Downtown Seattle and the Best Hot Chocolate Ever

A day off to explore Seattle. It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Actually, it does. I get to come back tomorrow and have a whole day here again!

We just left the Space Needle and are set to walk back towards downtown Seattle.

There was lots of construction going in this city, which is something foreign to my hometown. Phoenix still hasn’t recovered enough from the Recession to start building on this scale.

I was on the north side of downtown, looking south towards some of the buildings.

Sheesh, another building crane?

Now they’re just showing off!

My very first time staying in Seattle was about three years ago with my old job. I found a crummy hotel that was affordable enough to allow us to stay in the city instead of south by Boeing Field, where we landed.

I had been to Seattle several times but had never had enough time to leave the airport. This was my first chance to really explore a city that has been on my love list since I was little.

Sight-unseen?! Yes! It’s true! I have had a soft spot for this lovely city even before I had a chance to visit it in person!

This elephant car wash sign wasn’t too far from that hotel, so I have great memories of it!

And, come on…it’s cute!

Pink elephants always remind me of Dumbo.

Speaking of the devil, here was the affordable hotel in which I stayed so long ago.

I even found that post, if you want to read it. Here is the post from that trip!

As you can tell from the title, I already really liked Seattle.

Now I’m just plain smitten!

Anyway, speaking of Seattle, let’s get a little closer to all the action, shall we?

I must be stuck on reflections for this trip. Isn’t this beautiful with the building reflected? The lighting is finally getting really wonderful for some pretty shots, too.

Oh man…wait until you see the sunset on the harbor!

This building looks like it is straight out of the late seventies. Seattle has lots of younger skyscrapers, too, and lots of older ones (which is what I love, though I am no respecter of buildings).

Speaking of mixing old with the new…this building was literally added to after it was built long ago. Can you see the newer section to the left, while the wonderful old section also still shines on the right?

This building reminds me of something from Vegas, actually.

I neared the shopping district of downtown and loved every step that got closer.

Lots of cities have skywalks connecting the shops. Isn’t that cool?

Any store that you could possibly want is located in downtown Seattle, though I promise that this isn’t the only reason that I would love living here.

But it doesn’t hurt, either…

I’ve passed this cupcake shop several times but have never gone in. I didn’t go in today, either, even though this sign had my name written all over it.

I love red velvet anything!

Out of sight, out of mind. I left it in my dust today.

I turned west to intersect with 1st Avenue. Just another block away was Pike Place Market yet again! We had so much fun there earlier today!

But rush hour was nearing for the city. Traffic increased quite a bit as I walked along on this beautiful evening!

Orange cabs, huh? They were hard to miss!

One of my favorite stores recently opened in downtown Seattle. I was happy for everyone involved, since this fine establishment only makes Seattle that much cooler.

Congrats, you guys!

As I walked along downtown, I caught a peek of the ferris wheel near the harbor. It’s so dang tall!

As is this building, which has businesses in the first few floors and condos in the rest. My only complaint is that I wouldn’t have a balcony or patio to enjoy all summer long!

Sorry, Building. You wouldn’t make my potential-housing cut today.

I passed an art studio that had these nifty little birds in the window. Aren’t they cool?

I bet that they are pretty expensive, too. But one can admire from a distance.

The setting sun made for some beautiful light to capture these stately buildings in downtown Seattle.

One of the million Starbucks in the city is peeking out from the bottom-right of the picture, too.

Since their hot chocolate is awful, I was on a mission to find a place that serves the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted!

No, it’s not Potbelly Sandwich Shop that makes great hot chocolate. I’m sure that it would be delicious if they made it, though! Everything else is in that place is heavenly!

I’m happy to see that Seattle is now treated to the likes of Dream Bars. It’s one of the best desserts that I’ve ever eaten, and that ain’t no lie!

This top-heaving building was gorgeous.

It never ceases to amaze me what architects can do.

This is why math is important, kids!

Finally! I found what I was searching for!

They are harder to find these days…apparently, lots of the stores are closing to transform them into drive-thru shops. I’m so bummed.

My ignorance took Borders Book Stores for granted when they had Seattle’s Best Coffee shops inside. I had no idea how incredible the Triple Chocolate Hot Chocolate really was until the Borders stores here in the Valley were already shut down.

My hot chocolate treat can now only happen when I’m in Seattle itself.

And maybe that’s a good thing…

Hot chocolate isn’t exactly known as a health food, you know.

Especially with shaved white chocolate and milk chocolate chips on top of the creamiest, frothiest, sweetest hot chocolate in town.

This was a treat indeed at about four-hundred calories. But I justified it by calculating all of the walking that has taken place today as I explored Seattle.

And I can’t get one of these every day, you know?

Treat justification process complete!

With a warm belly, it was time to walk back towards the harbor to explore before the next ferry left for Bremerton in about an hour.

I passed underneath the freeway on my walk towards the pier. I can hardly wait to get some pretty sunset shots of my favorite city!

