This past weekend I went to Seattle with my girlfriend who was there for the AMS/SMT joint conference. I wasn’t there for the conference myself–though I did attend a few papers–but rather to just spend time experiencing Seattle and to see some extended family whom I haven’t seen in quite some time.
We left very early in the morning Thursday and arrived in Seattle around 9:00AM, welcomed with an absolutely gorgeous day. With some time to spare before the conference began, we were able to spend a little time at the Pike Street Market and walking around the city before Lisa headed off to the conference and I to the hotel.
The next three days were overcast and gray, so I guess we were par for the course with one day beautifully sunny and the rest beautifully gray.
A busy few days, the hilights of my trip were:
The First Day
The first day was gorgeous and really left quite an impression on me, how wonderful a town Seattle is. It was nice being able to spend time with Lisa on our own to take in the city and quietly walk around the town.
The Public Library
An absolutely wonderful building, the exterior only a hint at the marvel of space held within. I managed to go through twice, taking wonderful walks from the top of the building down the spiral floors, exploring, marvelling at the colors and structures.
Vivace Coffee
At the recommendation of Tom Hart, I took a bit of a walk from downtown to Capitol Hill and after a bit of searching I found this amazing coffee shop. The cafe had a wonderful spacious feel, a view of trees to the rear, and fantastic coffee drinks. I sat with a cappucino and my laptop, completely relaxed in this wonderful environment, and worked away with blue and lilypond, completely satisfied.
Seeing My Family
It had been some 12 or 14 years since I had seen my Aunt and cousins and it was an absolutely joy to see them after so much time and to catch up. Seeing family is always great and I really hope to be able to spend more time with them in the future.
All in all, I found Seattle to be quite a beautiful town. I hope to be able to go back sometime soon and to explore the city and perhaps some of the gorgeus natural settings that surround it.