Victoria, Canada - Day 5

Monday, July 22, 2019

After a lovely breakfast in the hotel dining room, we returned to find our room key was not working.  There was a concierge desk on our floor that was really for “premier” guests, but they were happy to help us.  We were able to wait in the “premier” lounge and caught some great views of the harbor.

Around 10 am we left to walk to the Victoria Public Market to catch an 11 am “Taste of Victoria” food tour. We arrived early and looked around the market, which had been refurbished into a trendy environment with interesting food and gift stalls, small eateries and seating for a number of people. We hope the new market in Louisville resembles this.

Our guide was delightful and our first stop was in the market at “Roast Meat and Sandwich Shop.”  Our treat was a large meat ball made of beef, pork, ricotta cheese and bread crumbs covered in arrabbiata sauce, a touch of pesto and Parmesan cheese. All the food on the tour was delicious but I would return for this.

Next we walked along Douglas St., which is Rte. 1 in Canada, stretching 5,000 miles all the way to St. John’s.

We walked to the beginning of Chinatown to the Gates of Harmonious Interest. 

Our guide told us that the Chinese came to town during the gold rush of 1858. However, many moved to Vancouver to work on the railroad. The Chinese were not allowed to go to school with the whites so they built their own school in 1905. Today it is a cultural center in what is now an ethnically diverse neighborhood.

Our next stop was LaRoux Patisserie where we were given our choice of two macaroons. A woman started it 3 years ago after studying in France and has made about 800,000 macaroons in that time.

Our guide walked us through Fan Tan Alley where many nefarious activities occurred in past years, but now it is a high priced residential area.

Then we stopped at Just Matcha, which was a great experience. I had heard of Matcha but had no idea what it is. It is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves. The plants are shade grown for 3-4 weeks before harvest and the stems are removed. The proprietor told us that it had great health benefits - is an anti-inflammatory and is good for joint pain. 

To make matcha, he used 1/2 teaspoon of powder to 1 cup of water and then used a little tool to whisk it. He then mixed it with soy milk and strawberry syrup for a delicious drink.

Next was Shanzee Biscuit — biscuits being the new food rage. We had a quarter of a biscuit with gravy, bacon, onion and cheese and another quarter with Nutella and whipped cream. Both were delectable. 

On to Market Square where we saw the Institute for Chinese Medicine which offers a 5-year course. This area had 1600 hanging baskets which are watered by city workers every night.

Our next food stop was Sult Pierogie Bar where we had two of the traditional Polish delicacies stuffed with 3 cheeses and mashed Yukon potatoes and covered with sauerkraut or bacon.

By now we had worked our way back toward the heart of Victoria and were on Government Street. We went to The Churchill, a bar specializing in beers — specifically 50 different craft beers all made in Canada. We were invited to pick our own from an extensive list and I had one flavored with chocolate. Very tasty. 

Our final stop was the iconic Rogers Candy store, founded in 1885 but moved to its present location in an old jewelry store in 1917. This is the Royal Chocolatier of QE2. We were given a cream filled chocolate to take on the road. What a great tour!

We were done by 1 pm and decided to take the 1:30 city bus to Butchart Gardens. Must make this a separate entry to get everything in.

Seattle - Victoria, Canada - Day 4

Sunday, July 21, 2019

We were up early to pull our bags (literally) to the pier next door to the Clipper station at 6:30 for our 7:30 departure.  Fortunately, we were first on (with our preferred seating) and snagged seats in the front row to watch the channel crossing. We could see the seaplanes landing in the harbor in Victoria.

We had a light breakfast, served to us by a young woman from Seattle who attends Xavier U. where our daughter went. Small world.

We arrived in Victoria at 10:30 to a spectacularly gorgeous day. 

We checked into the Empress Hotel, a long time favorite, which overlooks the harbor. Amazingly, our room was ready and we could rest before heading out again. We had been warned in advance about the crowds today. There was a huge car show - the Northwest Deuce Days which takes place every 3 years in Victoria’s inner harbor. Parked along the streets were around 1,400 pre-1952 collector vehicles, more than 500 of which were Deuces (1932 Ford coupes). Thousands of people were on the streets but it was fun walking around and looking at the cars. 

We were not very hungry but did end up at an outdoor bar called Milestone with a view of the harbor and a big umbrella. I had a Bellini, a cocktail made with Prosecco and peach purée. 

We walked around some more and caught a shot of the harbor with our hotel in the background (on right). The only thing that has changed since we were here 20 years ago is the addition of a number of new hotels in the inner harbor.

While Ed took his afternoon respite, I walked to the location of our food tour tomorrow.  It took me to a part of town we had always missed, so I am excited to explore it (through food).

Tonight we took Ed’s cousin Joe Salem and his significant other Alexis to dinner at Steamship, located in the old terminal. We had a lovely table outdoors and watched the sun set while we caught up on life. Walking home, Ed shot a photo of me in front of the Parliament building, which has been lit up nightly since the 1960s. Wonderful evening!

Seattle - Day 3

Saturday, July 20, 2019

While Ed slept in, I took an early morning walk and checked out the location of our food tour. I also went back to Pike’s Market.  At this hour, it was not quite as crowded but still very busy. I looked in a lot of the tiny shops built into the different levels of the hillside, but found they were full of cheap Chinese imports. Nothing I needed to buy. 

Ed and I headed out about 1 pm to walk to our “Savour Seattle” food tour about a mile from the hotel. The tour was excellent. One of the surprising things our guide told us is that 5 chefs own 45 restaurants in the area.  Here is a recap:

Orfeo -

We had polenta with an Italian house made sauce topped with fried basil and coupled with white wine from Chateau San Michelle - the largest winery in Washington which started the industry here. It is now the second biggest wine state after California. The guide recommended sparkling wine to go with spicy food - it clears the palette.

