Seattle

On a whim, we decided to go to Seattle. Work and life have been crazy lately so we basically threw a dart on the map and Seattle won.

It seems we arrived on day one of the rainy season but that is okay. We took the “light rail” from SeaTac airport to downtown Seattle. Very inexpensive way to travel - $3.00 per person.

After a quick stop at the hotel to unload our luggage we headed to The 5 Point Cafe for lunch. Nothing to rave about so we will move on.

During our walk we quickly realized that Seattle drivers are incredibly polite. If they see you on a street corner waiting to cross, they just stop and let you walk. Was not expecting this in such a large city.

Anyway, it should have been a quick couple block walk back to the hotel. The roads in downtown Seattle are not at right angles and because we were new to navigating Seattle, I got out my iPhone and utilized maps for walking directions back to the hotel.  The sidewalks are not even and quite difficult to walk if you are not paying attention and I was paying more attention to my phone for directions and not my feet.  Down I went. First my ankle turned and then my knees collided with the concrete. I reached out with both hands to break my fall. My iPhone was in my left hand. As I continued forward my iPhone went screen first into the sidewalk. Then came my face. Knee was skinned and bleeding, temple was swelling and worst of all, my precious Project Red iPhone screen was cracked with pieces of glass falling loose.

Then Seattle happened. First I noticed a vehicle slow and take note of me laying on the ground. As my husband helped me up they moved along. I brushed myself off and we headed up the sidewalk. As we reached the next corner the same vehicle, an ambulance, pulled to the curb. The paramedic in the passenger seat sincerely asked me if I was okay. I told him I just had scrapes but my iPhone did not fair so well. He double checked that he could not be of help and I said I would be fine. I was shocked that they came around the block to check on me.

Once back at the hotel, my husband looked up the addresses for Apple Stores in the area. We decided on the University Village location. Uber got us there in a little over twenty minutes. First thing we noticed was how nice the shopping center was. Beautiful boutique style shops. Somewhere in the middle of all of the shops was a huge wall of glass with the big white Apple on the wall.  I was so hoping that they would just tell me all was going to be okay and they could just fix my iPhone and we could continue our vacation.

See Day 1 Continued.

The the River to the Cemetary.

We started off the day with a walk to the docks by the old JAX Brewery to board the Natchez steamboat for a jazz cruise on the river. The weather was perfect.

This was a cool human mannequin. 

We had gumbo and poboys at a diner in the Quarter.  The lunches were good but not good enough to mention the restaurant name.

After lunch we headed north to St. Louis Cemetary No. 1. We were told by a guard at the entrance that we could only enter the cemetery with a tour, tours were $20 each and the last one had already entered. About a half mile up the road was St. Louis Cemetery No. 2.  The neighborhood was kinda sketchy and under construction but it was only about a 10-15 minute walk. This cemetary was not kept up as well as No. 1 but it was very interesting to walk around and think of the history. 

After exploring the cemetary we made our way back to Jackson Square. The roads around the Square were filled with many tourists, entertainers and vendors. There were tarot card readers to caricature artists. We met an adorable little six year old Girl Scout selling cookies. Yup, we bought a box to snack on during the train trip home. Her dad recommended The Praline Connection on Frenchman for dinner. He also said Frenchman Street is where the locals go for music. 

The restaurant was bright and classy not the typical bar/restaurant like most. I had the seafood sampler. It was a combination of shrimp, oysters, a crab cake and catfish fillets over a bed of salad and French fries.  My husband had fried chicken and our friends had Étouffée. Everything was absolutely delicious. There was more food on the table then we could all eat. I highly recommend Praline Connection. 

Tomorrow: swamp tour!!

Beignets at Cafe du Monde

After a full day of travel, we are now in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Our hotel was built of seven historic buildings dating back to the 1860s and is listed on the US register of national historic places.  One wall of our room is whitewashed brick with a small wood fireplace.  The ceiling is exposed beam.  Each room has its own unique character. 

After checking in and checking out our room, we walked down to Cafe du Monde for a late night snack of  beignets.  As expected, they were amazing.

Boots and BBQ

 Today was another fabulous day of more amazing buildings, more amazing street art, and more outside cafés, bars and restaurants.

