My Beautiful City
This is Seattle, in a photo Laura took last Saturday from the seaplane, as she returned to Victoria B.C.
I live in the right hand corner. Heh.
I love this city, where I've spent most of my life (!) Me! I, who moved every three years the first twenty years of my life, have lived here for 34 years. I'm home.
One of the best things about Seattle is how close you are to the ocean, to the Sound, to so many lakes -- even a major lake, which forms the city's eastern boundary. You can smell water all the time. Wind in from the west brings the smell of saltwater, my favorite. And sometimes you can hear the gulls' plaintive songs. There's a kind of built-in melancholy to Seattle.
The grayness, dampness, drizzle gets to you at first ... but then you slow down and adapt. And learn to love the rain. In Seattle.
Today's fragrance: a beautiful DSH dupe of Regina Harris Rose Maroc: Un Robe de Zibeline. Perfect fragrance for a medieval nun, if medieval nuns wore fragrance. Rose, incense.
posted by mireille at 9:27 AM
17 Comments:
The husband and I were there just a year ago. We went up in the needle and had dinner of course, and rode "the duck." It's a beautiful city.
We were there two days. Wish I had known you then.
9:47 AM
I wish I had known you then, too, TLP ... we'll just have to plan for the next trip. xoxo
9:55 AM
i want to come!!
and i want to arrive in a seaplane!!
**sniff**
UC
x
1:25 PM
First, kudos to Laura for the picture, that is a cool view.
And your description of a "built-in melancholy" is one I appreciate. That is just so apt for Seattle. Even coming up from Portland (which is just "down the road," relatively speaking) I am struck by the melacholy of Seattle. Especially in some of the downtown areas. The grey skies and cold shadows the tall builings cast give me an unmistakably "Seattle" feeling. Since having the kids I haven't been up there - and now I am missing it. Thanks, M.
2:27 PM
I love Seattle it's so gorgeous there. Don't know if I ever mentioned that I was born in Tacoma... yes, it's true. And actually have family in Seattle.I used to visit my grandparents almost every summer. There's a little info for you.
The only negative thing I'd have to say is the rainy weather on curly hair. Not good for a girl who insists on blowing her hair stick straight.
And I do watch Frasier every evening religiously... even though I've seen every episode at least twice.
So on that note, Goodnight Seattle!
4:14 PM
Sounds like a wonderful place to live.
5:05 PM
Beautiful pic and description. How many people live in apartments in tall modern towers like Frasier, and how many have houses or apartments in older brick buildings? Are there any houses in the centre, or do you have to go out a bit? What kind of place do you live in, M?
5:30 PM
There are "urban villages" with distinctive personalities. Like Capitol Hill with its bohemians ... Queen Anne Hill with its young moderns ... Belltown with its dotcom survivors ... We live in North Seattle, near Green Lake and the University. It's a working class neighborhood with lots of SUVs that people wish they'd traded in for smaller cars before the gas crunch (our Passat station wagon sips fuel, heh). We live in a house with a yard that Bucky has almost conformed to his exacting standards ... a quiet street ... pretty suburban considering we're only about ten minutes from downtown. Does that give you a picture? We're in our own neighborhood within a city made up of many neighborhoods ... with downtown Seattle as the center and other cities to the north, south and east of us. zockso!
5:43 PM
Hi Mirelle - here via AP3's site. I'm a former frequent visitor to your great city. (ex-WAMU) I miss the salmon, crab legs and wonderful downtown restaurants.
I'm a warm weather addict, so Tampa is perfect for me. But, if I ever wanted to ditch the sun, I'd be in Seattle in a heartbeat.
6:46 PM
What a picture! What a city! Just glorious.
10:02 PM
Seattle IS gorgeous. Everywhere you look, you see mountains and lakes. And the tap water!! That stuff is so delicious! But two of the best things about Seattle, in my humble opinion, are Dick's and Ivar's. I'm drooling already...
xox
Angela
11:53 PM
Yup, TLP called me from the Needle - lol.
My DH would take one look at that photo and say "LIGHTHOUSE!!"
7:11 AM
It looks beautiful and you sound very contented.:-)
I love the ocean too - from a distance. The only sea I would want to be near right now is the Mediterranean. LOL! I wouldn't mind a bit of a break from London's own grey and melancholy atmosphere.
7:24 AM
There are just some people for whom grey and melancholy doesn't do it (Fred and Bela). I don't mind it. I bought a flat facing north and east because I don't like the sun through glass. But if it's going to be grey, then having the sea right there beats London every time. Adds an element of wildness that lifts the spirits.
8:13 AM
I like Seattle a lot too. There is a lovely Japanese garden we visited there once. And a bar called Linda's. And delicious avacados and an interesting mix of people. Lots of good Ethiopean food too, as I recall. I love that you can feel the ocean there too, and the spaciousness of Mt Rainer nearby. And that little island, what's it called?
But the melancholy I feel about Seattle is that my dear friend Lynnie is there and it's soooooo far away. I wish Seattle were closer. :-(
10:54 AM
Urban Chick ... you'll get here someday!
Kate ... it could be Mercer Island in the middle of Lake Washington or it could be Bainbridge Island within commuting distance of downtown?
zockso!
12:56 PM
maagh! stop already. I've been gushing nostalga for my home land for weeks. There's just so much that I can't get here- mountain views, clean air, drizzly rain, dick's. Bah!
On a side note, there is one thing that Seattle and Tokyo share in common- the neighborhoods. Tokyo is not a city so much a conglomeration of small distinct neighborhoods.
9:35 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home