10/52: Exploring Seattle

Seared Duck Breast

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar

Buckley's Pub

We love adventures, Marco Polo and I.

We had a lot of fun experiences over the weekend.  Dinner with friends, a new sports bar on Saturday and my first trip to Hec Ed Pavilion on the University of Washington Campus to see the Ducks vs. Huskies.

Wrapped everything up with one less hour, but more daylight and a beautiful Sunday train ride.

Enjoy!
Stacy

24/52: Father's Day Weekend

Our family is always up for an adventure Father's Day Weekend and this year Pop's choice was a visit to the Oregon Vortex just outside of Gold Hill.

This roadside attraction has been open to the public since 1930 and takes you on a strange glimpse into the strange world of gravity hill/optical illusions.  Local legend according to Native Americans refer to the site as "forbidden" land and travelers would often times have trouble with horses passing through the area.  Most in our party, believe that the effect is due to a distorted background that induces a forced perspective and not anything paranormal.  At any rate, it was a fun adventure and we all enjoyed the visit.

We then drove just down the road to Del Rio Vineyards, which was established in 1997 and was once home to the Rock Point Hotel built in 1864.

We had a 5 wine flight, which included a Pinot Gris, Viogner, Grenache Rose, Claret and a Cabernet Savignon.  Absolutely beautiful tasting room and grounds.  It would be a great place to pack a picnic lunch, play a round of cornhole and drink a bottle of wine in the sunshine!

Finally, we headed down old highway 99 past Rogue River and ate lunch at River's Edge outside in the beautiful sunshine along the river.  My shrimp scampi with spaghetti squash was amazing and I know Brian, Sandra and Steve enjoyed their Halibut Fish and Chips.

Our Father's Day adventures are always a fun time for our family.  Now on to planning next year!

Enjoy!
Stacy

22/52: Anniversary Weekend

ANTIPASTA: Insalata di piselli - English peas. radishes and cauliflower with lemon

ANTIPASTA: Cariciofi - Marinated baby artichokes with mint, hazelnuts and honey-controne mascarpone

Primi: Pappardelle con ragu di coniglio - pappardelle with rabbit ragu bianca and marjoram

Primi: Tajarin al ragu - fine cut egg pasta with pork and beef ragu

Dolci: Torta al cioccolato - Chocolate cake layered with hazelbut delizia with cocoanib meringue baci di dama and luxardo cherry sauce.

We had a wonderful (long) weekend in Seattle as I drove up from Portland on Thursday, worked remotely on Friday and then drove back to Portland Monday morning.

We stopped by to see my mother's beautiful garden on Saturday, which was a nice sunny day and had a lovely glass of wine on their garden patio.

The wet and cooler weather arrived on Sunday, and Brian and I took the bus, light rail and street car to Capital Hill for our anniversary dinner at Spinasse.  With it's rustic northern Italy farmhouse feel, Brian and I felt like we were transported to a small village in the Piedmont region.  We sipped on a bottle of Barbaresco wine and perused the menu for the best dishes.

The menu was small and meant to be served family-style...but the choices were authentic and seasonal.  The star of the show is the handmade (in-house) pasta, which was the best pasta I have ever had (not to mention one of the best Italian dishes in the nation).  Both our antipasta plates were amazing and flavorful and I can't think of a better description than amazing for the chocolate cake.

It was a special evening with my amazing life partner and an excellent way to celebrate 14 years!

Enjoy!
Stacy

4/52: Seattle Underground Tour and Lunch at Fado's Irish Pub

Seattle has an underground network of passageways and basements that was ground level at the city's origin in the mid-19th century.  After the streets were elevated these spaces fell into disuse, but have become a tourist attraction in recent decades.

Last Saturday, Brian and I took Bill Speidel's Underground Tour in Pioneer Square.

The great Seattle fire in 1889 destroyed 31 blocks and as part of the rebuilding, the streets were regraded to one to two stories higher than before.  Since Pioneer Square was built mostly on filled-in tidelands, it often flooded.  The new street level also assisted the ensuring that gravity-assisted flush toilets that funneled into Elliott Bay, did not back up at high tide.

In 1965, local citizen, Bill Speidel realized that there might be some interest in these subterranean ruins.  He establish a tour and began taking customers to see what was left under Pioneer Square.  

Over the years the underground structures have been steadily refurbished to be more visually appealing, however the tour remains authentic and popular for visitors and locals.

We really enjoyed it!  Our tour guide was informative and entertaining and it was interesting to hear about the history of Seattle.

After the tour we walked over to Fado's Irish Pub for lunch.  I was really impressed with their menu and it was a fun location to check out.  Since we took the bus downtown from West Seattle we wanted a place close to Pioneer Square.

We enjoyed Blue Cheese Lamb Sliders and Smithwick's Marinated Ground Beef Sliders and two big plates of chips before heading home.

Enjoy!
Stacy

2/52: A Birthday Celebration and a Quiet Weekend

January is always a bit of a letdown from the amazing month of December.  We've done our best to ring in the New Year and get going, but activities are few and far between on the calendar. Do you have the January blahs?

This past Tuesday was Chick's birthday so we celebrated at one of her favorite restaurants, Decarli right in downtown Beaverton.  We caught Uber so we could share a bottle of wine and had an amazing dinner and celebration (picture of short ribs that were amazing).

Friday, I caught the early train to Seattle and Brian and I had Date Night at Elliott Bay Brew Pub.

To round off the weekend, we stayed fairly close to home on Saturday minus a much needed walk through Lincoln Park, few errands, a haircut and a trip to the grocery store. Sammy enjoyed the home time!

We managed to watch three episodes of Broadchurch Season 2 on Netflix.  I must say that it is quite possibly one of the best series I've ever seen on TV.  Tremendous acting and a gripping story.  I "binge" watched season 1 on New Years Day in 8 hours STRAIGHT!  Check it out!

Sunday was the Golden Globes back in Portland.  We had a three course meal and a bottle of sparkling wine!

How was your weekend?  

Enjoy!
Stacy

30/52: Friday & Saturday Night Dinners, Bon Voyage and our first 6 miler!

Pan Roasted Muscovy Duck Breast with wilted greens, duck fat almonds, summer savory jus and fresh cherry relish - $28

On Friday night we met up with my Pop and Rosemary at their hotel in downtown Seattle, then walked across the street to the Purple Cafe and Wine Bar for our 7:30 reservations.  I've had this place on my restaurant radar for years and it was delightful.  The menu is extremely thought out and paired nicely with an amazing wine list. The ambiance was beautiful and the service was amazing.  It's always fun to have dinner in the city, especially in summertime.

Saturday was the bon voyage down at King Street Station where my parents boarded the Rocky Mountaineer for their Canadian Rail adventure.  They have a 10 day trip from Seattle through Vancouver, Whistler, Kamloops, Lake Louise and Banff ahead of them.

Saturday night was dinner with friends at the Phinney Market Pub and Eatery in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood.  A perfect way to end an amazing Saturday.

Before we drove down to Portland on Sunday, we had our first 6 mile walk through our West Seattle neighborhood.  Our route took us down along Beach Drive, through the length of Lincoln Park and back through our neighborhood. We are really trying to stick to our goals and increase our fitness.  Well done for a busy weekend!  

Enjoy!
Stacy