37 Questions about Seattle, Part 3

Welcome back, Dear Reader! Let us continue...


4. What are your favorite things about living in Seattle?

My favorite things about Seattle include both the tangible and the intangible.

For starters, I love living in a beautiful city situated in a beautiful locale. When I drive through town I am always amazed: at the beauty of Mt. Rainier standing watch over the city; by the craggy splendor of the Olympics and the dominating curves and peaks of the Cascades; by the ever-present water that is such a part of our psyche here in the Great Pacific Northwest.

I love the way we are surrounded by trees and green, that we can feel the beat of nature below the rush of the city. I love that I can jump on a ferry and be in a rainforest in less than half a day. And that I can jump in my car and be hiking in the Cascade foothills a mere 40 minutes later. Sick of 75 degrees and sunny on this side of the mountains? A quick trip across one of our passes and you can be on the eastern side of the Cascades in about 2 hours, enjoying 90 degree weather and world-class hiking and recreating.

I love that Seattle has great food, particularly our ethnic food. Not just located in one District, Seattle's neighborhoods are filled with a plethora of choices for the adventurous foodie. We have particularly wonderful Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, as well as being a mere hour's drive from the Herbfarm, recently rated the #1 destination restaurant in the world by National Geographic.

We also have a number of local small and or organic farms that are represented in our wonderful CSAs and farmers market, producing everything from veggies to fruit, meat, dairy and wonderful cheeses, mushrooms and honey.

I love that we have such a rich cultural scene, from our amazing up-and-coming hip-hop artists, to the art world that supports local artists from every bent, to the theater (we have 28 equity theaters here, and Broadway-bound premieres at the 5th Avenue), film, opera, and symphonic music scenes. We also have amazing festivals - Bumbershoot is known around the country, but we also have many, many smaller fairs and festivals that could keep you busy all summer long.

I love the summers here and how happy they make people.

I love the fall and the winter, that can be so very melancholy and beautiful.

I love the intensity of the area and the people who call it home.

I love that it is such a small town for being such a big city!

37 Questions About Seattle continues...

Let's continue, shall we?

2. So, it doesn't rain all the time in Seattle. Does that mean the other things I've heard about Seattle aren't true either?

Well, I'm not really sure. What have you heard?


3. Well, people always say how good coffee is in Seattle. Is that a myth?

No, Dear Reader, that is 100% true. Seattle has some AMAZING coffee.

But I'm sure by now you know I'm not going to talk to you about the big SB. I'm not going to talk to you about Seattle's Best Coffee. Heck, I'm not even going to talk about Tully's.

I'm going to talk to you about the coffee the local coffee snobs drink. A coffee so good, they only have three locations, yet maintain a loyal following around the world. Their training materials on brewing and pouring the perfect latte are used worldwide. They have raised American coffee to an international art.


And yet, if you aren't in Seattle, you may have never heard of them. That, Dear Reader, is a shame. Allow me to introduce you to Espresso Vivace. I always stop in for a mocha when I'm in the neighborhood, and we usually buy their beans for home use. I wish every one of you could give it a try.


While I can't send every one of you a bag of coffee, I have decided to sponsor our first giveaway here at 37 Questions About One Thing by sending a very lucky reader one half-pound bag of delicious Vivace whole-bean coffee. All you have to do to get your name in the hat is:

* Be 18 or older and a resident of the U.S. or Canada
* Leave a comment on this post telling me if you would prefer drip beans (Vita) or espresso beans (Dolce)
* If you want an extra entry, become a follower and leave me another comment letting me know you did so (current followers always get an extra entry - just leave a comment so I know you want in!)
* If you're a real coffee aficionado and want yet another entry, blog about this contest and leave me a link in yet another comment.
* Each entry requires its own comment.
* You can enter until March 16th, 2009. On March 17th, I will draw one name via random number generator - the winner will have 48 hours after I email them to respond, after that a new winner will be drawn.
* If your blogger account is set to private and you don't leave an email in your comment, I will not be able to contact you to tell you how lucky you are! Please make sure I have a way to contact you so you don't miss out.

Good luck, Dear Reader. I hope you win!

The biggest rumor-buster about Seattle...

....will be revealed tomorrow. We will only cover the first question on our new topic, but trust me, Dear Reader, when I tell you it is a closely-held secret among Seattlites that will not fail to astound and amaze you!


Unless, of course, you are a fellow Seattlite, in which case you already know the secret. Fun, isn't it?