Hotel Five
Remember when I wrote that I don’t blog about the hotels I stay in, because they’re nothing to write home about?
Well, I’m going to have to eat my words, because this is another post about a hotel ― which makes for two posts in as many months.
The hotel I am recommending is Hotel Five, a boutique hotel in central Seattle.
It’s got location: it’s in Belltown, an area just next to Seattle’s downtown core, which makes it walking distance to the major tourist attractions, as well as a good selection of restaurants, bars, and shops.
It’s got service: our room was ready when we arrived (post–cruise ship disembarkment) at 7:30 a.m. We were fully expecting to be dropping off our bags and not having access to our room until much later in the day, so we were pleasantly surprised to be given room key cards upon our arrival. And shortly after we checked in, the front desk called our room to make sure we were happy with our accommodation and to ask if there was anything we needed. I’ve never experienced that kind of service anywhere I’ve stayed. (Maybe I’m staying in the wrong hotels!?)
And it’s got style: the rooms were cleverly decorated, and the bathrooms new and modern.
I didn’t book this hotel; one of my travelling companions did. Note to self: get my friends to book my hotel accommodation more often.
Two Days in Seattle
Now that I’ve told you how we got to Seattle, and how we got back from Seattle, you might be wondering what there is to do and see while in Seattle. The city, I was pleased to discover, is the perfect size for a weekend visit. It’s large enough that there’s something for everyone, but small enough that you don’t feel overwhelmed by all the choices.
Let’s start off with the architecture. Upon arrival, you can’t help but notice the Space Needle, a prominent landmark of Seattle’s skyline that was built for the 1962 World’s Fair. It’s impressive when you stand beneath it, but … well … not so impressive I wanted to pay money to go up it.
Never mind. At the base of the Space Needle is a building that did impress me enough to want to pay the admission fee. That would be the EMP Museum, designed by Toronto-born architect Frank Gehry. The building’s deconstructivist style is just so fun to look at, and so shiny and colourful and fluid that you can’t resist reaching out your hand to touch the building as you walk by.
Inside the museum is even more fun, with exhibits more entertaining than I thought possible. Want to learn everything there is to know about Nirvana? It’s here. Jimi Hendrix? Him too.
The museum also has also some really cool artifacts from the world of fantasy and science fiction TV and film. As in: the Cowardly Lion’s costume, Susan Pevensie’s bow and quiver of arrows, Yoda’s staff, Darth Vader’s light sabre, Data’s uniform … they’re all here. Geekdom heaven, wouldn’t you say?
Seattle scored a second “starchitect”-designed building with the Seattle Central Library, designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. Don’t just walk around its exterior, though. Have a quick look inside too, taking the time to go all the way up to the top floor for a remarkable view over the atrium.
Once you’ve seen Seattle’s architectural highlights, I recommend checking out one of the most unique art installations I’ve seen anywhere: the Chihuly Garden and Glass. (It alone is worth a visit to Seattle.) The museum opened a year ago, so it’s rather new, and it’s rather extraordinary. Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor who creates exquisite works of blown glass. Photos don’t do his work justice, but, forgive me, I’ll post one anyways.
A Seattle institution you shouldn’t miss is Pike Place Market, located near the downtown waterfront. In operation since 1907, it’s one of the oldest farmer’s market in the United States. Fresh local produce, seafood, and flowers are at street level, while the lower levels are filled with shops of all sorts, including bakeries, restaurants, clothing, and local crafts. Be sure to see the fishmongers in action as they throw the fish to each other before wrapping them up for the customer. Oh, and there’s a coffee shop in the market you may have heard of: Starbucks. 
Not just any Starbucks, though ― it’s the first ever one, which opened for business in 1971.
We stayed in Belltown, which turned out to be a great neighbourhood full of funky coffee shops, trendy restaurants, and lively bars. It is also conveniently located halfway between the downtown waterfront and Seattle Center (where the Space Needle, the EMP, and the Chihuly Garden and Glass are located).
One thing we didn’t have time for: a ferry ride across Elliott Bay. And there are dozens of other Seattle neighbourhoods I’m told are worth checking out. In other words? I plan to return for another weekend visit soon, because there’s lots more of Seattle to see.
Amtrak Cascades
In my last post, I told you how my friends and I travelled to Seattle. Wanna know how we got home?
We took the train.
Semiahmoo Bay
I’ve been down Interstate 5 to Seattle more times than I care to count, both by car and by bus. The I-5 extends from the American–Canadian border all the way down the West Coast of the United States to Mexico. If you’re inclined to drive that far, it would be quite the road trip.
