My friend Jessica's husband works as an audio engineer for a radio station. The station decided to broadcast from Ireland for St. Patrick's day. They paid for the two of them to go & needed someone to watch their teenagers to make sure they didn't go feral. Someone with no ties, that could up and come at a moments notice, that LIKE their children.....me.
I've never lived the mommy lifestyle but aparently from 7am til 3pm I have all the time on my hands to do whatever I want. With a Prius and a GPS I have the chance to see the sights that I wanted to see that never had the chance to in previous visits & to visit old favorites.
I'm in part blogging & also listing some things plus places for my friends that will be coming to Seattle in the weeks following. This is recon baby!
Day ONE:
I would fly into Seattle just to go to their International Market. A Nipponophile like me goes gaga over Uwajimaya. A supermarket focused on Japanese products. Most 'asian' markets are Korean so this is special. Based downtown, near the King Train Station, it is centrally located and near to Pioneer Square. If you are going over to the Underground Tour. Walk a couple blocks for lunch in their market. You know when you are in the neighborhood when you see the dragons climbing the telephone polls.
You don’t have to eat there or buy any of their cool bento goodies (like I did). You could go just to spend hours in the attached bookstore- KINOKUNIYA!!!! I wanted to buy so many books. But I bought the Christmas issure of Gothic & Lolita Bible…was tempted by a wall of fashion & music magazines…then theres the tons of craft books! Sigh, the temptation is great there.
Pioneer Park is not as interesting as it used to be. Most of the stores have closed due to the economy. There are two together that I worth popping into. On the corner is Diva Dollz. You can’t miss the great windows. www.thedivadollz.com
The inside is a scrumpsious as the windows.
Inside they sell vintage inspired shoes & dresses with fabulous corsets to put over them. I didn't have over $128 to spend on a pair or a dress but I did have the amount for a fantastic Burlesque inspired cocktail hat. Its a heart with an arrow through it. Ofcourse my battery died when I went to take a picture:( Another time I presume when I have the entire outfit done.
Next door to them is Utilikilts. Kilts for the construction work. Or like their motto goes, "We sell Freedom."
www.utilikilts.com
What caught my attention is the New Rocks. Every goth man this day owns a pair but I had never seen them in brown & tan. Apparently you'll never see them either unless you shop at their store. The owner knows the owner of New Rock & only makes them for Utilikilts. Their like the usual New Rocks but with a suede like on construction boots.That was my couple of hours. Until tomorrow!