365 Inspirations—285: Date Night

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”—Mark Twain

 
For the record, we don't have an official date night. In fact, everyday and night are date days/nights for my husband and me because we enjoy each others company and spend a lot of time together at our favorite spots—walking around Greenlake, going to movies, going out to eat, hanging out in the house drinking tea and talking.

Tonight we went out to dinner at Steelhead Diner in Pike Place Market and went to see the Seattle Symphony play Mozart and a few others (we got free tickets from Yoon's yoga student who is in the symphony).

It was a wonderful fall evening downtown and all the leaves had changed colors. After our dinner, we got a pumpkin spice latte in Starbucks and watched the sun set below the Pike Place Market sign. I absolutely loved the conductor tonight. He was from England and told stories about each piece of music we were about to hear. I've never heard a conductor do that, but it was perfect and gave the music so much more context.

Now we are housesitting down on Puget Sound. The moon is out, the smell of salt water from the Sound is in the air, the cats are curled up in an armchair, jazz is playing on my husband's iPad mini and I'm eating a chocolate macaroon.

Sunset down at Pike Place Market

Can't get much better then this!

Do you have a specific night for date night, or do you celebrate every day/night?

365 Inspirations—15: Pike Place Market, Seattle WA

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."—T.S. Eliot

The Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle is not a place to miss if you are ever in the Pacific Northwest. It's a hubbub of activity. I was there with my husband on Saturday! Street musicians are everywhere—from Native American singers to banjo players. There's even a guy who hula hoops while spinning and balancing his guitar on his chin.

The public market is situated overlooking Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains along the downtown waterfront. Ferry boats come and go from several islands along this waterfront.

The very first Starbucks is located in Pike Place Market. Years ago, it was just a local hangout and no one knew what Starbucks was. Musicians still gather in front of this old hot spot.

I love going to the market with my husband. There's so much life there. We like to meander through the market and look at all the beautiful flower arrangements and fresh vegetables. Of course, we always get caught up in the crowds watching the infamous "flying fish". If you go to the market, you must stay and watch someone order fresh fish. There's a lot of hollering that happens and then a fish flies through the air from behind the counter into the hands of a worker on the other side who wraps it up for the customer.

Oh, and you must stop by Market Spice Tea. They have free samples in the back of their delicious cinnamon spice tea. In fact, there are wonderful samples of everything from chocolate to cheeses throughout the market.

We happened to hit Pike Place Market on a very sunny, yet cold, day! The picture above reflects that. I like it because sun is so rare in January here, but it was shining bright last Saturday.

Are there any great places to visit where you live? I'd love to hear about them!