Pic below is the San Antonio Scottish Rite. 

 San Antonio has done a beautiful job of restoring and revitalizing the city center. Vintage signage has been restored and adds to the colorful streets. I cannot say enough about the Texas hospitality. The people here are so helpful and welcoming. The city is exceptionally clean. Wonderful smells of fresh Tex-Mex food and barbecue fill the air wherever we go.

 This is a mural painted on tile on the side of a Goodwill store by the Mexican Market.  Note that even the people on the sides are part of the painting. 

 Today I checked two boxes on my Texas to do list. First we took Uber to the outskirts of San Antonio to find boot shops. It took a bit, but I found a comfy pair of leather and python boots.  I'll try to add a picture of those tomorrow.

 Second box: we met up with our friends for a late lunch/early dinner.  We had asked multiple local people where to find the best Texas barbecue. Absolutely everyone suggested Augies on Broadway.

 The outside of the building was nothing special and the inside was decorated in typical casual Texas barbecue flair.  We were told the best place to find good food was in the local dives, and they were right.  I wasn't sure if I wanted beef or pork ribs. The man at the counter was more than willing to give me samples of each. I went with beef ribs (smoked 12 hours), with sides of creamed corn and potato salad. It was a local lady that gave me the advice to try the creamed corn. It was the sweetest creamed corn I'd ever tasted.  There was a moment during my meal that I just sat back, closed my eyes and savored in the moment.

 During the evening we walked around the Riverwalk Mall and La Villita historic arts village.   The temperatures here are warm but the constant breeze made for a gorgeous evening.

Good by River Walk!!

Remember the Alamo

Flowers, bald cypress, cool breezes and Texas pride are abundant in San Antonio.

The Spanish influence on architecture is everywhere you look in San Antonio from the missions to cathedrals to the parks.  Tex-Mex food is served in every other restaurant on the River Walk.  The people are so friendly and welcoming.

We had breakfast at Charlie Wants a Burger Sports Bar. I had 2 tacos with fresh made tortilla shells, one sausage and egg and the other chorizo and egg. Both were amazing.

We used a hop on - hop off open air double decker bus to see the city. First stop was Market Square El Mercado, a Mexican dining, music and shopping area of downtown.

We had fun walking through the dozens and dozens of shops. Streets were filled with food vendors, face painting, entertainers and shoppers. We tried a shredded chicken gordita and warm churros.

San Antonio is full of color. We noticed so many walls painted with fun colorful murals.

For an afternoon snack and a chance to rest our feet, we stopped at Texas Land and Cattle on the River Walk. The brisket nachos were super delicious. The margaritas were pretty good too!!

We finished off the night with a 35 minute open boat tour of the River Walk. This was only $10 per person and a perfect way to see the abundance of shops and restaurants. I can't express enough how incredibly clean this part of the city is.

16561 steps and now it is time to plan tomorrow.  Good night San Antonio.

Hello Lone Star State

Meals aboard Amtrak are always wonderful. Today for lunch I had a spinach salad with tomatoes and red onions.  My husband had a delicious angus burger with chips and yummy cheesecake for dessert. 

We sat with an army veteran that was originally from the Bronx but now lives in San Antonio and was visiting Chicago for the week. We are all so very different but at the same time, so much alike. You can meet wonderful people on the train and have very interesting, enlightening conversations or enjoy the quiet and views from the sleeper cars. 

The train just stopped in Fort Worth. We should be here for about 20 minutes, so this is a good opportunity to leave the train and stretch our legs.  Overcast with a few sprinkles in the air. Get the rain over now so we can have sunshine the rest of the trip.

All aboard....

Today is day one of our trip to San Antonio in New Orleans via the rail. We boarded at 4:15 PM, got settled, took a quick walk around through the sleeper car, dining car, observation car just finished a fabulous dinner with Jonathan and Melanie.

Service on the train is wonderful. I had the Amtrak signature steak – warm dinner roll, lettuce salad, flat iron steak cooked to order, served with portobello mushroom sauce, accompanied by a baked potato and green and yellow bean medley. The caramel filled warm chocolate lava cake sounded and looked delicious, but I took it to go for a late bedtime snack.

St Louis!!  How beautiful to come across the Illinois River and see the city lit up!