High-quality low-key end-of-the-week fun

This week I'm scrambling to finalize a manuscript for submission to European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (shout-out to whoever came up with their concise title!), but I still want to give an update regarding my weekend activities with Gäddan.

In short: we had food and drinks, and then more food and drinks. Then we had a few snacks before getting food and drinks. Then we had drinks. Add about two units of coffee in between every meal, and repeat.

I don't see any reasons for complaints, do you? Good times.

Okay, so we did a couple of other things too, but nothing was really scheduled—we just played it by ear and did whatever felt right at the moment. On Friday, Gäddan spent a good chunk of time at MOHAI while I was working, and then he walked over to me for a quick tour of the Hutch followed by beer hour with my colleagues. The evening was spent on Capitol Hill, with dinner and margaritas at Barrio, and then more drinks and chit-chat with Kiran and friends at Bait Shop.

Saturday started with a good-sized breakfast at Blue Star Cafe & Pub in Wallingford, then a stroll on 45th towards University District.

Pancakes and cappuccino!

Yes, that's a cappuccino. With a straw. Oh come on, this is America—don't act so surprised! Let it go, ok?

We checked out the pretty UW campus and then took the bus downtown to Pike Place Market, where one of us got a souvenir street sign saying "Pike Pl" (you can never guess who, or why!). Then stuff just kind of happened; we made an impromptu decision to go to Bainbridge Island and hopped on a boat. The winds were a little chilly, but the sun was shining and the snow-clad mountains of the Olympic Range showed off their impressive beauty on our way across the Sound. Lunch consisted of tiny cups of soup and generous chunks of delicious pie at the lovely Blackbird Bakery. Before leaving the island we popped in to Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, whose exhibitions perhaps were a little less outstanding, but definitely worth a quick visit (especially seeing as admission was free).

Back on the mainland we strolled around in the Pioneer Square area, ending up at Seattle Central Library. The Central Library is a really cool building, but even though I've attended a couple of seminars there, I haven't really explored it. Until now, that is—we went up all the escalators, checked out the viewpoints, and admired the extremely clever design. Conclusion: I really need to spend more time there! The neat thing about our library stop was that we managed to time it perfectly; the rain started pouring down a few minutes after we walked in, but the sun incidentally came back out a few minutes before we were leaving. The evening was spent at Cafe Mox in Ballard, eating, drinking, chatting, and playing Gloom with my librarian friend David (another David, not the Tico). Such a great day! Spontaneous, laid-back and simply super fun.

Sunday started in Fremont, with sturdy breakfast scrambles at good ol' Roxy's Diner and then browsing through the Sunday market and some of the local shops. After putting up with my ravings about the divine cappuccinos at Milstead & Co., Gäddan finally got to try one and seemed to agree that they are pretty darn good. A walk to Gas Works Park and some house boat-watching concluded the Fremont tour, and we took a little break for some packing and resting before heading off to Ballard for a proper send-off.

As it happens, Seattle Restaurant Week started this weekend, and we met up with a few friends for (surprise, surprise) dinner and drinks at Percy's & Co., which is a place I've wanted to check out since we found out that it was listed among "The 30 Hottest Cocktail Bars in America Right Now" on Eater. Fantastic kale salad, eclectic cocktails, and yummy peanut butter mousse provided a great backdrop to our laughs and general gossip.

A collection of healthy treats:

Awakened One (lemongrass-infused vodka, lillet blanc, fresh pineapple juice, lime, ginger, and cilantro); peanut butter mousse with chocolate ganache and graham cracker crust; coconut cream pie and cherry pie; banana-oatmeal waffle.

It was so much fun having Gäddan over, sharing laughs and conversations with my friends and colleagues. Together, we explored a whole bunch of new sights and locations, which just happens to be my favorite weekend activity. Thanks for dropping by, dear friend! I won't fit in my jeans for a week or two, but it was totally worth it.