Seattle has a gallery walk the first Thursday of every month, but we prefer to view the work sans crowds. We picked up a free tunnel bus at the lowest level of Westlake Center and took it to the Pioneer Square station, bright and early--we arrive in Pioneer Square at 10 AM.
Amazing galleries everywhere--we especially enjoyed Kate Hunt's work at Davidson Contemporary and Gallery I/M/A's whimsical and finely crafted works by Ken Edwards. And local folk artist James Martin's work at Foster/White gallery was just fabulous--you really had to be there to appreciate the subtle (or overt) humor in his works. Almost all of the gallery directors and their staff were incredibly gracious and more than happy to talk to us about the artists and the work. The only place we were treated like we were invisible was the Stonington Gallery. I know the work was out of our price range, but that is no excuse for being rude.
And the shopping in Pioneer is excellent too--it is always scary to walk Robert into an Asian Antiques store, and there are many of them in Seattle. Make sure you stop and see Daniel Stalcup at Chidori Asian Antiques--an amazing shop filled with both the affordable and "only for collectors". For anyone who likes rocks and fossils, carved or raw, Agate Designs is the place to stop. Also, the owner has an adorable beagle he adopted (rescued) after the dog put in many years of service as a blood donor dog for cancer research. If the dog is there, ask about him (but be prepared to shed a few tears).
I was determined to stop for coffee, and we really got lucky at Zeitgeist, where I had a soy latte that made me swoon--I swear. This is the real thing folks, and the coffee there was absolutely amazing (great flavor without the acid zing we take for "gourmet" here in the midwest). Notice in the photo above Robert swiping one of my almond chocolate meringue cookies.
For Lunch, we were off to Cafe Paloma Mediterranean Cafe, a lovely spot for lunch--I had the roasted tomatoes which were amazing and I reeked of garlic all day--who cares? I love garlic! And the owners are just adorable. A real old world experience--they make you feel so welcome.
A long walk back via Alaskan Way, which runs along the Piers--stops a Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, one of those weird old stores that has mummy's and shrunken heads along with First Nation work and cheesy trinkets. We then took a walk through Pike Place Market, which has tons of little shops along with the regular market. Luckily, we found an elevator in a parking structure to get up to the market--the "4th story" is actually street level when you get to its other side, so you don't want to take the "scenic stairs" unless you are a real masochist (or it is your first stop of the day). Robert was not interested in the Pike Place Fish "throwing", and I had seen it before--but I would definitely tell anyone going not to miss a stop at Pike Place Fish.
Finally, at 7, we make it back to the hotel, and out for a short (flat) walk to Zeek's Pizza, which was pretty damn good. Crisp crust, zesty sauce! Just how I like it.
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