Eats

One of the best things about going on vacation is trying different types of food. The northwest isn't necessarily an exotic location, but the delicious food we hand certainly deserves to be mentioned in its own blog post.

Of course there is an abundance of coffee shops/cafes in Seattle and the surrounding areas, so we got our fill of the stuff. Lauren enjoyed her iced espresso in downtown Seattle.


Being so close to the ocean meant eating fresh seafood almost everyday - except for our cook-out on the beach where we feasted on hot dogs, chips, hard cider and s'mores. We also filled up on Rainer cherries and golden raspberries.

It was a lot of fun picking oysters then cleaning them, shucking them and eating them at the oyster farm. It was my first time eating raw oysters without a ton of lemon butter or cocktail sauce and I'll admit that I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious they were.



Other meals included mussels and crab cakes - yum.
Even though it was 10:00 in the morning, we stopped by Dick's, a Seattle fast food institution, for strawberry and chocolate milkshakes.

You can't visit Seattle without going to the Pike Place Market. I found it a bit overwhelming because it was so crowded, but it has yet to turn into a really touristy-type place (apart from the original Starbucks, which was a madhouse). We spent a while at the German meat market shop. Maris' green dress complimented the colorful packages of the German baked goods, jams and pickled-things. The Three Girls Bakery has the best chocolate macaroons and ginger cookies. After Pike Place we stopped by Uwajimaya, an amazing Asian market where we bought sushi and my all-time favorite cha siu baau (steamed buns).

Having just returned from Hong Kong, Maris brought back these cute cookie tins for all of us. I love the guy on the front and the cute designs on the back. The little cakes that come inside are separated by flavor. Given my past experiences with Asian desserts, I know they can either be really good or really, really bad - so I have yet to muster up the courage to try a cake. Until then, I'll enjoy the cute packaging.

4th of July would not be complete without pie.
CL