Mary Jo Manzanares: Mary Jo is the Travel Editor here at PlanetEye Traveler as well as the contributing writer for her home town of Seattle. She is a lifelong resident of the Seattle area, and when she's not out exploring and enjoying all that the city has to offer, she's probably tackling the rest of the world. Mary Jo can be reached at maryjo@planeteye.com or you can follow her on Twitter @flyawaycafe In addition to travel, Mary Jo enjoys a great meal and glass of wine, especially when combined with wonderful friends and conversation. She's also a movie buff, avid reader, and has been known to hit a shopping mall or boutique now and again. Mary Jo also writes about travel, and her experiences as a Flight Attendant at Traveling with MJ (www.travelingwithmj.com).
Rainy Weather Biking at Colonnade Mountain Bike Park
The Seattle rain is going to be hanging around for awhile, but it doesn’t mean you have to hang up your bike for the winter. