Best People Watching in Seattle

Due to visiting family and a west coast road trip, I haven't posted in awhile so I have some catching up to do to get current!

Wanna take a load off, grab a snack and do some "real people" watching? Look no further than the Golden Arches corner of 3rd and Pine across from Macy's.

This place is a veritable Cirque de Seattle so be prepared: downtown workers in "Seattle Suits"*, street kids with neon-colored hair and their dogs with neon-colored hair, non-street kids with neon-colored hair, old ladies with neon-colored hair, tourists with loaded shopping bags, locals with flower bouquets in hand coming from Pike Place Market, cross dressers, hipsters, homeless...

Try to get a seat by the window. This corner has major department stores, social service centers and bus stops so there's lots of pedestrian, loiterer, cyclist, bus & cab action/interaction.

People here are friendly. My counter guy was having the time of his life gossiping and joking with his female co-workers in Spanish. He had pink cheeks and lipstick, thick black eyeliner and mascara and he handed me my change with a dramatic flourish and a wink. I turned down a "free" hot fudge sundae being offered me by a homeless man sitting at the adjacent table. Even the dude with the dreads hanging to the floor talking to his imaginary friend was in pleasant conversation. On my way out, the street kid with blue hair asked for a dollar, I searched my pocket and realized I only had a twenty so I said sorry, no. He said that's OK, have a nice day!

Where else can you have all this fun for under $5?


*"Seattle Suit" is a term I coined for what most professionals wear in Seattle in Fall, Winter and early Spring. The outfit consists of slacks (Dockers or something similar in black or grey or jeans), a blouse or sport shirt and a North Face type jacket, preferably in black. Black shoes or boots. This is the same outfit for men and women. Anyone choosing to wear a "real suit" will be looked upon as an uptight freak.

Kenny G-Spotting! :-)

No, seriously, I was walking to the ATM at the market and there he was
getting some bread at 3 Girls Bakery! Kenny G! My first star sighting.
This is his butt or lack thereof.

Jimmy and I go for Coffee on Cinco de Mayo

Being on the 5th floor of an historic building that faces Elliot Bay, you expect a nice breeze most days. Today I woke up to whistling wind and rain battering the apartment windows. By 9am, Pike Place Market, usually bustling with vendors setting up their booths for the day, looked dead. I'm sure the inside booths will be in full swing by 10:30 or so as usual, jam packed with tourists- what better thing to do on a dreary day like this?

I spy on the market visitors to determine how I will dress for the day. Hmmmm, are most people wearing jackets and hats, jeans and t-shirts or shorts and tank tops? The weather varies like that on a daily basis and sometimes my "weather dude" who hangs in the kitchen gets it all wrong. Today he says it's 50 degrees, he is dressed in long pants and long-sleeved shirt...and his sun is shining. No umbrella. Does he somehow knows he's in Seattle? When I moved here people said locals didn't carry umbrellas but that's not entirely true. On days like this you definitely need one, but most Seattle rainy days are on and off spits and sputters between sun breaks. A hat is a better choice, especially downtown where an umbrella can be a nightmare to maneuver on the busy sidewalks.

I got another compliment on my Jimmy Carter coffee mug today (a gift from my brother who was going to sell it on craigslist until I saw it and HAD to have it) down at Caffe' Lieto. Everyone loves Jimmy with his peanutty patina and cheery smile! Got my cafe americano and stepped outside to people watch for just a few minutes before getting to work on my job search for the day and writing this post.

WAIT! Whaaat? Does that Asian woman walking toward me on the sidewalk in rolled-up designer skinny jeans, high heeled Jimmy Choo's, a Louis Vuitton on one arm and a Coach on the other have rabies? She's foaming at the mouth! Oh my God, this is weird and a little scary...ohhhh, OK, she's just brushing her teeth...and spitting the foam out on the sidewalk right in front of the entrance to my building. OK, that's all it was. Not weird at all.

