After a longer break than planned (damn, those past weekends were busy; plus the London trip which I also need to blog because I got some fantastic shots, if I may say so myself *G*)… here’s finally the last part of our Seattle adventure!
Day 12; September 12, 2011 – Leavenworth… with the Bavarian Village
Since we did the Northern part of the Cascade Loop, it was only natural to also do the Southern part. Which took us to Leavenworth – which apparently isn’t too far from where my friend Linda lives.
So we met up there! “We” being me, my parents, Linda, and her husband. They were both very lovable and nice! Linda brought some great engraving work – that being the TARDIS glasses I posted about way back then and a granite thingy *G* with a wedding picture of my parents’.
Great work, all of it! This is her Etsy Store!
Now, Leavenworth has this “Bavarian Village” and, well, it did look a bit like little Bavaria. If you only take the touristy parts and add a zillion cars to it.
Some impressions:
Now that’s a Christmas tree to my liking!
A maypole! Which turned out to be the ideal meeting place.
Linda took us to some wine tasting shop where she knows the owner and we tasted a *lot* of wines. And ended up buying two delicious bottles.
We had food at a Bavarian restaurant, which wasn’t too bad! And this is where I also finally found a Reuben sandwich. Huzzah! Coffee was had at the Mozart café which has the most delicious marzipan cake I ever had. Well, I didn’t really have it – my dad did. But I tried a bite.
We also had fun in some shops that had, among other things, a R2D2 nutcracker. No, I didn’t buy it. Just in case you were wondering.
The way home took us through the South Cascades… which wasn’t really worth it. Do the Northern part of the loop if you’re ever so inclined. Much prettier!
Day 13; September 13, 2011 – Bellevue & Issaquah
We spent a quiet time around the place where my sister lives. In the morning, we went to Bellevue. Which seems to consist mainly of Microsoft buildings. And lamp-posts with guerilla knitting. I went to the Disney store there… where I found a really cute Nightmare before Christmas shirt. No pictures yet, because my sister got it for my bday/christmas 
We also bought cupcakes at Cupcakes Royale. I got a lavender and a Red Velvet one. Yum!
In the afternoon we went to the “old town” of Issaquah. Which has a lot of gorgeous art galleries, with lots of items made of glass (including one shop that offered glass blowing lessons!) and really really gorgeous paintings.
And an old train depot that looked fascinating.
Dinner was had in the evening at Field of Champions with a very good burger.
Day 14; September 14, 2011 – Snoqalmie Falls
By now, we were all tired of driving, so we looked for something close by to do on my parents’ last day. We picked the Snoqalmie Falls, which were really worth it as they’re really beautiful. And very informative too! Well, not the Falls themselves, but the visitor centre.
Some impressions:
Afterwards, we went back to my sister’s place so my parents could pack.
In the evening, my sister and my dad went to a baseball game while my mum and I went to Fado’s Irish pub for a pub quiz that we totally flunked. A LOT of these questions were only made for Americans. For the record, our pub quizzes in Irish pubs? A lot of them are about the British Isles, Brit/Irish culture, etc. Only a few of them are about German-specific things.
They had some good live music by “Justin + Robin”.
Oh! And they had BROWN BREAD ICE CREAM. I LOVE BROWN BREAD ICE CREAM. Just saying.
Needless to say, we went home rather late.
Day 15; September 15, 2011 – Seattle and Hairdresser
In the morning, we saw our parents off at the airport.
Then I got my short haircut by Jake Gravbrot at Mars Hair in Seattle. I HIGHLY recommend this saloon! Excellent hairstylist, great atmosphere… you can read books on music and tattoos while waiting!
In the evening, my sister and I wanted to see Fright Night, but Fandango lied about it showing at the time we wanted to see it! So we went to the Cheesecake Factory instead where we shared: fresh, raw salmon and shrimp summer rolls. Dessert was Key Lime Cheesecake for me and Tiramisu Cheesecake for my sister. It was all very good!
In the evening, we watched more Dr. Who Season 6 until I fell asleep.
Day 16; September 16, 2011 – Leaving 
There’s not much left to say here. In the morning, I packed all my stuff. We watched more Dr. Who and cooked pasta for lunch before I had to leave for the airport with a really heavy suitcase.
My “leaving dinner” consisted of a Pumpkin Creme Latte from Seattle’s Best Coffee and an Apple Fritter. *G*