Happy weekend to you!

I’m at work today (yay!)…and with any luck, we are installing sod tomorrow morning.

By ourselves. Cue the doom music!

Flancer’s is Now a Favorite of Mine

We have a local version of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives here in Arizona. It’s a television show on PBS that highlights local eateries submitted by fans.

First of all, I love the show. You can even watch full episodes. But don’t treat this watching lightly…you will get addicted to Check Please, Arizona.

I absolutely love PBS. Don’t even get me started on Antiques Roadshow.

Anyway, Date Night rolled around for Hubby and I, and it was my turn to pick our dinner destination. So I checked the Check Please, Arizona website to find something remotely close to our house and within budget.

It’s hard to drop $50 for a steak for us…you know? What do you mean that I have to pay another twenty dollars for a side dish?

Flancer’s was about five miles away and in our price range, so I surprised Hubby with a new place to try.

The guitar-playing goat is apparently their logo, but I didn’t let that sway my high opinion of this place already.

Known for incredible sandwiches and pizza, I knew that we were in for a treat! Gourmet sandwiches are one of my favorite things to eat, after all.

And the selection was amazing, too! My tough decision was deciding between a few of the sandwiches that had been featured in the Check Please, Arizona episode.

Do I do a Philly Cheesesteak? Or something with turkey, avocado, and green chile mayonnaise?

I know! These are tough decisions in my life!

Hubby was having a hard time picking from all of the wonderful options, too. I was really excited to bring him here, since I knew that they had lots of goodies that he would enjoy.

No onion rings, though. That was his only complaint.

I decided to go with the Ace of Clubs, since I knew that I wanted avocado on whatever  I got. It was very similar to the Chile Verde Birdie right above, except that bacon and ham came with it.

I love me some pig.

And Hubby went with the Philly Cheesesteak, which is one of their signature items. I was debating between this and the Ace of Clubs!

But we’re so smart…guess what we did? We split our dinner and each got to enjoy half of the other person’s sandwich!

Best of both worlds, really.

And good for indecisive-when-hungry people like us!

The inside of the restaurant was really cute and quaint, too. It was very casual and relaxed with all sorts of people eating here. The walls were decorated with old music labels from the seventies.

I love when good places are busy. This was about five o’clock in the evening, too, so even before the dinner rush really hit! The place was packed by the time we left.

I’m so happy for them!

My only complaint is that this picture in the doorway was crooked. You know that I wanted to get up and fix it during my entire stay!

It didn’t take long for dinner to arrive, and we were both happy about that.

Hubby picked the Jalapeno and Cheddar Mashed Potato Pie for his side dish to accompany the Philly Cheesesteak. I had a bite of the spuds, and they were delicious!

And this was my Ace of Clubs with fries. I got the fries so Hubby could enjoy them, but I ate a few of them while they were in front of me, too.

Woops.

Get out much? You would think that we didn’t go on a Date Night every week!

I really love trying new places, and I was really hoping that this would become a new favorite eating establishment of ours. I would go back in a heartbeat.

I ate half of this, and then I swapped Hubby for half of his. They were both incredible sandwiches. The only thing that I would change is that I would leave off the banana peppers from the Philly. It made the entire sandwich a little more acidic than I usually prefer.

But melted cheese made up for a lot here, folks.

The manager came over to ask how our meal was. Since I’m a chatterbox, I told him that it was our first time. When asked how we found out about them, he was so happy to hear that it was from PBS! Apparently, they have gotten a lot of business from being featured on the show.

I’m so happy for them!

He was nice enough to give us a coupon for our next visit.

Dibs!

They make all of their bread in-house and have an option to buy a baguette. I took one home and made homemade croutons with it for our homemade Chicken Caesar Salads over the next few nights.

Plan ahead, I always say. Especially when bread is involved.

Our entire evening was just so nice. The food was incredible, and we even have an excuse to go back.

If you’re in the Valley of the Sun and are looking for a great place to grab a meal, might I recommend Flancer’s to you? You won’t regret visiting their restaurant. Even with a guitar-playing goat!

Macy’s Department Store and A Sweet Manhattan Goodbye

So I think that it’s safe to say that we’ve spent a little time in New York City. I have loved reliving the experience here for you. I think that’s why I blog!

In case you missed it, here are all of the other NYC posts from this past week. I kind of got carried away.

Times Square, I Heart You
Magnolia Cupcakes and Central Park
The American Museum of Natural History
Grand Central Terminal and The New York City Library
Bryant Park and a Nighttime Times Square
West Manhattan and the Intrepid Air and Space Museum
Greenwich Village on my Walk to Molly’s Cupcakes

And, as you can plainly see, there was definitely a cupcake theme for my two days in the City.

I passed this awesome bicycle in front of a little café. If that doesn’t make you want to go inside for some grub, I don’t know what will!

This old drug store sign was just wonderful. A throwback to the olden days. And I bet that church is even older.

