped cream!  We loved Cherry Street and highly recommend a visit!



Cherry St. Coffee, 1st & Seneca...



Milky Way...






Mocha deliciousness...


The Pink Door, Seattle, WA
We had our first Seattle dinner at the Pink Door.  It's a quaint, quirky Italian restaurant.  We were seated in the bar, as there weren't any seats available in the regular dining room.  We shared the Antipasto of the House and the Paglia e Fieno (fresh white and green fetuccine with exotic mushrooms).  It was delicious, but honestly not the best we've ever had.  What the Pink Door has is atmosphere.  It's funky and fun.  While we were having our dinner, we found out that Saturday nights were cabaret and burlesque night.  Yes, you read that right.  After much debate, we decided to return later to grab a table for the show.  We didn't know what to expect...would it be sleazy or neat?  Fun or weird?  The show started at 11:00 pm...late night out for us old folks.  We enjoyed a few drinks and waited for the show to start. According to Wikipedia (this is the FIRST and ONLY time I will ever refer to wiki!), "burlesque is a humorous theatrical entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration. In 20th century America, the form became associated with a variety show in which striptease is the chief attraction."  That's exactly it...it was fun, funny, exaggerated,  a bit grody, but also classy.  Yes, classy.  Don't judge. It's almost hard to put it into words.  It was wonderful.  We loved it!  If you're ever in Seattle, you should go...it's good to get out of that comfort zone every once in a while.  Just catch dinner somewhere else beforehand...Pink Door is very good, but just not great in our book.

This guy is ready for some entertainment...




Dick's Hamburgers, Seattle, WA
Oh golly, who doesn't like a good, cheap hamburger?  There are several Dick's locations in the Seattle area.  Don't go with your Gold Card...they're cash only.  We picked up our Dick's burgers and fries and took them back to our beautiful hotel room one night.  Yes, we're classy people.  And we LOVED it.

Gourmet Dining...






So wrong, but so very right...



The Market Grill, Seattle, WA
This fantastic grill is located in the Pike Place Market.  We enjoyed an incredibly fresh and delicious lunch at the counter one afternoon.  We shared clam chowder and a salmon sandwich, which was grilled for us while we watched.  It was wonderful.  You must go to this little gem.  We were lucky, we were there on a Sunday and got seats right away.  Rumor has it, it's impossible to get a seat during the week...for good reason!












The Crumpet Shop, Seattle, WA
What's a crumpet, you ask? We didn't know either.  As it turns out, it's not like an english muffin.  It's much cakier (is that a word?).  The toppings are placed on top, rather than inside the sliced crumpet.  They are delicious.  We went back to the Market (didn't care if we seemed like tourists!) for breakfast one morning and shared two crumpets...one sweet and one savory.  They were delicious!  Too bad no one in Oklahoma knows what the heck they are!



Egg, ham, and cream cheese/Maple butter, cream cheese, and walnuts...



Stay tuned for Part 2...




1 comments:

Alissa Harvey said...

Whoa, nice digs! That is my idea of a vacation! I hope to someday to eat my way across the country on a roadtrip...starting in California wine country. I'd better start saving up now!