Continued from Seattle Day 2 Part 1.

Back in port.

I found it odd that the bridge for disembarking is hoisted into place by just a regular run of the mill hoist. For some reason, I thought that there would be a more proprietary system used.

What an empathetic name.

I don’t know about you, but Ivar is either a midget or those are scary giant seagulls.

Not square feet, but acres!

The hills in Seattle were unexpected. When I thought of Seattle, all these hills never really entered into my mental image until now.

Pike Place Market is at the top of these stairs.

The Down Under portion of Pike Place Market. It’s late afternoon, and many stores are already closed for the day.

The fish market portion of Pike Place Market.

Nice ad.

The floor tiles.

Crazy looking broccoli.

Cabbage bouquet. I’ll bring a head of broccoli next time I go on a date.

Still expensive even in bulk.

The well photographed Public Market sign of Pike Place Market.

Some random cheese shop in Pikes Place Market.

These converted milk jug stools reminds me of the milk jugs that I saw all over India.

My friend HH used to work here!

Must order pain au chocolat.

What’s some French baked goods without some Orangina.

The very first Starbucks.

Surprised there weren’t more people here looking at it as a tourist attraction. Then again, I don’t think it’s high tourist season right now.

It’s been a long day of walking around. Back to the hotel to rest and blog.

For dinner, we decided to go to this out of the way restaurant that HH recommended. They serve oysters!

Piece of shit new iphone os5 without google maps. I had to use the web based version and it’s just not as good. The direction says that we can catch the 674 bus here. Well, 674 is no where listed at the stop, so I asked a fellow bus waiter. Apparently 674 is now bus D. This is why subways are better, because they don’t make random name changes like that.

Bus shows up, relatively on time.

It’s $2.25 for each rider, but no change is given. I only had a $10, shit. I asked the other passengers on the bus if anyone had change for a 10 and to my great fortune, some guy had it. I’d hate to pay $5 a person to ride the damn bus.

The bus was really nice, and the clientele is also very nice. There is also wifi on the bus, and it was super fast. The fastest internet that I’ve encountered on this trip is not at Ms home, not on an Amtrak train, and certainly not in my hotel, but in a city bus. Ridiculous.

After almost a 30 minute ride up North, the bus drops us off in this sketchy area in Ballard. It’s super industrial and we are about the only people walking around in the area….WTF.

There is nothing out here, it’s all industrial space. I hope I won’t get mugged.

Seriously? Can this be the right place?

I walked by this building, and it’s the only building in the area that has any life.

Well, the one building in the area that has any sort of life turns out to be where our restaurant is located.

Narrow hallway leads to the back of the building.

I hear noise, music, and commotion.

Beautiful! I am loving this vibe.

Looking at the other diners here, this seems like a super hip place to eat.

Some fancy cocktail.

Fried brussels sprouts. Good, but not as good as Eastside King’s.

Clam tartare.

Yeah, oysters!!! 5 different types with fresh horseradish!

Smoked trout. OC loved the pickled onions more than than anything else.

Fried monk fish. We thought that we had ordered something else, but for one reason or another, this is what came out. Oh well, in the stomach it goes, yum.

Continuing with small glasses of water without ice.

Pork, cooked so that the fat renders and settles on top.

More cocktails!

Yum, pork fat.

We showed up pretty late at around 9 and managed to close down the place. Delicious. The contrast between this fancy place hidden away in an ultra industrial neighborhood really adds to the nice atmosphere inside. They also played hip hop all night long, that added to the energy of the place.

Back to the bus stop.

Love these indicators.

Our driver only charged us $4 instead of $5. Score!

A full and eventful day in Seattle today. I am definitely loving Seattle more than Portland. Seattle feels more urban and definitely not as crazy granola. I also see a lot more diverse people here. I hear people speaking different languages all over the streets.

To be continued at Seattle Day 3.