Rachel's Ginger Beer

Rachel's Ginger Beer is located at 1530 Post Alley. They have several other locations. Their 12th Avenue and University Village locations have Happy Hour from 4-6 pm daily, when Moscow Mules and Porch Swings are $7.50.

They have quite a few options and you can ask for a taste of as many as you like. I thought their original was just okay--I prefer Blenheim's spicy taste much better. I ordered the Pink Guava. The small taste I got had good guava flavor. Once I got my 20-oz cup, it tasted like pink lemonade with a hint of guava flavor. I guess the ice diluted the flavor.

The best value is the 20-oz cup for $6.50. It is actually much more expensive to get growler refills but then again, you don't dilute the flavor with ice.

2019 03 16

Downtown Seattle and Pike Place Market

From the Fairmont, it's a 10-minute walk to Pike Place Market.

Walk by Benaroya Hall, home to Seattle's Symphony Hall.

Inside, you'll find Chihuly glass.

You'll pass the Seattle Art Museum, located at 1300 1st Ave. Entry to the museum is $24.95 but free the first Thursday of the month. The museum is closed Mon & Tue.

Walk down the Harbor Steps leading to the waterfront.

Turn right on Post Alley and you'll find a metal sculpture garden.

At the end of Post Alley, right before climbing the stairs to enter Pike Place Market, you'll find the Gum Wall. The wall wasn't as disgusting as I feared it would be. The alley is wide enough that you don't feel surrounded by gum. The Gum Wall has been in existence since the early 1990s. The tradition started when people waiting for shows at nearby Unexpected Productions stuck their gum to the wall. The wall has been cleaned once in 2015 so the gum on the wall is less than 4 years old.

You can't come to Seattle without visiting Pike Place Market. Don't call it Pike's Place--the place doesn't belong to Pike.

Piggy Bank guarding the entrance to Pike Place Market.

Near the pig is the Flying Fish stall.

The fruit and vegetable stalls are beautifully displayed.

You'll find the first ever Starbucks in Pike Place Market.

You'll also find Piroshky, Piroshky, complete with a long line.

Comic Con was in town and we came upon some participants.

2019 03 16

Fairmont Olympic Hotel

The Travelzoo deal was at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, located at 411 University Street. It was $149/night. We got off at the University Street station and walked 3 minutes to the hotel. So easy.

The Olympic Hotel was opened on December 6, 1924. It was built on the site of the first campus of the University of Washington. In 2003, the Fairmont purchased the hotel and in 2005, it was renovated.

The Italian Renaissance building is elegant. Unfortunately, its 11-story building is dwarfed by the high rises in the downtown area.

The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The lobby is beautiful. You can have Afternoon Tea ($49/person) in the Georgian Restaurant, just off the lobby.

The hotel has an indoor pool and jacuzzi. It also has a weight room, treadmills and elliptical machines. In the morning, you can pick up fruit and newspapers in the gym.

The hotel has 450 rooms and 216 of them are suites. We reserved a Fairmont King and were upgraded to an Executive Suite--room 908. I had read some complaints that the suites made the bedrooms feel small but I loved our suite. We had a separate sitting area with its own TV. It was nice to have the sitting area since we were there for 4 nights.

The bedroom is separated from the sitting area with a sliding door. The bed is incredibly comfortable.

There is a Keurig machine and a hot water heater. Coffee pods and tea bags are provided free. There is a small refrigerator and of course mini bar items to purchase. There are wine glasses and a wine opener as well.

2019 03 16

STS-SEA, Link Light Rail

Had a 4-day weekend, got a great deal for a hotel in Seattle on Travelzoo, so off we went. We flew out of STS. Love the little airport. There are only 9 flights/day so it's quiet. We arrived 40 minutes before the scheduled departure and there wasn't even a counter agent. Luckily, we had downloaded our boarding passes and didn't have anything to check. At security, there were 4 TSA agents and only 2 of us. It was a breeze. We got to our gate 10 minutes after parking our car and they were already boarding. Because all passengers had arrived, we pushed back from the gate 20 minutes before our scheduled departure.

We arrived in Seattle 30 minutes ahead of schedule. It took us a long time to walk from our gate to the Link light rail. Just follow the signs to the parking garage then to the light rail station. There is a free shuttle, if you don't want to walk the 7 minutes from the garage to the station.

Buy your tickets at the machines and take the escalators up to the train platform.

Trains come roughly every 6-15 minutes. It's a 38-minute ride to the heart of downtown and costs roughly $3. It's so convenient!

2019 03 15

Mi Cocina at Hotel Casa Natalia

Dinner was at Mi Cocina at the Casa Natalia Hotel in San Jose del Cabo.

Green Ceviche--Mex$250 ($13)--catch of the day in a tomatillo green sauce with jicama, avocados and mint. This was a large portion for an appetizer and quite good.

Beet Root Salad--Mex$340 ($17.50)--beets, fennel, green onion, lettuce, French dressing with goat cheese and nuts. This was quite good but a little pricey for a beet salad.

Grilled Octopus--Mex$320 ($16.50)--roasted tomatoes, guajillo peppers, garlic, green onions, butter and herbs. This was quite good--the octopus was tender and the sauce was tasty.

Argentinian Flank Steak--Mex$580 ($30)--chimichurri sauce, organic vegetables, potato & cauliflower gratin. The steak was chewy and the chimichurri didn't have enough vinegar taste but the gratin was delicious. Adding the cauliflower lightened it up and it wasn't too greasy.

Catch of the Day--Mex$615 ($32). The fish was well prepared and served over risotto.

Jumbo Tequila Shrimp--Mex$750 ($39)--served with risotto with wild mushrooms. The dish was good but $10/shrimp was a little pricey.

2019 02 17

San Jose del Cabo

San Jose del Cabo is a charming town located near the airport. It has a population of less than 100,000 and felt more "local" than touristy. There were plenty of shops but on a Sunday, we saw mainly families enjoying the plaza. There were few tourists in town.

The wide main boulevard reminded me of our trip to Cuba.

Flags with Christmas motif were still up.

The Mission of San Jose del Cabo was founded in 1730 but the current building was built in the early 20th century. It's the main attraction in town.

Two hours spent strolling the town and visiting the shops is plenty of time.

2019 02 17

Cocina del Mar

Cocina del Mar is located at the water's edge at the Esperanza Resort. We had a fabulous dinner there.

Scallop Aquachile--Mex$403 ($21). Cilantro-arugula, heirloom tomato, radish, serrano chile. The scallops were sliced thin and delicious.

Seared Scallops--Mex$659 ($34). Corn "esquite" sauce, carnitas, cotija cheese. The scallops were perfectly cooked but there were only 3.

Live Organic Lettuce--Mex$345 ($18). This was a head of lettuce with roots that hung through a hole in the bottom of the platter. Crispy shallot, avocado, sun dried tomato adorned the platter. The dressing was herbs and lemon and quite good.

The star of our dinner was Farmed Totoaba (a fish found only in the Sea of Cortez)--Mex$1752 ($91). This was a 13-oz portion meant for 2. It came with 3 sauces and blue corn tortillas. The fish was amazing--so tender. I'm still thinking about the fish.

Oven Grilled Ribeye Steak--Mex$965 ($50). 12 oz steak served with roasted garlic, rosemary, beef jus and creole salsa. This was good but I preferred the totoaba.

2019 02 16