3 weeks later and back from NYC and I'm still ill. Sucks big time. Once I'm feeling better, I'll be posting about Seattle and NYC. The awesome photos were taken by Pablo.
Back From DC
My DC trip was shy of a week and I’m damn proud that I only packed two pairs of shoes. This is a first for me. Secretly though, I hoped this would be the perfect excuse for me to shop for more shoes. This never happened.
The majority of the days were spent hanging out with my sister, Lindsay, and Brady.
Brady is sumolicious... At 2 months, Brady weights in at 16 lbs. 8 oz... Most 5 - 6 month old babies weight 16 lbs!
Lindsay never stops accessorizing... she must always have a pair of shoes on and whatever else she's in the mood for. She's a girl after my heart.
Although it was cold and windy, we managed to make it out for a few excursions. One afternoon we went to a favorite place of mine, The National Building Museum. It’s been over a year since the opening of the Liquid Stone Exhibit and I’m still waiting for the catalog to be published. The release date for the catalog has been pushed back to February 2006. Don’t you think the catalog should be available by the opening date and not after the exhibit closes?
I’d like to visit all the concrete buildings that are featured in the exhibit. Anyone interested in starting an annual trip where we knock off a few from the list? Here are two favorites...
White Temple, Near Kyoto, Japan
Mexican Embassy, Berlin, Germany
I checked out A Building Tradition: The Work of the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts Exhibit. I love the repetition of geometric shapes used to create patterns in tiles, mosaics, stained glass, and architecture of Islam. A lot of the pieces reminded me of tiles and mosaics that I saw at the National Tile Museum in Istanbul.
After a few exhibits, shopping in the museum store, and throwing pennies in the fountain, we headed over to Teasim for lunch. The Penn Quarter location is just a few blocks from NBM.
People love teasim for their tea and food. I love their tea but am not a huge fan of their food. The menu is all over the place from traditional Japanese dishes like the Salmon Teriyaki Bento Box and Plum Ochazuke to Buffalo Burgers and the Meatball Bento Box. Most of the food is served cold and their sauces could use some work.
My Tuna Bento box was decent and HyeSook’s Scrambled Eggs with Tea Cured Salmon tasty. I’ll definitely go back for tea but skip their food.
We celebrated my sister’s birthday at Sette Bello. Sette Bello is an upscale Italian restaurant in Arlington that’s only 6 weeks old. Although we were underdressed and toting two kids, the staff was extremely polite and took really good care of us.
The food was amazing and some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had. The Calamari Fritti was tasty – it wasn’t chewy and the crispy batter melts in your mouth. The Arugula and Fennel salad was perfectly dressed with a Lemon Vinaigrette and tasted so fresh. The spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, mussels, clams and chili flakes was simple yet full of flavor. I loved everything.
My sister enjoyed her salad, Boston lettuce, walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese, and her Gnocchi. Lindsay’s favorite was the warm bread – she devoured piece after piece. Their wine list is excellent and we were pleased with our selection.
Given the portions, the quality of the food and service, I think their prices are extremely reasonable. I can’t wait to go back next time I’m in DC.
I’m realizing now that every excursion of ours revolved around eating. Another excursion of ours was breakfast at The Original Pancake House.
Their famous Apple Pancake.
My sister, Lindsay and I devoured Pumpkin Pancakes, Swedish Pancakes, Potato Pancakes, Cinnamon Apple Crepes, and a large bowl of fruit. I don’t know what was funnier – the waitresses expression after we ordered or the expressions of other customers when our food was delivered to our table.
Our experience at the Original Pancake House reminded me of when I used to go to the Scarlet Tree Restaurant and eat 2 orders of their French Toast in one sitting. Every time I placed my order with a new waitress, they would always double or triple check to clarify that I wanted 2 orders!
The Original Pancake House was founded in Portland, Oregon. Turns out there are an Original Pancake House in Seattle – anyone want to pig out on pancakes together? Or we could make a weekend road trip of it and visit the Portland Restaurant, check out some art and loads of shopping. Plus, I know of a great hotel - Hotel Lucia. It's the best hotel I've stayed at in Portland and one of my favorites in general.
