Seattle's been good to me and my thighs

Reality hit today when I had to head to my conference while Cynical lounged in the room. While I was off expanding my job knowledge and networking, he got to relax in the room and contemplate what the afternoon held. It's hard to feel sorry for him, all nestled in the room with more "Law and Order" than a guy can stand.

At lunch, however, we were able to meet up for lunch at a local sandwich place, Simon's, and to visit a library that had fascinated us since our arrival, as we can spy it from our hotel.

Central Library is perhaps the most innovative library and one of the most interesting buildings I have ever seen. The colorful, angled, intuitive design is creative, eye-catching and welcoming. I was most fascinated by a book drop that hoisted the books to the librarians via an elevator system. An illuminated yellow escalator moves you from floor to floor. Tucked in every corner are pieces of stark, simplistic, yet comfortable furniture. It does, of course, also sport a coffee shop. And then it was back to uncomfortable chairs, taking notes and monotone speakers.

After I scampered (yes, I do sometimes scamper) out of my last session, we headed back downtown in search of some interesting jellies and some lavendar honey from the market. Alas, no honey, but we are all set with our merlot wine and lime pepper jellies. (Yes, jellies. . . what better to haul across the nation, but jellies?) I also picked up a few handmade glass items selected as Christmas gifts. Cynical snagged some beautiful strawberries destined to be a late night snack. In the midst of all of this, we managed to snag a cache too, adding Seattle, WA to our list.

We had dinner at the Athenian overlooking the water. You might recall it as a spot shown in "Sleepless in Seattle". Afterward we stopped by the homeplace of Starbucks, complete with the original logo. (This photo is for you, Madretz.)

Some more uphill walking (my thighs are feeling the burn). A late night cup of coffee (decaf. . . our sleeping schedules are screwed up as it is). And we're all set for tomorrow.

PS: Did I tell you we saw the guy from the Real World: Seattle, the one that threw fish and dated Janet? He's still chucking salmon for a living.

Photos:
-Two picks of Central Library.

-Sunset over Elliott Bay.

-The original Starbucks. . . the mothership of my coffee obsession.