Monday, January 17, 2011

Day Trip to Seattle

I was just talking to my mom, who was saying that she can tell when I'm really busy with work because my blog doesn't change. So hopefully, this post means that I'm finally getting some more time to not think about work.

Our reason for going to Seattle was to see the Picasso exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) that was showing a collection from the Musee National Picasso in Paris. It was quite an amazing collection running from the early 1900s to the 1970s and contained paintings, sculptures, sketches, and photographs. It was a bit overwhelming, but by the time we reached the end of the exhibit, I also didn't want it to end, and wanted to see more of his work.

Here are some examples of highlights for me:
The Acrobat (Jan. 1918) 
Oil on canvas.

Two women running on the beach (The Race) Summer 1922
Gouache on plywood
This painting is very famous. It was smaller than I thought it would be and more beautiful that I thought it would be. His work is so vibrant to me. I had no idea there could be so much life in his work.

SAM was absolutely packed! We bought tickets online two weeks ago for a 12:00 pm entry. They give you a 20 minute window for entry and then after that you lose out. By the time we arrived at 12:15, the 12:20 line-up was already queued to the back of the hall. Fortunately, we were still able to enter in the 12:00 block and could walk right into the gallery. 
Even though we had to manoeuvre through the crowds to look at the exhibit, it was well worth it. Perhaps I would have spent longer there without the crowds, but I saw everything I wanted to see. 

I didn't really want to look at the other exhibits after seeing Picasso's work. I felt like I had taken enough in. However, on our way out we did come across these really wonderful photographs by Amy Blakemore and stopped to look at those.

While our reason to go to Seattle was to see the Picasso exhibit, one of the highlights of the day was going to the Flying Apron Bakery. I bought their cookbook not long ago because they specialize in vegan and gluten free goodies. I have already feature some of their cookies on my blog.


We left for Seattle early Sunday morning so we could go to the bakery first and have a good coffee (no such thing as bad coffee in Seattle it seems) and a delicious baked goodie from Flying Apron. It did not disappoint. In fact, I loved it! The interior is so warm and welcoming. It's one of those spaces where you feel at home. The interior has several large heavy wooden tables and lots of chairs and benches. 
The baked goods are all organic, gluten free, and vegan. They use very wholesome ingredients so you not only feel like you're getting a treat, but you know you're getting really good food as well. 
I love the sign because it says in brackets "obviously it's not about what you can't eat." I should have a t-shirt that says that! 

db had a cinnamon bun and a cappuccino, while I had a berry scone and a decaf espresso. I forgot to take pictures of our food, but that's okay. I at least got some pics of the bakery itself. 
We also ordered some baked goods to bring home: the house bread which was sweet potato & rosemary on Sunday,  a dark chocolate muffin, a pecan maple muffin, a linzer cookie, and an apple turnover. All I can say is so far so good. For some reason I just want to make a rich, strong coffee to go with their baked goods. The two seem suited to one another.


2 comments:

mister anchovy said...

For me, Picasso's work still has the power to stop me in my tracks. I think he was a real problem for a lot of twentieth century painters that way.

S.M. Elliott said...

Ah, envy! Looks like a fantastic exhibit (and some fantastic goodies, too). Seattle is a city I could really get to like.