We were ready for breakfast at 9 AM. Unfortunately,  because this was the start of  Labor Day Weekend, so was every other tourist in Seattle. Plan A was to eat at the hotel restaurant, but the line to get in was quite lengthy. We asked Yelp for ideas, but the closest restaurants also had long lines. The length  of the wait at Lola, where we had eaten the night before, was half an hour. Across the street, I saw a sign that said Dahlia Bakery, and found that the line moved quickly. We shared a slice of quiche (egg, bacon, potato, and scallion) and a cherry almond brioche. Both were absolutely wonderful.

On our way to the hotel yesterday, we passed a small botanical garden at the Amazon Sphere that Nick wanted to investigate further, so off we went. We learned that it is only open  to the public every other Saturday. Somewhat disappointed, we walked back to the hotel and asked the concierge for suggestions. She told us about a “Hop On, Hop Off” bus that makes seventeen stops. We thought that a few decades ago we could have hopped on and off seventeen times, but now, two stops would be plenty for us. We got tickets for the Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden and Glass.

The line to go to the top of the Space Needle reminded me of our first trip to Disney World, because it was quite long, and it snaked around so many times that it gave the illusion of being shorter. We continued to walk up and down many lanes. Then we would reach a gate, but on the other side there were more long lines. Water was misted onto us on this warm day to cool us. Eventually we reached the elevator that took us to the top of the Needle.  where we could take our time walking completely around. As watchers of Frasier, we looked for his apartment building, but there are no buildings  of any kind close to the Needle.

Fortunately, the Chihuly Garden and Glass was next door. We had seen some of Dale Chihuly’s work at the Bronx Botanical Garden some years before, but nothing we saw  there resembled  what was on display here. Chihuly studied glass blowing in Murano, Italy, and we were amazed at the size of each work of glass and at the three hundred colors he used. After the indoor exhibit, there is a garden that also contains magnificent glass art, some pieces tiny and others several feet high. While standing next to magenta glass flowers, I turned to see that on my other side, there were turquoise glass flowers. Many years ago,  a two year old student in my class  told me his favorite colors were magenta and turquoise. Sadly, this child did not live to reach adulthood, but at time like this, I know I will never  forget him.

In the garden’s outdoor cafeteria, we shared a margherita pizza  that was prepared in an outdoor brick oven, similar to the original margherita pizza that was made in Naples many years ago. Then we returned to the hotel to await the arrival of my niece Dawn and her mother, Bunny.

We were sitting in the lobby when suddenly, there they were! The Westin has two towers. Our room was in the South Tower while theirs was in the North. Unfortunately, their view was much less spectacular than ours.

We were ready for both walking and dinner. Nick found a restaurant called the Pink Door via Yelp, but we couldn’t locate it on foot. I remembered that my cousin Regina always said that if you want to find a good place to eat, ask a policeman. I approached an officer, and he knew of the Pink Door, but we soon found that without a reservation, we couldn’t get in. A few steps away, however, was a place called Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub. I had never been to an Irish Pub before, but they had four seats available. Nick and I loved our crab cakes and shepherd’s pie, while Dawn and Bunny enjoyed their sandwiches.

From there we walked to a gelateria called Bottega Italiana. I chose panna cotta, and Nick, chocolate, while Bunny and Dawn selected dairy free flavors. We enjoyed the evening breeze as we returned to our hotel.

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