Bruno and I went to Seattle for a few days, a few weeks ago so that I could get a blood test panel for this specialist in the US I'm going to see, and we decided to turn it into a mini-vacation before he started at his new job! It was a really wonderful few days, and despite being such a short trip, it was so relaxing - it was really the best and most relaxed I'd felt since I started my "sabbatical".

Hand dryer faces at one of the rest stops on the way down to Seattle

Part of our travel ritual, the first evening getting to most new places we'll hunt for a Wholefoods so I can find some Ariane-friendly rations for the trip. At most Wholefoods in the US, they seem to have great selections of gluten-free and vegan treats from local bakeries, so as usual I got some to try! They were all tasty and had good textures (which can be tricky for gluten-free foods).

Chocolate cupcakes from Flying Apron

And a HUGE ginger snap from Flying Apron

Chocolate chip cookies from Skydottir

As usual, we stayed in the Capital Hill neighbourhood because it's full of great little shops and restaurants, and is so easy to walk around. This was the second time going there for Bruno, and he already knows the area quite well. We visited all our favourite spots!

We went by Plum for a late lunch, but I had the ick so just had some tea. We usually LOVE the food there, but Bruno's lunch was so-so that day, so it didn't get documented. The pretty flowers on the table, on the other hand, did:

Bluebird cafe has house made ice cream and nice teas. Their vegan coconut milk mint chip ice cream is a favourite for both of us - it's very rich and delicious with big chocolate chunks. It's a cozy, homey little place with some couches, lots of free local papers to read, art on the walls, and board games to play. There's also a yoga studio next door. We haven't actually taken a class there yet, but it has a inviting and peaceful vibe, so someday!

Bluebird

The second evening there, we met up with our friend Jared and his son for tea at this great little tea shop Remedy Teas, where it was nice enough to sit outside (and I brought home a bag of "Licorice Fix" tea which I'm loving!) Bruno got this unearthly looking green tea cookie (which was the colour of... playdough?) We still hadn't had dinner, so on Jared's recommendation, we went to find take-out for Bruno at Highline, which turned out to be this grungy kind of 'metal' dive bar that makes shockingly good vegan food. I can't remember what this was called, but Bruno scarfed it down and gave it the horns (is that what you call this hand sign?), so I think it was enjoyed.

We made multiple trips to Elliott Bay Books, one of my favouritest bookstores in the PNW - I spent several hours there in just the couple days. Looked through books on art, crafting, travel, graphic novels, their huge magazine (and small zine) collection... Bought a few gifts, but kept the purchases for myself limited since I have a backlog of books waiting to be read right now. Still thinking of ordering (or picking up next time) this book on design - it had really nice folk art and moder designs in it: 

And for the crafty and knitterly folk, this one on natural dyes looked really interesting and fun to experiment with:

I have reminder photos of about 10 other books sitting on my phone for later (a new tactic for not having to BUY ALL THE BOOKS!), and I know I will be back there next time we're in town, it's a staple on the tour de Seattle nowadays.

And the trip ended with another high point, as we being multitaskers were also applying for Bruno's new work permit on the way back up through the border. The border office wasn't very busy, and Bruno came out with a 3 year permit, which is fantastic! He'll be set while the permanent residence application goes through the system. Yay!