FareStart restaurant is both a school for the unemployed and a restaurant run by volunteers and students to finance their charitable programs.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Public transportation in Seattle
Public transportation is unreliable and coverage is spotty. Every morning I took the 26 or 28 to get from 7th (1 block from the hotel) to 34st and Fremont. Whatever time was on the schedule didn't matter it seems as every buses made its way at random times. It seems I never was able to wait less than 15mn for a bus...
They also have a surcharge during rush hour... It's small but why? Isn't it better to have more people taking public transportation?
In addition, the bus lines "transform" into other bus lines which can be confusing especially if bus drivers don't call it out.
On the plus side, the downtown area is in a free zone and the clientele is diversified which makes for a nicer experience.
In comparison, San Francisco buses smell like piss with many passengers who haven't showered for weeks. No one that can scrape enough money for a car would be caught dead in a bus in Silicon Valley.
We are very far from Munich and London where "regular" people take the bus...
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Portage Bay Cafe
Yet another restaurant that comes with the cafe designation but works and looks like a restaurant.
The Portage Bay Cafe was referred to us for breakfast by the hotel, located 3 blocks from the hotel and it is enormously busy. Seeing the large set of people at the door we were worried that we would have to wait a long time.
The hostess told us the wait was 15mn but strangely as soon as wrote down our name she decided that we could sit down immediately. It looks like most of the people waiting were large groups.
Service was prompt but we had to wait a while for the food which wasn't unexpected considering. We ordered cinnamon twist french toast and Swedish pancakes and got huge portions (twice what we could eat)... Food is mostly from organic sources and the restaurant has a close relationship with the producers. The price is reasonable (33$ for two) considering the food quality, but the restaurant is very noisy (due to the cement ceiling) and the one stall toilet and one urinal for a restaurant that serves 191 persons is ridiculous.
The contrast in the ethnic composition is noticeable compared to Mountain View with a mostly white clientele with a few Asians sprinkled throughout and what seems to be a large amount of well-paid blue collars. The area around reminds us of the international district of Montreal just before the boom and the empty but very attractive leasing space.
Arrival in Seattle
The two hours flight with United went without a hitch and thanks to Min Lin membership in the Lufthansa/Star Alliance "Miles and more" silver status we got priority boarding and extra leg space on the flight. The only trouble was the fact that the plane left at 6h15am meaning we woke up around 4am.
Our ride from Tacoma to Seattle was with an Indian Sikh driver that played typical Indian music clip with the hypnotic dance move.
Our hotel, Pan Pacific, looks luxurious but they didn't have a room for us ready so early so we went on a 1h quest to find a breakfast place and ended up at a cafe next to the towering Space Needle.
After we ate we bought a Seattle City Pass and started by visiting the adjacent Science-Fiction Museum and Experience the music with a fun bonus Jim Henson exhibition.
We then proceeded to a Lebanese cafe on Blanchard (looks like most eating place are also cafes!) - the alternative lunch places was an endless series of brunch for weekends. The gyro was good but Min Lin's falafel were a pale and tasteless version of the excellent falafel place in San Jose that Matt made us discover.
Going down to the water on Blanchard, we are overwhelmed by the odor of urine at every corner. Undesired bonus: a used condom on the sidewalk.
Not surprisingly, the city is hostile to people with small bladder as old reliable pee stations such as Starbucks and libraries have locked toilets "for customers only". Is it worth a smelly and disgusting city? Sounds to me like businesses shoot themselves in the foot collectively...
As it is the Seafair parade, some streets are lined up with chairs since early in the morning. The parade is a huge event but we only stopped for a glimpse.
We had dinner at the Wasabi Bistro on 2nd and Bell (an area with many restaurants): king crab soup, garden roll and bay scallop roll. Very good but expensive - 46$. Luckily, Min Lin printed a 25$ gift certificate for the restaurant she got through the airlines miles program of United so the actual total was closer to 20$.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Social network "viruses"
From a friend:
Beware Netlog !!
I strongly suggest that you NOT click on anyone's Netlog sight should one come across your computer screen!! Through some highly deceptive ploy on their part, it will sign you up to join (even though you have not officially done so), and the result will be that your e-mail address book has been opened up and quite literally tapped into. Everyone in your e-mail address list will receive an "invitation" to look at your sight, thus setting off a chain reaction that taps into YOUR address book!!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet - Trailer HQ
"Michel Gagné was born in Québec, Canada. He studied animation at Sheridan College School of Visual Arts in Ontario, Canada and in 1985, began a highly successful artistic career. "
http://www.gagneint.com
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Home: documentaire disponible jusqu'au 15 juillet
Home: un documentaire à propos de notre maison à tous.
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