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In search of the Perfect Pizza, part I
A few weeks ago I was given some money with which to take myself out to dinner. Instead of going out to a restaurant I did something I hadn't done in years: ordered a pizza and salads.
I ordered from Romio's in Greenwood. Big mistake! I got their Ahens (meatballs, mushrooms and cold tomato slices) on a garlic crust, with extras of fresh garlic, green peppers and onions. The salads were two Greek salads, with their homemade Italian (!) dressing.
The pizza arrived in a timely manner, but: the crust was the thick, doughy kind (I like thin crusts). Their website didn't say this about that kind of crust. Two, I couldn't even taste the garlic, neither in he crust nor as the extra topping. Three, it was expensive as all get-out: over $40 for a large pizza and two salads. Four, the salad dressing was terrible! It was mostly red wine vinegar, which overpowered the taste of any olive oil and herbs that may have been in it. Five, there was no feta cheese in the Greek salad!
Bus Service in Seattle
Or, Mind those express buses!
Seattle has been voted at having one of the best bus services in the nation. It's entirely possible to live here without owning a personal vehicle. However, there are a few things that you should know, especially if you're new to the area or just visiting.
Seattle is served mainly by King County's Metro bus line, and additionally by Sound Transit, Community Transit and Pierce Transit, the latter three mainly for commuters.
Speaking of commuters, here's a tip for tourists and other visitors to the city: when travelling by bus, look for those with a green sign with white letters saying "EXPRESS". These signs are located in the lower-right corner of the windshield and at the bottom of the first side window at the front. Aditionally, the illuminated route signs at the front and side of the bus give the route number, the destination, and the route. Express buses' route says "via express" rather than via some intermediate location.
Unless you're sure you know what you're doing, avoid these express buses! THIS IS IMPORTANT! They are mainly for commuters and have an annoying habit of taking an alternate route such as a freeway, and zooming right past where you want to get off without stopping. When they do finally stop to let passengers off, you'll find yourself stranded in an unknown location several miles from downtown, sometimes at a parking lot in the middle of nowhere, and there may not be any bus service to get you back to town again at that hour. These expresses only run on weekdays and only during commuter hours: approximately 6 to 9 AM and 4 to 7 PM. They are not available on all routes.
So, if for example you wish to go to the Ballard neighborhood at 5 PM by all means take the #15 or #18 express, but if your destination is the Seattle Center (the old World's Fairgrounds) take the "local". I don't know how many tourists, or even locals that aren't familiar with the bus service, get on the wrong bus and end up in Ballard when they were intending to go to Lower Queen Anne/Seattle Center, or get off at some intermediate point along Elliot Avenue or 15th. Sometimes the driver will be nice and, if you ask, will pull over and let you off (if he's not on a freeway or something) but they're really not supposed to, and some will refuse to do so.
I remember when...
I remember the Seattle World's Fair in 1962. I don't remember much about it, as I was only four at the time. I remember that their was an elevated cable car way overhead above everything, and carnival rides including a roller-coaster and a Ferris wheel. My mother tried to get me to go on a ride with her but I was too scared to (and to this day I still don't like carnival rides), so she offered to take me on the cable car. Since I was only a couple of feet or so tall, it seemed like it was way high in the sky and was scarier than even the Ferris wheel. So we compromised on a ride on the monorail, to downtown Seattle and back. I couldn't see out the windows as it was too crowded (I remember sailors in their dress white uniforms).
I remember us staying with my aunt and uncle who lived in Seattle, that one evening we hung out by the fountain watching it and listening to the music, and that we stopped at the Woodland Park zoo while we were there, and I fed some geese who then started following me around. I think we also visited the park- something about squirrels rings a vague bell. I don't remember any International exhibits or anything, but I do vaguely recall the Pacific Science Center (which is still there) and its exhibits. Mostly I remember it being very crowded- being from a small town, and later living in the country, I'd never seen that many people in one place before.
