Seattle, August 7, 2013

This morning, at about 4:30 a.m., Margo was on her way to the airport for a flight to San Francisco to attend a music festival called "Outside Lands" (with Sir Paul McCartney as one of the performers), and Alexandra was taking her to the airport. I contined sleeping in, and Alexandra returned to the apartment at around 5:30 and we slept in until about 9:00 a.m., when we had a breakfast of challah bread with currant marmalade, a nectarine and half an apple, as well as coffee--a great preparation for the day. Then we washed and dressed and were downtown at the Seattle Museum of Art by 11:00 a.m. The Seattle Museum of Art comprises three main facilities: the main downtown facility, the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront. We went to see one special exhibit at the main facility: "Future Beauty: the Innovation of Japanese Fashion Designers" was showcased. In the 1970s, the leading Japanese designers who gained recognition in the West were Kenzo Takada and Issey Miyake. But in the 1980s, Japanese designers emerged with an entirely new aesthetic. Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto launched a new aesthetic in the Paris runway shows. The exhibit showcases the early emphasis of light and shadow. Nearly 100 gowns were featured, ranging from classic and elegant to outrageous, and showcased dressed mannequins, videos of runway shows, artist photographs, and magazines and ephemera designed by renowned international artists. Fascinating exhibit! Then we were off to see floors 1-10 of the splendid and innovative Seattle downtown Library, with wide-open reading spaces, startling but comfortable niches, brilliantly colored escalators and tunnels segueing from one venue to the next in the startling but warm and sunny venue. As we were running out of time at our parking meter, we left soon after and sped away to lunch to Lil Woody's at Capitol Hill--a restaurant featuring hamburgers. They were juicy and absolutely wonderful, and so was the order of French fries that we shared. Every once in a while it is necessary to indulge in a hamburger, especially if it is as good as this one. From there we left for the second venue of the Seattle Art Museum, the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. It occupies the 1933 Art Moderne building which was originally home to the Seattle Museum of Art main collection. It is designated as a Seattle landmark. It is a small but choice collection of Asian art, and both Alexandra and I agreed that the Chinese snuff boxes were the highlights of the collection. After the visit, we did a short walk around Volunteer Park and a wading pool, greenhouse, and outdoor gardens featuring dahlias and roses. Afterwards we drove home to check on Major Tom, then freshen up before going on a walk to see several sights around Alexandra's neighborhood of Fremont. First stop: the Fremont Troll, sculpted in 1990 by four sculptors under Hwy. 99. The troll is clutching a Volkswagen Beetle as if if had just swiped it from the roadway above. The piece was a winner of a competition sponsored by the Fremont Arts Council in 1990, with the goal of rehabilitating the area under the bridge, which had become a haven for drug dealers. It is a life-size depiction of the troll in the Billy Goats Gruff fairy tale. I took several pictures of Alexandra there, before we left for an area of shops, cafes, restaurants, and an outdoor children's theater beside the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Ballard Locks. From there we went to Theo's, an artisanal chocolate factory featuring nothing but organic chocolate. It features samples of its many flavors, and Alexandra and I tried several, including Salted Dark Chocolate, Chai Tea, Hazelnut Crunch, Coconut Curry; Fig Fennel and Almond, Coffee, Spicy Chili, and Salted Almond. Amazing flavors! It was hard not to buy out the whole store. We returned home via a grocery store, buying pork chops, potatoes, yogurt, and some lime-flavored water. Tonight, Alexandra is going to make dinner: pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans. For dessert, I think the rest of the piece of pistachio cake we bought yesterday will be in order. We may watch a movie as well. It is close to 8:00 p.m. now, and the evening is mellow. What a great evening!