Monday, April 19, 2010

What we did in Portland and Seattle when the band isn't performing

Following the earlier post of the musicians, here's what we did when the musicians aren't on stage
We are fortunate enough to have Jacob's family host us. We stayed with his very young grandmother (grammy) in Portland. Grammy is a pianist and an organist. Above is grammy's piano room and below is her pipe organ in the living room!
Grammy has lots of collection I love! Above is a piece I found in the guest room

A full orchestra conducted by the penguin!

We toured around Portland and had lunch with grammy before we got on the road to Seattle. We stayed with Jacob's family near Alki Beach.
Alki Beach
Beautiful sandwork - an artwork collaboration by the stones and waves

Pictures of the musicians
Chris

Jacob and Drew

Strangers

View of the city from a parking lot

Port of Seattle

Best pizza place in West Seattle

We had a free day before the show in the evening so Chris and I decided to see the city while the Drew and Jacob were at the jam session.
Macrina Bakery & Cafe

Chris had the meze plate with bacon and dates crostoni, salad, and Rustic Galette (rainbow chard, roasted spring onions and sauce verte) shown above and I had grilled crostoni with Gorgonzola, roasted pear, arugula and toasted hazelnut. The blend of all flavors is perfect. Coffee is excellent too.

This is one of the best bakery I have been to. I like it so much that I asked for a copy of the menu to take home with. The menu changes weekly depending on ingredients in season. I love this quote on the menu:
"Like art revolutions come from combining what exists into what has never existed before" - Gloria Steinem

We had wanted to come to this bakery since we stopped here in August on our roadtrip. We stayed at Ace Hotel across the street at that time but the timing never worked out so we made sure to head to Belltown for brunch here this time.

Olynpic Sculpture Park
www.seattleartmuseum.org
Space Needle through the structure "Eagle" by Alexander Calder

Stinger by Tony Smith

Wake by Richard Serra
Description from Seattle Art Museum's website:
"For Richard Serra, space is a substance as tangible as sculpture. He uses materials and scale to alter perception and to engage the body, encouraging consciousness of our relation to space. The towering, curved steel forms of Wake were achieved with computer imaging and machines that manufacture ship hulls, including a demilitarized machine that once made French nuclear submarines. It is composed of five identical modules, each with two S-shaped sections positioned in inverted relation to one another—gently curving serpentines of convex and concave parts that suggest tidal waves or profiles of battleships. The surface of acid-washed, weather-proof steel reinforces this industrial effect. Wake's powerful silhouette belies a complex configuration of parts: the whole cannot be known at once, only experienced with physical movement and progressively over time."


Discovery Park

Fire hydrant in the woods?
We found out later that this used to be a navy base, which explains our surprise of the encounter of sprouts of hydrants every half hour during the hike


The above and below are taken by Chris

After a good afternoon of hike and fresh air, we stopped for oyster and a quick dinner before heading to the show. While waiting for our dinner, I saw this boy returning the cart after his family loaded the boat. They must be getting ready to head out for an overnight sail or fishing trip.

Then it's show time! See my last blog for pictures from Gallery 1412.

One last cup of coffee before saying bye to Seattle