Bellevue on the way to Seattle

As I return from Washington I have so many beautiful memories to share, beautiful memories of nature, food, friendship, and travel. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Taking this trip to the Bellevue and Seattle area of Washington was so beautiful. The weather was breath taking and as it’s been brought to my attention many times this is not very often the case, I’d like to think I brought the sunshine from California but I hope I haven’t taken it back with me.

The main objective of my travel to Seattle was to attend two amazing friend’s wedding. I’ve known Ashley and Bryan since we worked together at Starbucks about 8 years or longer ago now. They met at Starbucks and have been in a relationship ever since and on 8/6 they were married in beautiful Kirkland, Washington alongside the stunning Lake Washington. I was able to stay close to the wedding services for 4 days of my trip which was nice because it gave me a different perspective of what business/suburban style living in Washington is like.

Lake Washington was filled with people all along the shore line, site seeing and getting ready for Seafair http://www.seafair.com/ weekend. The Blue Angels http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/ were practicing in the sky for their over the weekend aerial shows which was an amazing site to see. While in Bellevue I took it upon myself to do as much as I could within reason which included a little stop at the Bellevue Art Museum, Museum of Doll Art, Bellevue Botanical Gardens, Bellevue Yacht Basin, Meydenbauer Beach Park, Clyde Beach Park, Downtown Park,  Main Street Bellevue, taking peeks and walks at Bellevue’s many malls and other shopping profligacy.

Seeing these places made me realize how much pride people have in their own towns all over Washington which is a beautiful thing. I loved the feeling of Bellevue, which was business driven and suburban with small bits of tasteful art, nature, and other brilliance.

I ate well and affordable in Bellevue. I had gastro pub style eating at 520 in downtown Bellevue, Indian cuisine for lunch at Chutneys, and Peruvian food at Amazon Grill.

I took a stroll into a local Asian Market called Uwajimaya that was amazing. They have small counters for prepared foods, large sections of Asian utensils and containers, beautiful sea food counters, sashimi and beautiful fruits and vegetables. I wish I could pluck that market from Bellevue and put it in my neighborhood. The selection of items was remarkable, along with an amazing array of gorgeous sea foods and produce items, two of my very favorite things.
Walked up a gigantic hill to the Bellevue botanical gardens, beautiful lengths of tall trees shaded my face and brought to my attention how much I adore nature. I walked for what seemed like forever but I didn’t mind the beauty of Washington was everywhere. Breathtaking.

520 bar and grill is situated in old town Bellevue. A little street lined with all different types of food and small cafes as well as some bars. The restaurant is a style of gastro pub catering to the masses with American style cuisine. I decided to have a local beer and a burger but changed it up by getting a lamb one instead. It was juicy and served with a nice taziki sauce as well as some steak fries. I sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine sipped pale ale and soaked in the Washington sunshine as most were.

The next day a friend and I started out for lunch we decided to take our chances on an Indian style lunch buffet at Chutneys and we weren’t let down. There was a large array of freshly made choices. I filled my plate with different curries of vegetable, tiki masala, and tandori chicken as well as some lovely saffron rice. We filled up and the service and atmosphere was wonderful. We had a lovely lunch for a very affordable price.

After that we made our way to the museum of doll art. This is one of the most interesting and strange places I’ve ever been in my life. Sorry to say if you’re in the area please check it out because the woman at the front told us that by March the Dolls would no longer be on display. They don’t allow pictures but it’s something to see with your own eyes. In the museum there are dolls from all over the world and their play things and accompanying houses and other crazy items of small delicate detail.

Inside this gorgeous shopping center called The Braven is this lovely little place called Vovito. Vovito is a genius idea of the melding of sweet icy treats such as the lush and delicious Italian style gelatos and sorberttos as well as the accompaniment of booze and a full service cafe. They have everything I love here. I enjoyed a nice glass of Burt Champagne and some blood orange sorbetto. Wonderful!

 

Downtown Park is beautifully situated in the heart of the city. It is dedicated to those who have outdoors in mind with fountains pouring water and paths of dirt for dogs and owners to roam around and stretchy their legs. There were plenty of children about enjoying the sunshine and jungle gyms.

Another day I found myself roaming Clyde Hill but I didn’t know I was on Clyde Hill till I turned up at Clyde Beach Park. I found myself sitting for a length of time on the dock staring deeply into the blue sky over lake Washington, mesmerized by the beauty of such amazing homes and gorgeous morning water front. Sitting on the dock thinking about the next steps of life, I could still feel at ease. I finished my trip by walking back down passing Meydenbauer Beach Park and dipping my toes in the lake, and then after that finished by walking past the large Yachts at Bellevue Yacht Basin.

I had a Peruvian style lunch at Amazon Grill, which was lavishly decorated for the masses. The menu was situated with lots of not only Peruvian style foods but also other Latin American favorites. The restaurant is known for Rodizio style dining which is the carving of various meats table side for your eating pleasure. I decided that Rodizio would be way too much food for my liking for lunch. I was given a appetizer of plantain and various other root chips as well as three dipping sauces of various heat from yellow, orange, and red peppers as well as small corn like dried nuts.

 

I decided to have just an appetizer for lunch which was a sampler platter of Peruvian specialties which included
Chicharron de Camaron- Crunchy Pacific black tiger prawns deep fried in a quinoa batter and served over a bed of glazed yams with creole sauce
Cebiche Clasico de Pescado-Fresh fish of the day, sliced red onions, aji amarillo and celery
Fresh fish marinated in “lech de tigre” (tiger’s milk) made from lemon juice, kion and other herbs prepared in the classical Peruvian style, served with a side of sweet potatoes and inca corn
Causas Tradicional Yellow and purple mash, chicken salad and avocado slices
Causas are classic, elegant and tasty “cakes” of mashed potatoes with a myriad of different toppings.

Everything was very flavorful and the textures were different and pleasing. I thought the shrimp was cooked very well and the cebiche had such nice acid contrast. The Causa was something I’ve never had before and I’d like to explore them more.

Over all it was a very nice lunch something very different and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

So with all this my time in Bellevue came to and end, this place reminded me much of where close to where I used to live when i was in Ventura county. Still having its mystery and gems but being not far from the city and its adventures. Next the bridal shower and wedding.

Cheers
Unrivaledkitch