Just Back from the Emerald City

Yesterday I flew back from Seattle, and, boy, are my arms tired! Actually, my whole body is tired since I took the red-eye flight.

This was my first visit to that city, aside from an unscheduled stop at the airport several years ago. I quite liked Seattle, but it took a little getting used to.

The received wisdom about Seattle and coffee shops is true. One is almost never out of sight of a Starbuck's, Tully's, Seattle's Best Coffee, or independent bakery cafe. I found one three-story mall with a Starbuck's on both the first and second floor.

But that doesn't stop a lot of other funky little restaurants from operating in downtown Seattle near my hotel, offering fish tacos, modern pizzas, sandwiches (each and every one made with red onion), seafood, organic vegetarian dishes, and much more.

And at eight o'clock in the evening, every single one of those eateries is closed.

One restaurant I really liked: Mae Phim Pike, a family-run Thai restaurant on Pike Street. I had the Kuoy Taew Tom Yum, or Hot and Sour Noodle Soup, shown above. I would have gladly gone back several times, but that was my last evening in town.