Eating our way through Seattle

It’s the end of week 2 of my family medicine rotation but it hardly felt like a work week this week because I had some amazing company for Wed-Sat! My parents came to Seattle to do some shopping for some new and updated furnishings for the mansion. Since I was working until 5 or 6 each night, it only made sense for us to meet up for dinner after work….so we dined and dined and dined some more and it was incredible!

Wednesday after work we got to enjoy the sunshine for a walk around Volunteer Park. This included a look through the windows of the solarium (which was closed)

 And some views of the gorgeous azalea bushes (mom was jealous because Montana doesn’t grow them like we do).

Then we had a nice night out on the town in downtown Seattle. We started at Purple, the wine bar with the amazing wine staircase as our backdrop.

 Mom and I shared a “flight” of wine- a sampler of three wines that are progressively different in flavor. We chose a sweet flight since I’m such a sweet tooth. And, I learned that there’s a little more of an “adult” form of my palate coming out because some of it was too sweet for me. I thought I’d never see the day!

 The following night we enjoyed a nice dinner with Tom and a walk around Gas Works park at dusk followed by Molly Moon’s (because obviously we couldn’t go through a dinner meal without having dessert to follow!)

 Friday night couldn’t come soon enough. Work was fun and all, but not when you’ve got family waiting! After checking out some furniture for the Garden Room down in Sumner, we dined at The Rock with some fabulous pizza and a bucket to share.

 Then, thanks to a tip from a family friend, we were off to a new ice cream experience called Sub Zero in Federal Way.

 You pick your base of milk or yogurt product then add in your toppings (it was quite a list to choose from).

 Then, you choose the consistency of ice cream that you want.

 Then, they use liquid nitrogen to get the milk to harden to your liking.

 It was yummy—yet again another great dessert after a fabulous dinner. 

Then Saturday finally arrived –the day I had been looking forward to all week because we were headed up to the Skagit valley tulip festival!

Everything bloomed earlier this year because of the unseasonable warmth we had in February, but there were still plenty of tulips in bloom and it was a sight to be seen.

 The photos never do it justice

 We managed to escape the rain and got sun with a breeze that was kind of chilly but so much better than rain!

After the tulip fields we went to downtown La Conner to have some fish and chips and chowder on the water front. They were delicious too—and some of the best chowder I think I’ve ever had!

After another walk in the park with the pup, we were ready for a “Scooby snack” (since, after all, we didn’t get dessert at the restaurant so we were messing with our now-normal routine of dessert with each meal together). So, we stopped in at La Crema coffee

It was a cute building that felt like a greenhouse and offered some delicious coffee and tea.

For the final evening meal together we dined at Amazing Thai, a local favorite for me and Tom. And, as tradition would have it for the weekend, we tried out a new dessert place called the Pie Bar.

This place was INCREDIBLE!

 The atmosphere was amazing. It was the tiniest little shop I’d ever seen, tucked into an oddly triangular space but it worked.

The kitchen was cute and they really knew how to maximize space in this place.

 They had one mixer and a convection oven in the store front but I think they have a larger kitchen somewhere off-site as well.

 We got the bests seat in the house where we got to watch the pie getting served out the to-go window, the pie getting served in the restaurant and the drinks getting made at the bar.

 We enjoyed some of THE BEST pie we’ve ever tasted. The strawberry rhubarb was by far the best-and worth every penny (and calorie) that it cost!

 So, after we literally ROLLED out of bed this morning, most likely a few pounds heavier than we started last week, we embraced and said our goodbyes from the short but sweet (in more ways than one!) visit. It was such a wonderful escape without actually escaping very far. It was a welcomed pick-me-up to get me through the remainder of my third year of medical school. I can’t believe it’s almost over and I’ll be a fourth year in June. I waved goodbye to my parents and their new-goodies in the u-haul trailer for the B&B as Peyton leaned out the window. If only we didn’t live over 500 miles apart!