But, as efficient as they are, American interstates aren’t known for their beauty. I’ve always felt that taking the I-5 was a bit of an endurance test to get through before the prize: your final destination (in my case, usually Sea-Tac Airport). And thanks to the collapse three days ago of the Skagit River Bridge on the I-5 just north of Seattle, that will most definitely be true for many months to come until the bridge is repaired or replaced.
But the train! What a revelation that was.
The Amtrak Cascades is the name of the Amtrak route from Eugene, Oregon, to Vancouver, Canada. The northbound leg from Seattle to Vancouver hugs the Pacific shoreline for the first while, moves inland for a bit through some of Washington’s fertile farmland, and then heads back to the coast and crosses the Canadian border at White Rock, BC. Unless you’re paying close attention, you don’t even realize you’ve crossed the border. (All passengers, both northbound and southbound, go through customs in Vancouver.)
After rounding Boundary Bay, the train takes you across the municipality of Delta (named after the Fraser River delta) and east along the Fraser to New Westminster, where you cross the rail bridge beside the Pattullo Bridge. Then it’s a quick ride northwest through Burnaby to Pacific Central Station near downtown Vancouver.
Pattullo Bridge, with the Skytrain Bridge behind
If you book your tickets far enough in advance, the train costs about half of the bus fare. It’s a far prettier route than the I-5, and the wait to go through customs is far shorter. My second travel tip of the week? Take the train.
Pacific Central Station
Repositioning Cruises
Those in the know (which, believe you me, is seldom yours truly) know that “repositioning cruises” can offer some of the best deals on cruise fares. What’s a repositioning cruise, you ask?
A repositioning cruise is when a ship based at one port sails to another port where it will be based for the next season. Typically, repositioning cruises take place on ships relocating from northern-hemisphere ports to southern-hemisphere ports, or vice versa, and they occur at the beginning or end of a season.
Twice a year, in May and September, there are repositioning cruises that stop to pick up passengers in Vancouver. These ships sail all the way to … Seattle. Yup, these would be the shortest of all repositioning cruises.
I’ve taken a couple of these cruises. One was a few years ago in the fall, when a ship was relocating from its base in Vancouver to the South Pacific after a summer of cruising up and down BC’s Inside Passage to Alaska. A friend and I boarded the ship in Vancouver. After we got off the next day in Seattle, the ship sailed on to Hong Kong and Australia.
The other was just two weekends ago, when my friends and I were on a ship that was repositioning from San Diego to Seattle, but made stops in Victoria and Vancouver along the way.
Mini-cruises are a great deal. Included in the fare are three meals, transportation from Vancouver to Seattle, and a night’s accommodation for less than you’d pay for one night in a Vancouver hotel. While on board, we saw couples, groups of couples, groups of friends, and entire multi-generation families who, like us, were enjoying all the amenities these ships have to offer.
The cruises are also a great way to get a wee taste of cruising life before you commit the time and money to a longer cruise. For Vancouverites who are looking for something different to do on a weekend, but don’t have the time or inclination to go far, take a cruise to Seattle.
Through My Lens: Kits Pool
It’s summer ― though you wouldn’t know it by the temperature outside. No, I’m not talking about today’s weather, but the date.
Today is the first day of the May Long Weekend, officially known as the Victoria Day weekend. It’s the weekend when Canadians traditionally open up the cottage or go off on their first camping weekend of the summer.
In Vancouver, it’s also opening weekend for our collection of outdoor swimming pools. Which is why I’m posting a photo of Kitsilano Pool.
Kits Pool is 137.5 m long, making it the longest pool in Canada, and is the only salt-water pool in Vancouver. It’s located alongside Kitsilano Beach.
Cruising Season
Yup, it’s that time of year. The cruising season is upon us here in Vancouver.
A cruise ship sails out of Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet, with Washington’s Mount Baker in the distance.
The first ship arrived on April 18, but the season didn’t really kick into high gear until this week with the arrival and departure of 13 ships in eight days. From now until the end of September, between five and seven ships will dock in Vancouver every week, with each ship staying just long enough to offload its passengers and get the next bunch safely on board.
It’s rush hour — three cruise ships leave Canada Place within an hour of each other.
A total of 17 cruise ships will be based in Vancouver this season, setting sail each week for Alaska. Their route takes them through the Inside Passage along BC’s coast. Later this afternoon, I’ll be boarding one of those ships, but my destination is nowhere near as exotic as Alaska. I’m headed south — to Seattle.
Holland America has five ships based in Vancouver this season.
