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AUGUST 2012
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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
THREE PERFECT DAYS
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SEATTLE
BOARDING PASS
Want to soak up Seattle’s cultural scene, tuck into fresh seafood and go exploring along the city’s waterfront and in its
charming public parks? United can get you to the Emerald City from all eight of its domestic hubs, plus Tokyo. We also offer direct service to
Seattle from Portland and Anchorage.
Go to united.com to book your flight and get detailed schedule information.
around in a kayak. The lake is known
for its stunning natural scenery, but you
mostly ignore this, focusing instead on a
game you’ve invented called “Stay Afloat,”
and then, “Ooh, I’d Like to Live There.” A
particular joy is spo ing the houseboat
TomHanks occupied in
Sleepless inSea le
.
You’d like to live there.
The combinationof freshair andflailing
has le you with an appetite. So, having
waved goodbye to your guide back atHotel
1000, you stroll up to
Pike PlaceMarket
. Zig-
zagging through the clu er of tea and fish
and cheese and fruit, you sample crush-
ingly good clam chowder, warm sugar
doughnuts and some of the alder-smoked
salmon for which Sea le is famous. Close
at hand is the original Starbucks, which
youdecide is amust-see. Aquick la e later,
you cab it to leafy Pioneer Square, the hub
of the city’s thriving art scene.
It’s easy to get lost in Sea le’s gallery
district, and not only in terms of geogra-
phy. You spend a very contented hour or
two immersed in aworld of abstract land-
scapes and surrealist portraits, emerging
fromyour reverie onlywhen you stumble
across
Salumi Artisan Cured Meats
, a no-
frills deli with tables inside and a line out
front. The roast pork sandwich is a work
of art in its own right, as is the chocolatey
mole
salami.
You’ve booked a session at the Hotel
1000’s spa this a ernoon, but there’s no
rush. Sea le is a city that lends itself to
drawn-out journeys, and your trip to the
hotel requires that you first visit the un-
Starbucksy coffee shop
Zeitgeist
, where
you sip a well-rendered espresso while
regarding the array of jazzy collages adorn-
ing the walls. From here, you mosey up to
SouthWashington Street, home of
Laguna
Vintage Pottery
, whose main aim seems to
be exploring how many different colored
glazes a single shop can accommodate; it’s
like a po er’s psychedelic dream. Finally,
you arrive at the hotel, where you enjoy
a sweaty but relaxing hour in the aptly
named
Spaahh
.
Dinner tonight is at
Tavolàta
, a studi-
ously rustic restaurant in Belltown.
Seated at a communal table, you order a
salad heaped with anchovies, parmesan
and fried capers. You notice that the folks
next to you are munching on smoked
albacore brusche a, and you can’t resist
ordering one of those, too. Given that this
place specializes inhouse-made pasta, you
gowith a classic for themain: pappardelle
with beef ragu and mascarpone. Rarely a
bad bet, it’s a particularly good one here.
Next, you’re off to
The Funhouse
, a
punk-rock club located just below the
Space Needle that has scary-clown décor,
a leather-clad crowd and very loudmusic.
Headlining tonight is The Cry, a group of
Ramones-influenced kids from Portland.
Near the bar, you spot a staid-looking
businessmannodding in time to themusic,
which strikes you as a fine example of the
city’s democratic social scene. You leave the
club thinking of a quote you saw earlier,
fromChief Sea le, for whom the city was
named. “All things share the same breath,”
he said, “the beast, the tree, the man.”
Which says a lot about the spirit of this
place, even now.
MICHAEL KAPLAN
is currently working on
ways to get Dr. John out of his head.
SIP CHECK
Zeitgeist barista
Samantha Held delivers an
artfully rendered espresso