This sign just cracked me up. Have you tried his grandmother’s meatballs?! It seems like everyone else has.

We need to get on that already.

Since I had walked west Manhattan on my walk south, I decided to go a little further east for my walk north towards all of the action.

That is the same church, just looking back. My feet are pretty tired, though, so I don’t think that I timed myself for those few blocks.

Sweet! We’re heading up The Avenue of the Americas today!

I even passed a TJ Maxx and helped myself in. I found a nice, comfy chair in the home department and sat for a solid twenty minutes to rest my legs.

It’s been a lot of walking the past few days! I would say around ten miles each day, and oh-so fun!

6th Avenue is a very busy street with lots of action.

Shopping action, that is. It was pure heaven!

I’m not much of a McDonald’s fan (read: I hate it), but it happened to get in the way of this lovely picture of more old NYC apartment buildings with their respective water tanks on top.

I just love this look! Do you think that they still use the tanks?

I was introduced to the Manhattan Mall today, though I didn’t go inside.

The sky tower connecting the buildings was pretty neat, though. There are lots of these in Seattle…one of my other favorite cities to wander!

I’m not sure how JCPenny is failing with such prime real estate! Have you been inside one lately? It’s pretty cool with the mini shops.

And you can see the world’s largest department store peeking out in this picture. Can you dig it?

Ta da!

For some strange reason, I’ve never been here before. I’ve never been so close to this Macy’s, even though I saw it from the observation of the Empire State Building last September when I visited this wonderful city.

I decided to go inside, just to say that I had been there. But it was so packed with people inside that I quickly found an exit and was on my way.

Buying a $500 purse wasn’t really on my to-do list today, so why waste time inside?

The famous decorated window was all decked out for Spring, even though it was a chilly forty-seven degrees today.

I would love to see these at Christmas! I’ll probably have to do that trip without Hubby, since I don’t think that he would care to see the Macy’s Christmas Window Displays.

This shot was very rushed, as there were a million people on the sidewalk. I didn’t want to be in the way for long.

But I love the original sign for the store.

Old meets new, remember? I love it!

Speaking of love, hi, Old Friend!

Can you believe that intense radio antenna on top of the Empire State Building? That thing can transmit for quite a distance!

The Haier Building was originally a bank, built in 1922. After bank deregulation in the early eighties, the 16th largest bank in the nation went out of business. Haier bought and renamed the building in 2000.

But it’s old. And cool.

It was a Thursday evening, and the City was packed and full of life.

Especially in this neck of the woods.

Hi, Times Square!

I had ulterior motives for returning to Times Square tonight…

But this was my main reason. Dinner at the Rickshaw Dumpling Stand!

Hey, it was healthy, cheap, and delicious. Why not come back!

I love steamed edamame. I sat at a small table just to the side of the stand to eat my dinner tonight. Right in the heart of Times Square.

It’s a perfect place for people-watching, by the way.

Since I had pork dumplings yesterday, I decided to try the chicken tonight.

I loved the pork way more, but this was such a yummy dinner! I wish that I had one right now!

After dinner, I decided to meander towards the Port Authority Bus Terminal to eventually make my way back over to my hotel in New Jersey.

Look at these cool circle lights! They have “Times Sq.” written on them from who-knows-when! I bet that they are really old.

I love the neat old buildings, but I really love the old signs, too.

Look at all of the gothic detail of this building. Isn’t that gorgeous?

The building with the jumbotron of Smart Cars is the bus terminal in Times Square. I’ve had a pretty fruitful few days in the city, but I’m beat!

Sunset is always such a nice time to take pictures. These buildings are all lit up, thanks to the setting sun behind me.

And, if you’re a Cake Boss fan, then you’re in luck! They just opened a café/bakery on the corner of the Port Authority building!

I can’t stand the show because of all the yelling at each other. It’s too dysfunctional for my taste, but the cakes are always pretty!

Here is one of the many entrances to the bus station.

I should have looked at my watch to figure out why it was so busy. It was about six o’clock on a Thursday evening…rush hour!

I walked up to my bus gate, only to see a line about half a mile long. Wowsers!

So I decided to wait an hour or so to let the rush hour crowd die down.

I bought a hot chocolate and sipped it on a chair in Bryant Park. By this pretty fountain.

Yes, the same Bryant Park from the previous day, where I explored a little of The New York Public Library.

You can see the back of the library here.

Aren’t those buildings so pretty in the sunset?

But I knew that it would get even cooler after the sun disappeared, so I was thankful for my diet splurge…a hot chocolate to keep me warm.

Around eight o’clock, I thought that I would give the Port Authority another chance. Had the crowds died down enough to catch a bus?

It was still pretty busy, but not nearly as bad as a few hours before.

My old, achy legs were ready for some rest. But man, this was a heavenly few days in the City! I can’t get enough of this place!

Any favorite things from our trip to NYC?