Day 4 City Time, wish you were here!

I left my Airbnb in North Capital Hill on Friday and headed for downtown Seattle after getting coffee, of course. Sweet neighborhood place with very friendly staff who seemed to genuinely care that you were frequenting their establishment. And an eclectic neighborhood clientele. Ahh, Seattle.

I took an Uber to downtown. In Seattle, Uber has become a cottage industry. Car dealers advertise that they will lease new cars for Uber drivers. Students and others who could never afford 2015 Prius sedans pick you up and take you to your destination. Cab companies have a huge gap in service and will only remain in business if they can strong-arm city leaders to maintain their monopoly and force hotels to outlaw these drivers from picking up their riders there. I’m a devoted Uber and Lyft customer.

Finished Xmas shopping and wedding preparation shopping (my niece is getting married). Enjoyed walking the city and being as much of a tourist as possible, relishing the infrequent winter sunshine!

I scored a sweet hotel at a price I could afford thanks to Hotwire! I do not have the bank account nor the moral fiber to spend retail price for such luxury. But if they want to sell me a room at a rock bottom price, who am I to argue?

My travels downtown filled me with joy of the season. Kids on the carousel and this guy, playing my favorite holiday tune, Silver Bells – because “it’s Christmas time in the city” 🙂 Bonus, the ubiquitous Seattle biker.

My day ended with an evening of Hanukkah parties, thanks to my intrepid friend, Jasmine who does it all.  Hey, go with the flow I say! It was really fun to see the kids light the candles and sing the blessings at two very different parties – but both with the same message: Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards Men – Happy Hanukkah.  I got to eat Latkes, drink Manischewitz “wine”, and eat Challah bread. A first for all 3.

We finished the evening at a place downtown called Zig Zag – cocktails are de rigueur in Seattle. Vegan small plates and fabulous drinks. No paparazzi, please.

Be forewarned, my next post is all about the wedding. So if you are not about brides and festivities…