36 - Sunday, February 16, 1992 — North Shore News

TRAVEL

Super Saver great way to see Seattie

AS I mentioned a couple of
weeks ago, we planned a
visit to Seattle...

We followed through on our
decision to give the Claremont
Hotel a try — after all, $49 (par)
is a pretty good deal for a
downtown hotel. Parking is $9
CDN a day.

I’m having a hard time describ-
ing the Claremoni. It’s an old
hotel (1926) which at one time was
converted to apartments. Now,
it’s back in the hotel business. A

lot of renovations have taken -

place but 1 suspect there’s more to
be done, especially in the decora-
ting department.

The rooms are comfortable but
utilitarian. They have kitchens —
the one we had was fully equipped
— even a microwave, but had no
stnall appliances.

The hotel is very cle2x and
seems to attract a lot of Cana-
dians.

Would we stay there again?
Frankly, I doubt it.

First, I didn’t use the kitchen all
that much except to sit in when
Brian was watching TV.

Secondly, when we go away for
a weekend, we enjoy a bit of ‘lux-
ury even if it costs more. Howev-
er, if we were on a strict budget
and wanted to eat in. our room,
why not?

The Claremont i is at 204 Fourth
St. at Virginia, only a few: blocks
from the Pike Place Market.
Toll-free: 1-800-448-8601.

At.the other end of the same
block. is the Warwick Hotel. It’s
quite a few steps up the luxury
- ladder and isn’t too pricey —
'- Seattle is running a Super Saver
. tourist promotion for the next few

- weeks (ends March 31) and the
“Warwick is included.

Rooms are $69 (US) but park-
-ing is free. The lot belongs to the

‘. Warwick but the Claremont uses

it.
"We took a stroll through the

\: “obby and bar area — it’s classy.

--’ One North Shore reader called me
‘to draw- my attention to this hotel

~ and told me that the rooms are
very nice and there is a pool.

‘For ‘reservations: Toll-free, 1-
- 800-736-0246.

_ To reach either hotel from 1-5,
take the Stewart: Street. exit and
follow it to Fourth. Turn right: —

_ the Claremont is on the next cor-
‘ner (Virginia Street) .and the

- Warwick on the next (Lenora).
Parking is in the middle — unload

your ‘car at Street level as there’s .

ae cotLoose

ae

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no elevator. There is valet park-
ing

Every hotel has a free map of
Seattle with all the highlights
noted. The central area of the city
is tinted yellow and buses are free
within this zone. Bus drivers are
pleasant and if you. ask they'll
holler out your stops for you and
point you in the right direction.

Within walking distance — a
block or so along Fourth — is a
fine shopping mall: Westlake Cen-
tre. Obviously, you'll pay top
dollar in these shops but they are
worth a visit.

What a bookstore! Don’t miss
Brentano’s at Westlake — it’s a
book lover’s joy.

Within a block in all directions
from Westlake Centre are all the
major department stores — just
stand on the corner and do a
360-degree turn and you'll see
them.

We hopped the bus to Pioneer -

Square — a favorite prowling
spot. It’s a good idea to have your
free map with you — it gives you
all the particulars about the Un-
derground Walking Tour which
departs at regular intervals all day
from the Square.

One of my favorite stops there
is the Antique Mall — 602 First

‘Ave. Over 80 dealers have corners

in this old series of basements. It
features mostly china, jewelry and
small items but it takes hours to
walk through if you are a hound
like me.

I got lucky this visit and picked
i’ve been
collecting for years. The dealer
obviously hadn’t checked his
prices lately ~- 1 got a mint condi-
tion side plate for $7.50! To give
you an idea, the last pieces I
bought {a cream and sugar set)
were $150 US.

Antiques over 100 years old are
duty-free but GST applies.

One of our best finds this trip
was a restaurant. in Pioneer

Barbara
McCreadie

TRAVELWISE

Square. It’s called Trattoria Mit-
chelli and is half a block from the
Antique Mall towards the water-
front, on Yesler.

We had a superb lunch (I had -:

the Italian omelette; Brian, a
meatball sandwich) including cof-
fee and tip for $£5. If you like
potato salad, try theirs — it has
fresh basil: in it. Other diners
(regulars!) told us that every item
on the menu is excellent. ‘

From the restaurant we ducked
under {the’ overpass and: walked

along the waterfront.- There are’
interesting antique —fur-.

several r
niture warehouses housed in
shabby old buildings. You can’t

miss them and they're well worth

a visit.

How I wish I was just. starting
to furnish an old house — I’d go
ape in those places.

Further along the waterfront is
Tourist-Trap-City with all the
knick-knacks and junk that
delights Aunt Minnie but makes
the rest of us ill.

However, if you like ghoulish.

exhibits, go to the back of Ye
Olde Curiosity ‘Shop.and have a

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i 110 East 14th St.

(next to Canadian Tire)

look. at “‘Sylvester’’ and ‘‘Sylvia’’
— two mummified human corp-
ses. There’s a pig — well, pigs? —
pickied in a bottle. Poor thing was
born with eight or nine heads,
multi legs and apparently lived for
a few hours.

It’s not your best stop before
lunch.

If you're interested in kitchen
ware, Trident Imports has an
enormous stock as well as all the
other gear that’s normally stocked
in an import shop.

There is a walkway from the
central dock area up the hill to the
Pike Place Market. Quite a hike,
not recommended for anyone out

‘of shape {me) -— I’ve done it

once, but this time we hailed a
cab back to our hotel.

I’d heard about a restaurant,
The Poor Italian Cafe, and since
it was just a block from our hotel,
I dragged Brian there for dinner.
It’s certainly popuiar, especially
with young adult crowds. I can’t
see why!

I ordered one of the daily

specials — linguini with seafood. °

It turned out to be ene of the

most expensive items on the menu |

at $14.95 and was probably the
‘worst linguini I’ve ever tasted.
Brian’s Chicken Cacciatori wasn’t
a whole lot-better. I still haven’t
heard the last of that.

Try it if you must — it’s.on
Virginia at Second — but don’t
say I didn’t warn you. Oh, well —
maybe they were just having an
off night.

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Brian’s choice would have been
Maximilien, right in the market.
We’ve had marvellous meals in
this French cafe out don’t try it
without a reservation —- 682-7270,
The location is classic — one of
the old basements. Look for it at
the foot of the steps right below
the famous brass {7) pig.

And, just a note of nostalgia —
for anyone who grew up here in
the late °50s, early °60s —
remember those famous Seattle
weekends? Carloads of us used to
head from UBC for .footbail
games and invariably we’d end up
at an old bar called the Blue Ban-
jo. .
It had waiters in striped shirts
and boaters, a banjo band belting
out Kingston Trio stuff andthe
beer poured freely — a lot of it”
onto the sawdust! It’s long gone
but the building is intect — and is
the starling point for the ‘Under-
ground Tour..

It’s like seeing a ghost.

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