Serious Pizza - 

Owner is Tom Douglas who owns 17 restaurants including Etta’s and Dahlia’s. The pizza dough here rises for 3 days so it doesn’t rise in your stomach, basically allowing the digestion process to take place outside your body. This enables you to eat more without feeling full (does anyone really need to do that with pizza???) extensive pizza menu and we had chanterelle and crispy mushroom and traditional Margherita.

Steelhead Diner

Owner is Kevin Davis who also owns Orfeo.  Alaskan razor clam chowder with Calderwood smoked bacon and truffle on top paired with Viognier.

Heartwood Provisions

Fancy Waygu beef jerky - marinated, dried and then rehydrated. Paired with beer cocktail. Noted for cocktail and wine pairings.

Von’s Gustobistro

Sour dough based menu featuring a 55-year-old sour dough starter. We had sour dough pasta with Asiago cream sauce and salmon paired with local beer from Ballard’s. 

Fran’s Chocolates

The Obama’s favorite chocolates. Famous for their sea salt caramels which we had. Not chewy - melted in your mouth. Had photo of owner’s granddaughter recreated in 4,162 chocolates.

Afterwards we walked back through Pike’s Market and then headed to the Space Needle area where we had timed tickets to see the Chihuly exhibit next door. We realized upon entering that we had seen this exhibit multiple times — in Boston, Toronto, Nashville, and some of it at Maker’s Mark in KY. However, it is always worth seeing again. This must now be its permanent home.

This is his collection of Navajo trading blankets.

See the space needle reflected in the blue orb in his outdoor garden.

We walked to an outdoor festival in a nearby park, but realized the music and the venue were not our scene. We went back to the Edgewater and shared fish and chips in the bar with views and some music. Delightful.

Seattle - Day 2

Friday, July 19, 2019 

We started the day with an early lunch at one of our favorite spots, Ivar’s Acres of Clams, a few piers down from our hotel. It was another walk down memory lane with the shops and the boats, but we missed the little train that once chugged along the waterfront. 

Ivar’s did not disappoint. Ed had his clams and I had halibut.

We had a cozy seat by the window where we watched the seagulls begging for French fries from the carry-out portion of Ivar’s. It was quite a show to watch them jockey for position and swoop down to pluck a fry from a customer’s hand. 

Later, we realized that this activity is encouraged.

Afterwards we walked into several of the shops, in particular, the Old Curiosity Shop with its collection of oddities, from shrunken heads to marine memorabilia. We remembered how much fun our daughter had looking at all these things.

From here we found the elevator up to Pike’s Market. Obviously everyone else did, too, because it was packed. 

We stopped by the famous Pike Place Fish Market and watched the mongers throwing fish to each other. This one salmon covered the salesman’s head and then some — and then he tossed it! 

We looked around some other shops and saw long lines for pastries and Starbuck’s, supposedly the original.

From the market we walked a number of blocks to “The Spheres,” which is part of the Amazon downtown campus. This whole area is now home to multiple modern buildings, with a very low-key identification. 

The Spheres is a trio of geodesic domes that house native to mid-elevation cloud forest ecosystems at altitudes of 3,000 to 10,000 ft.  The Spheres exist to provide Amazon employees with a creative workspace in a constant 72 degree environment surrounded by nature. Unfortunately, the public is only allowed in on 2 Saturdays a month, with a reservation. Something to do on a future visit.

We caught an Uber and went back to the hotel. While Ed rested, I walked to the Olympic Sculpture Park, only two blocks from our hotel overlooking the Bay.  There were some interesting pieces, including this latter one by Calder. 

Then I walked up to the Space Needle to check out the location of the Chihuly exhibit for tomorrow night. An interesting sculpture here had children climbing precariously on its tubular arms. See the person at the top. Made me nervous.

Tonight we went to T-Mobile Park to see the Mariners play the Angels.  For some reason the traffic on Alaskan Way was backed up and our Uber driver drove a number of back roads to get us there in a timely manner — but we made it! Beautiful stadium. Great game. 

The pitcher for the Mariners, Mike Leake, almost pitched a perfect game, but gave away one in the ninth inning. They did win 10-1. Afterwards it was such a lovely evening that we ended up walking back to the hotel through Pioneer Square and saw the lights along Miners Landing. 

Louisville - Seattle - Day 1

Thursday, July 18, 2019 

We’re off on our annual anniversary/baseball trip and this year it is another “two-fer.” We are beginning in Seattle for a Mariners-Angels game and then taking the train 35 hours and more than 1,100 miles to Los Angeles for an Angels-Tigers game. Along the way we will stop at various cities.

We love train trips, having done them all across the country. We have thought about doing this trip on the Coast Starlight for quite awhile and this was the year!

This route was also a trip down memory lane, since we have visited all but one of these places 20 years or so ago. I have also referred to this as a culinary (eating) trip since we have several food tours, reservations at fine restaurants and lots of menu exploring in between.

We departed Louisville on the new direct flight to LA and then transferred to Seattle, arriving late in the afternoon. We checked into our favorite Seattle lodging, the Edgewater Hotel, which is on stilts in Elliott Bay between Pier 66 and 69. Our room had a balcony with some great views of the city.

Out to the bay. 

And across several piers where we could watch the boats arriving and departing.

On one clear day we could see the baseball stadium and Mt. Rainier in the distance.

We celebrated our 44th anniversary this evening with amazing halibut and petrale diners at Etta’s, near our hotel and Pike’s Market. 

Such a beautiful night, we walked back to the hotel. Lovely way to begin our trip.