Seattle Venture

I know you are all just itching to hear how the trip to Seattle went for the special event, so I'm finally going to fill you in.

Chillaxin' with the Filipinos.

First of all, I didn't get to take pictures this time at the event, but the friends were great. I stayed with a dear family and they stuffed me like a spoiled little pig. It was great. Friends came over in the evening, and we had a blast. I had a wonderful privilege of sitting in on their Family night and I have never enjoyed it so much. It was a precious experience. The special event meetings were truly enlightening and possibly the best yet! But the treasures just seem to keep coming with great pieces of delight in each one, and encouragement to keep us on our toes given the times. Anyways, I won't spoil it for those who haven't heard it yet, but you definitely don't want to miss it! I look forward to hearing it again in English.

She came, she saw, she conquered...the food stuffs.

Now for the rest. I arrived at the airport at 1:50 am only to have a dear new friend from the Japanese speaking field pick me up to catch some zzz's at her place until later. Then I took the Link Rail to the airport, which was nice to  experience again and was a good reminder that I wasn't dreaming. The friends picked me up and then after I caught a little extra sleep, they took me to The Great Wall *of china ehem* of which I conquered!

It's like that fun little fishing game...but better.

Then the friends took me to a sushi bar (not alcoholic beverage kind of bar! The kind that has sushi on a belt.). We had a blast. I think the overall experience was what was so great! After sushi, we stopped by Uwajimaya's to pick up some items for the the event.

YUM!

 So the rest was covered in the opening paragraph. After the event, a friend picked me up for a little get-together for a visiting couple from Japan. That night we enjoyed food and conversation. I met some new people and then everyone got together to listen to the visitors' experiences and ask the visitors questions. It was great, there was just one problem. I'm not fluent in Japanese! But a sweet native speaker there voluntarily translated for me! My heart leaped with joy!

Icon Grill. Good food. Good prices. Nice atmosphere. A+

 I ended up staying the night, and the friend kept me up way too late (it was actually my fault)! The next day, she had to work for a few hours. I went to the Icon Grill and enjoyed a cup of coffee and ended up having lunch there. A surprisingly tasty healthy sandwich with a sweet pear salad. The atmosphere is an energetic, and yet relaxed atmosphere.

Monorail overhead.

A neat little alley with a quaint little Vespa.

After staying up too late again (I seemed to have a thing for making her suffer!). She went to work a little while the next day too. Meanwhile, I went to the Icon Grill again, to try out the macaroni. It had a very impressive presentation, and was very cheesy. I have to say, if you only like macaroni and cheese from kraft or velveeta (very simple), you may not like it at the Icon Grill. But if you’re open to different things and like upscale macaroni, you just might want to try it. I found it very tasty. After lunch, I set off to Seattle. I went to the Westlake Mall and checked out the shops. Walked around Pike's market a bit.

His arm holding the hammer moved!

After work, my friend took me around Seattle to some places I hadn't been yet. It was great! We walked by the Museum of Art. A place to visit next time when I get a City Pass (to visit Museum of Science (Sci-Fi), Museum of Art, Museum of Flight, and of course the Seattle Sea Life Center).

Beautimous A-girl

Shouldn't that girl be in a kimono?!

 We went down this peaceful looking area, with a bunch of steps leading to the "ocean front". It had cherry blossom trees (one of the wonderful sights of Seattle) and water fountains. So of course, we snapped a couple pictures.

My pony was intimidated by the other ponies.

We went by some neat little shops...and some pretty strange ones. One of the shops had strange things that reminded me of a place my siblings and I used to go to called the Fantastic Museum...I wonder if it's still around. Then we went to this indoor "carnival" place. It was like a carnival and arcade combined. Of course, we had to take a ride on the carousel. Although, my pony seemed to be having a bad hair day...must not have gotten his coffee yet...poor guy. To be honest, that's why I picked him. To give him a boost of confidence. I know what it's like when you haven't had your coffee yet, it's tragic. My friend tried to take me to get some fresh donuts down at the Pike's Market (they make them right in front of you). But they already sold out.

Maserati Quattroporte

As we were walking Seattle we spotted a beautiful Maserati (Quattroporte I think), so we had to snap a pick. I mean, it is a rare sight for Frigid Arctic dwellers like me! The lady seemed a little nervous though, I guess she's not used to tourists being car enthusiasts, hehheh.

So many DDR machines *tear*

Then after much groveling, my friend agreed to go Gameworks and Cheesecake Factory with me...in that order of course. She was so accommodating the whole trip, as all the friends were. I was so spoiled! So she snapped a picture of me playing DDR (I was so off that day!), and we left no evidence that we went to Cheesecake Factory afterwards *shifty eyes*.

Enjoying a cup of coffee next to a fire...OUTSIDE!

Then she took me by a neat little discount book store, we browsed the Japanese section. I found a couple authentic mangas (of course in Japanese) for a very affordable price. I was able to identify one of them and knew it was safe, and browsed the other...it looked safe. They're good to get a start in reading Japanese (Hiragana, etc.). I also found something even better, a neat little kiddie pad to learn Katakana. It looks very effective.
Then we went by this cool shop and had a cup of coffee by a fire...outside! It was great!
Then another friend came and we had a sleepover!

Coffee art...tis a beautiful thing.

The next day I joined some volunteer work with the Japanese field while A-girl (see picture above) went to work. Then walked around Seattle a little more with Emmy-girl (gotta love nicknames), then went back to engage in more volunteer work, then A-girl dropped me off at the airport after their meeting.

Mmm...fresh donuts.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, I went down to the Pike's Market while A-girl was at work and after a fight scene similar to what I imagine the Stock Market to be like, I acquired those donuts (I was kidding about the whole fight thing...come on guys! Really!) They were indeed delicious. I also went to this awesome place called the Essential Bakery, the guy making the coffee had some mad art skills. The camera really didn't do it justice. By the way, in case any of you are wondering, yes, the picture to the left is what happens when I don't straighten my hair...on a good day.

Well, that's it for now. I'll try to post something tomorrow on a Random Girl's Thoughts about a mission that I just completed tonight! Don't forget to head over there.
Take Cafe readers! (I wonder if anyone remembers that one?)