Pike Place

One of the highlights of Seattle for me, which is to say, one of the places that was close enough to the conference for me to repeatedly sneak away to, was the Pike Place Market.


The market was enormous and vibrant and only a couple of blocks from the waterfront, with some nice views of the water.


The flowers were really impressive--there was an enormous selection and they were incredibly inexpensive.


There were loads of dahlias, something I haven't noticed often for sale on the East Coast. The arrangements were also distinctive--their style was to have three-ish big, tall flowers, surrounded at the base with lots of medium-sized flowers.



I also thought that this combination of sunflowers and black-eyed susans was charming.


The market sold lots of interesting food. I was feeling daring on the first day, so my lunch consisted of fried gizzards and livers and hearts. Mostly I was thinking that my dad and Laurie Colwin would be proud of me for trying it. I didn't like them too much--the hearts were the best; the gizzards were a little gritty (I really did know that they would be); liver I like best with onions and a little sweetness in pate.


I later enjoyed some delicious sweet Chinese pastries stuffed with various meats. I think they were called Hom Bows.