Seattle: Public Places

There were a few hours on our Seattle trip when we were bug free and we made the 3 minute journey from our hotel room, down the elevator, across the lobby, over the street to the place I've had on my must-visit list since 2004: Seattle Public Library.


Apart from the cool Rem Koolhaas architecture, there's the fastest, smartest book location system, a "living room", banks of computers, dedicated teen section, a writer's room. I could go on for ever... I could have stayed forever


The children's section that has the best language resources I've ever seen


and great art, too: Mandy Greer's "Babe"


The Guy and I did a self-guided tour (there's even a podcast) but there are guided tours available that last about an hour, too.


We split up eventually and met later outside the meting room. I recognised The Guy because he was the only non-rouge item on that floor.


The library people are so friendly - they really seem proud of their library and want to show it off - even security was happy. If I worked here, I'd be pretty damn buoyant as well.

Seattle: What happened?

I'll just say that if you have to get 24 hours of unrelenting stomach 'flu and if you are unfortunate enough to be away from home, I would recommend the Seattle Renaissance, Suite 2710 as the place to be because when you're eventually able to open your eyes without the room spinning you will have this fantastic view of the city.


And this one, towards Pioneer Square, too.


You can watch the weather roll in from every angle for the next day or so while you recover. Looking across Puget Sound by day


and night


until it's time to leave.

Seattle: Where Are You?

An hour ago we could see Puget Sound and The Space Needle, now we're cocooned in the clouds up here on the twenty-seventh floor.

Weekend Off

We worked hard on the house the previous two weekends so we decided we deserved a couple of days free. Bonus: the weather was perfect - blue skies and temperatures in the 70s.


What better relief from renovation and maintenance stress than to spend Saturday looking at someone else's construction? Doug + Mike Starn on the Roof: Big Bambú at the Metropolitan Museum of Art .


It would have been remiss to visit the Met without touring the world and indulging in a little time travel. So we let the parade go by and spent couple of hours wandering amazed through The World of Khubilai Khan, popped by Ringo Starr's Golden Drum, stopped at the Sachsen-Teschen Silver Service Vienna Circa 1780: An Imperial Silver Service Rediscovered to see how a napkin should be folded and ended the day at The Palace of Versailles.

Androgynous

This confused The Guy no end. One of a pair marking the restrooms at our hotel in Paris. Très chic mais pas évident.

Sunday Morning Belgian Style

Yes, there are stalls selling socks - and even mattresses - but Belgian markets are first and foremost about the food,


shopping for lunch, brunch or the rest of the week


mouthwatering rotisserie chicken


something sweet and nutritious for dessert


choosing flowers for the table


and enjoying a treat while you browse.

Strip Feest

That's strip as in comic strip or BD (Bande Dessinée) Brussels 2010, not the kind you catch at the "gentlemen's club".

A two-day celebration of comics starting with a balloon parade through the centre of town on Sunday afternoon. This gets better and better every year.

If I had better planned my life I would be there this weekend through the next so I could join in the fun and catch Josh Ritter at the Botanique on Thursday. Next time!