Saturday Night

Maranello. All I want for Christmas.

An Afternoon Walk

Switzerland Reservations

We are staying in this hotel in Zurich and this hotel in Lucerne. We were considering the Palace Hotel in Lucerne, but after Adam and I discussed the end that came to Marie Antoinette during her tenure in a palace, and given Jaime's proclivity to say "let them eat cake" in her day-to-day life, we decided such a reservation would be courting trouble.

Also, we did some research on the NYE celebration in Zurich. It looks like the Swiss enjoy the same sorts of things on December 31 (or 31.12.09) as we do.

...awake...

Insomnia is the great thief of joy. With its concealed burglar's toolkit of latent traumas and untethered energies, it sneaks in when only you are awake and robs awe from grandeur, comfort from the downy warmth of bed, peace from the body at rest and ease from the innocent mind.

First and Pine

Jazz at the SAM

On Thursday night Jaime made last-minute plans for us to go see the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra playing at the Seattle Art Museum. The music was nice, though subdued and a little precious - as you might expect from a repertory jazz ensemble. Most people were seated and had a lot of gray hair. Although not the Cotton Club, it was a pleasant way to spend Thursday evening, especially when followed by the seven-spice shrimp and roasted vegetables verjus at Black Bottle.

The Sabbath

Dish Envy: Seattle

Jaime has launched her new food blog, here:

dishenvyseattle.blogspot.com

Second-City Summary

Our weekend in Chicago was exciting and pleasant. Thanks largely to Adam and Dahlia's comfortable home, thoughtful planning and general hospitality, it was one of the easiest trips I have ever taken. Also, a three-day trip to a more-eastern city is a perfect weekend; the time change is well-suited for the transition to late nights and back to an early morning on Monday.



Chicago confirmed for me that the ambiance and aesthetics of cities do correlate to size. The height and density of Chicago's River North neighborhood demonstrated, for me, the allure of Seattle's continued infill development.

What Chicago seems to lack is the density of subcultural elements that makes Seattle greater than it might look "on paper". Although there are neighborhoods that have a cool vibe to them (e.g. Wicker Park), the culture en masse feels less interesting.