Wogan and I have just finished the stint of our Capitol Hill stay in Seattle – I thought I might chat about the neighbourhood and how we found it. Seattle has all these different areas which are all very different and cool. Capitol Hill is one of the more funky and busy neighbourhoods. Seattle in general is a very alternative and liberal kind of city, Capital Hill is like Freo in Perth dialled up several dozen notches.
We stayed in a 3rd storey apartment on 12th Ave. It gave us great views of the city, with peeks at the Space Needle and the lake. The neighbourhood is described in wikipedia as home to a large “gay and counter culture” population …. which may be true (even if the word choice is awkward). However people in Seattle all seem to love the district and Greg and I both found the area to be amazingly awesome! The area is home to some very old and pretty houses and quite a few well off people as well!
A sign hanging on the local church – love it.
The main thoroughfare is Broadway Ave – home to food stores, boutiques, bars and restaurants. We have eaten out in this area a fair amount in the last few weeks and there is some kick-ass Vietnamese and Mexican food available! Well, there is lots of all sorts of awesome food available really. We found it so convenient to be able to stroll for a few minutes in most directions and find ourselves at a supermarket or cool eatery. We will definitely be back there – even after we move.
Mmm, Mexican..
Just down the road from where we were staying is “Volunteer Park” which is quite a lovely place – home to winding paths and tall trees. It is quite big and I have since realised we only skirted along one section of it. There is a large water tower which you can climb for good views of the city…Wogan and I didn’t see that! There is a conservatory and an Asian art museum there as well. We have to go back and explore some more!
Right nearby this lovely park is a really nice cafe - the Volunteer Park Cafe in fact! It is a local business which prides itself on serving local and organic fresh foods. We went there to celebrate Wogan’s Australian birthday and enjoyed some really yummy tucker followed by some decadent desserts! I had a roast chicken with salad and Wogan had beef brisket with polenta. We will be going back there – need to give the brunch a go!
We both enjoyed walking in and around the neighbourhood. People are always out with their dogs – Seattle is very animal friendly. The people themselves are nice as well, everyone is happy to give you directions and pet their pooches. There are a lot of parks and very pretty gardens. On our street, some people had decorated the front verges with flowers or little fountains. On the whole, the area was grand!
For a high distinction mention, I must add that we visited the “Republic of Coffee” everytime we did our laundry. Great coffee and great sub-style hot sandwhiches. The staff were lovely and gave us some great suggestions for things to do around the area!
can barely wait, argh!