Buskers at Starbucks

Seattle and Pike Place Market in general has some wicked talented buskers. The buskers at the market must purchase an annual permit and perform only in designated spots marked with red musical notes. My favorite is a group called A Moment in Time. They're usually in front of the original Starbucks singing a capella Gospel, R & B and your favorite Motown hits. Today they were letting people from the crowd join them for a song...as is the girl with the ice-cream cone in this clip. Enjoy!

Don't forget to tip the buskers, they're key to the vibrant atmosphere of the market.

Sidewalk Sighting- Lower Queen Anne

Buskers in the Park

Looking down from the rooftop deck of our apartment building we can see Victor Steinbrueck Park, a little oasis of green grass near Pike Place Market that overlooks Elliot Bay. Since it was sunny and in the 70's today, there were lots and lots of people sitting around in the grass enjoying the day. I decided to walk through the park on my way to pick up some home brewing supplies at Market Cellar Winery. I stopped to listen to the buskers of the hour, a 4-piece old-timey rootsy, bluesy band out of St. Louis: Pokey LaFarge. I broke down and bought a $3 bag of caramel kettle corn from the street vendor and sat on the ledge and enjoyed some sweet tunes.

Rachel the Pig

Rachel the Pig is the Pike Place Market Mascot. She is actually an oversized bronze piggy bank standing under the famous market sign and clock at the corner of Pike St. and Pike Place. All proceeds collected from Rachel go to The Market Foundation and its charitable programs.

Pike Place Market uses the pig theme in other ways too. At Christmas, plastic pigs are strung with lights and displayed along the rooftop. Currently, on Western Avenue, the road that runs along the west edge of the market, there is construction blocking one of the entrances. Signage intructs one to "follow the pink piggies" to a useable entrance. In typical Seattle style, one of the pigs has already been decorated with an amusing (yet sobering) sticker.



That's one of the neatest things about living in Seattle. Everywhere you go, people have added their creative touch to normal, everyday surroundings. There's a surprise around every corner!








The construction fence at the market was even decorated Rachel-style! How cool is that?

Permanent Vacation/ Caffe' Lieto

I haven't quite gotten over the feeling I'm on holiday since moving downtown. There are such a wide variety of things to do within a four block radius of my apartment that it is sometimes overwhelming! Today, I decided to create this blog and consolidate all my networking sites and links into my google account. No need to get showered or dressed up for that. I threw on some wrinkled pants, a shirt and scarf, smoothed down my bedhead and grabbed a clean coffee cup out of the cupboard. Took the stairs down to my favorite coffee shop, Caffe' Lieto*, ordered the best Cafe Americano in Seattle from the proprietess, Rena, and stepped outside to light up a smoke.

The sidewalk had a steady stream of commuters and my crazy appearance didn't rate a second look from any of them. Saw a guy with 1960's polyester Beatle's-style pants, a striped cable knit sweater and a hipster briefcase (a manpurse that holds your laptop); the homeless dude that stands in the phone booth across the street all day was at his post; a man was observing his unleashed pitbull pee on the corner of the building; a pair of tourists were looking confusedly at the "pay to park" machine. Good morning, Seattle.
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*Caffe' Lieto is near the corner of 1st and Stewart. Local art is displayed (and for sale) on the walls and there is a comfy sofa and window seats with pillows so you can sit and people watch onto 1st Avenue. Outdoor seating is available on the 1st Ave. sidewalk. There are several computers with internet access available for 15 minutes free with purchase and a small fee thereafter, or you can use the wi-fi. Espresso is the specialty, I don't believe I've ever seen a drip coffee sold here although I'm sure it's delicious also. Rena offers all the traditional espresso drinks at more affordable prices (12 oz Americano- $1.80) than the chain coffee shops and with a more personal touch. Introduce yourself and she'll greet you by name next time you stop in. Bakery items from a local bakery are delivered daily- try the humongous Banana Blueberry Vegan Cookie- a meal in itself that tastes like dense banana bread with fresh blueberries baked on top. Yummy! Rena offers a variety of ready-made sandwiches: Turkey, Tuna Melt, Club, Caprese, Reuben, etc.($6.90) that can be grilled on the panini press for a quick lunch option. Salads are a winner too; fresh, generously sized and priced right at $5 or less.