Another Snow Day
I hate snow. I left snow in Seattle and now I've got snow in DC.
Two months later and I’m in DC again. Why? Because of Ms. Lindsay, of course.
We’ve spent the last two days dressing the house up for the holidays. Last night I spent many hours putting up Christmas tree lights and now my hands are all beat up from being poked by all the fake pine needles. Most people add a few strings of lights to their tree and call it good. Or they buy a fake tree that comes pre-strung with lights. But not me… every branch gets wrapped with several inches of lights. Stringing the tree with lights was a total pain in the ass but I'm a sucker for Ms. Lindsay and I'll do anything to make her day brighter.
One Night In Baltimore...
About two weeks into my stay with Lindsay & Co, I met up with Adam and his buddies in Baltimore.
Adam is brilliant and if you want to have a good time in Baltimore, call him. He started a movement called Buy a Block encouraging Baltimoreans to buy homes en masse in run down neighborhoods in order to slowly reclaim and clean up the city. Read an article printed in Baltimore's City Paper - Block Party.
We checked out an art opening and then headed over to the Otto Bar for their Underground night featuring britpop, indie, new wave, and electro dance.
Rudy, Adam and I but where's Lou? And Sam?
This guy really loves brit pop music.
Something about this stage... everyone likes to get freaky on it.
Adam hosted the after party and this is me shortly before my tired ass froze hanging out on his rooftop. I was bummed that I didn't enjoy the view as long as I would of liked. I was lame - I was inside talking on my cellie with the guys who were up on the rooftop!
Vancouver Art Gallery
Before dinner, I checked out Vancouver Art Gallery’s Friday Night event, Fuse. Fuse is hosted one Friday a month and the museum extends it's hours till 11 pm. Fuse features live dj’s, special performances, art lectures, activities, and free cocktails at the Gallery Café. All this for a discounted price of $10 instead of the regular admission cost of $15.
I was stoked to see a packed museum of hip and fun looking people checking out interesting art on a Friday night. The next Fuse event is November 25th. If any of you Seattlelites don’t have any Thanksgiving plans, this would be a great weekend to head up to Van City for a mini-vacation.
I loved the Classifed Materials Exhibit!! How could I not – I collect, classify, and archive almost everything in my life and my life! Everyday I archive my life in a minimum of 3 of 4 formats. Why do you think I love Japanese magazines so much… they love to collect, classify, and archive everything. Magazines after magazines have 2 page spreads showcasing every possible variation of one item… from yakisoba to restaurant chairs, from sneakers to Cartier watches, from pencils to pencil sharpeners… I LOVE it. When I was in the 2nd grade I started my own filing system for all my books. In the upper right hand corner of the book’s 1st page, I would write in the book’s reference number, along with year I received the book, and my name.
Classified Materials Exhibit “examines some of the ways in which artists employ, transform or challenge the processes of ordering and classifying through which conceptions of the world, and our individual positions in it, are deeply embedded.”
I loved Ellen Gallagher’s pieces that address racial identity and it’s social consequences. She creates mixed-media pieces using advertisements found in mid-century black culture magazines that she deconstructs by defacing the models and original text then rebuilds by layering different materials to portions of the models and creates new messages by combining some of the original text with text from other advertisements. Did anyone check out Ellen Gallagher’s solo show at the Henry back in February 2004?
I also loved Steven Shearer’s work. He addresses youth and alienation by creating collages of death-metal rockers inspired by found images taken from 1970’s teen magazines, discarded photo albums and downloaded images from the web. The collages were hilarious and sometimes sad. Lots and lots of photos of blue collar rockers, ass shots of nude rockers, and long, ‘rocker’ hair. One of his pieces is a ceiling covered in rock band posters complete with a bed. In order to fully appreciate the posters, you have to tilt your head way back. I couldn’t help but notice patrons viewing this piece had to strike a classic rocker pose… only things missing are a guitar and belting out Black Sabbath lyrics.
Opus Bar
After dinner I enjoyed one drink at the Opus Bar.