Bonne Fête, Notre-Dame!
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris is celebrating a pretty significant birthday this year, and, at 850 years old, I think she’s looking pretty good.
The cathedral began celebrating its Jubilee last December, and the party continues until next November. Special events have been going on all year long, including major renovations, the welcoming of pilgrims, and celebratory services. Nine new bells were commissioned, which were rung for the first time this past March, and today, on World Organ Day, the newly refurbished cathedral organ will join in on 850 organ concerts to be performed around the world within a 24-hour period.
I posted a photo of Notre-Dame’s Great Organ some time ago, so today I am posting a photo of the exterior of this grandest of cathedrals.
Dishing: Bitter Tasting Room
Many years ago (too many to share with you), I was backpacking around Europe with a friend. One hot, sunny afternoon in late September, we climbed 509 stairs to the top of Cologne’s beautiful cathedral. Once back on terra firma, we headed straight to McDonald’s for some lunch. (I know, I know … but what can I say? We were students on a tight budget.)
When I saw beer on the menu, I ordered one, despite the fact that I didn’t actually like beer and had never managed to swallow more than a sip or two. But hey ― it was a really hot day and I had just climbed up and down the equivalent of a 30-storey building. And yeah, I did think it was pretty cool that I could buy a beer at McDonald’s.
You know what? It was the best beer I had ever tasted. I became an instant and committed convert to the beverage. My theory is that, until that point in my (then) young life, I had simply not been introduced to the right kind of beer. It took a German beer ― in McDonald’s no less, but German nonetheless ― to get me hooked on the stuff. I’ve enjoyed many a cold one since.
Why do I have beer on the brain, you ask? It’s because this past weekend was the first of the year that we Vancouverites enjoyed summer-like temperatures. And so, I thought, what better time to introduce my readers to one of the best craft beer taprooms in the city.
Bitter Tasting Room is located near the corner of Hastings and Carroll in what is actually more Downtown Eastside than Gastown. I’ve been here a couple of times ― the first time, ironically, at the suggestion of a friend who doesn’t herself drink much beer (so I knew it must be good if she was willing to go), and the last time with my sister just last night.
Bitter offers a selection of more than 60 bottled beers from North America or Europe, with a particularly strong selection of Belgium beers. 
You can also order a pint of draught from a choice of about eight local craft beers. Or you can order a flight of beers, and sample three at once.
The food is typical German and English pub fare — sausages, Scotch eggs, and a killer kale Caesar salad are a few examples. In wintertime, I enjoyed a tasty dish of cassoulet, a slow-cooked stew made with duck confit, pork belly, sausage, and braised beans that comes from the Languedoc region of France.
Bitter is part of the Heather Hospitality Group and I have yet to be disappointed by an evening spent in one of their establishments.
Queen’s Day
Today is Queen’s Day in the Netherlands. The Dutch call it Koninginnedag. It’s their country’s equivalent of Canada Day or the Fourth of July ― the day when the Dutch celebrate their nation. They celebrate Queen’s Day on April 30 because that was the birthday of Queen Juliana, who was the mother of Queen Beatrix, who is the mother of King Willem-Alexander, who became king today.
The Dutch monarchs have a tradition of abdicating the throne to their children, and that’s what happened today. Queen Beatrix will now be known as Princess Beatrix, and her oldest son, Willem-Alexander, is, as of today, king of this tiny nation of 17 million people.
So why am I posting a photo of Canada’s Parliament Buildings on the Dutch national holiday? I’m glad you asked.
I posted this photo because the Dutch Royal family has a Canadian connection. Queen Beatrix spent part of her childhood in Ottawa, when Canada gave shelter to the Dutch Royals during World War II. After the war was over, the Dutch Royals sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa as a sign of gratitude for the hospitality shown to then-Princess Juliana and her children during the war, and also as a thank you to the Canadian soldiers who played a key role in the liberation of the Netherlands from the Nazis in 1945.
Juliana sent more tulip bulbs the next year, and every year of her reign, which lasted from 1948 until 1980. Today, more than a million tulips bloom in Ottawa each spring, and its tulip festival, said to be one of the largest in the world, is celebrated every May.
Through My Lens: Nitobe Memorial Garden
I took this photo last Friday in the beautiful Nitobe Memorial Garden. This garden is located at the opposite corner of the UBC campus from my office ― which makes for a nice walk when I’m on my lunch break. As I’ve noted before, I think UBC is a beautiful campus. The Nitobe Memorial Garden only reaffirms my belief.
There and Back Again 