The bar is next to the hotel receptionist area. It’s a smallish space and boy is it ever packed!! It was packed from 5 pm till the rest of the evening. Both Elixir and Opus Bar are hot, hot, hot spots in Vancouver. I tried the Opus cocktail because I’m a sucker for a drink that’s named after the bar/restaurant. It’s their specially and might as well find out if it’s worth the namesake. The Opus cocktail was very tasty... sweet but not too sweet.
Elixir
I enjoyed dinner at Opus’s restaurant, Elixir.
It is amazing... so French and so yummy. Classic bistro set in vintage Montparnassea. Traditional bistro style chairs with updated backs... the center of the chair backs pivot to conform to your back.
The restaurant manager and waitress were super nice. I wonder if they felt bad that I was dining in such an upscale restaurant by myself... I wonder if they felt that I was stood up? In any case, service was impeccable. Very prompt and everything was timed well. Very tasty salad with red wine infused pears and candied ginger on top of watercress and endive. The halibut was also tasty but I liked my side of asparagus, spinach, and baby carrots best. The veggies were in replace of a cheese piece that I didn't care for and they were perfectly cooked with a tad bit of seasoning that added a nice touch.
Opus Hotel
I love staying at boutique hotels... I love checking out the design and layout of the building(s), the furniture, their application of their brand, the hotel amenities, the robes, the linens, their bar and restaurant, their gym, and their complimentary services. I especially love sleeping in fresh, comfy sheets without having to make my bed the next morning.
Opus Hotel is at the top of my list of luxury, boutique hotels. They have modern, yet comfortable furniture and decor. Most modern hotels are either all white and chrome with stylish furniture that is terribly uncomfortable or they have a bright and loud color scheme with over-sided furniture covered in ridiculous patterns.
Opus has four color schemes for their rooms and each color is paired with one of their ‘lifestyle concierges'. Aside from the standards that I check out, I also like discovering what each hotel does to set themselves apart from others. Most hotels recommendations for dining and activities are standard and always a miss with me. And few go so far as creating recommendations geared to specific lifestyles.
I am totally Susan and coincidentally I was given a blue room. They nailed this lifestyle. Most of these places I frequented when I used to live in Van City... dined at Glowbal, shopped at Holt Renfrew and South Granville, lived in the Kits area before moving to Davie Street, book shopping at Vancouver Art Gallery, and yes... drank Starbuck’s lattes.
What I love most about Opus Hotel is that the entire staff is super friendly and helpful. This is huge for me because I often make lots of requests... extra towels, extra amenities, overnight kit, my two wake up calls set 15 minutes apart, help with luggage to and from the room, dinner reservations (revised it 3 times), late check out, business facilities, and so much more. Plus, who wants to stay at a hotel where you aren't treated like a guest?
I also love that they offer in-town complimentary rides in their brand spanking new black 7 Series BMW. I enjoyed a ride to and from the Vancouver Art Gallery. When I called to arrange my pick up from the VAG, I was pleased that they specifically asked me where I would be standing to avoid confusion. Bonus points. You would think this is common sense but how many times have you arranged a date and then later discovered that you don’t know what side/entrance/exit to meet at?
Opus Hotel also offers the most uncommon amenity that I’ve ever received from a hotel – personal oxygen.
I guess they've got something for everyone.
Van City
20 minutes before I’m supposed to be on the road to Vancouver, I decided to stay the night. After furiously packing and booking my hotel reservation, I’m out the door. I’m 30 minuets behind schedule because of shoes... I can’t decide which ones to pack. I need...
a comfortable pair for driving
a pair for my meeting
a pair for working out
and one for going out.
I’m wasting time trying to settle on four so I pack six instead.
Back ups for my meeting and going out.
More back ups for my meeting and going out...
Both my meeting and hotel accommodations are on Mainland Street. Mainland is the heart of Yaletown and Yaletown is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Van City. In the 20th Century, Yaletown became Van City’s warehouse district and now all the cool warehouses are home to hip restaurants, pubs and clubs along with stylie boutiques, contemporary home furnishings shops, law offices, dot-com companies and movie production studios. I love the old loading docks that are now oversized walkways that sit next to and above the sidewalks. For current happenings in Yaletown, check Yaletown Info.
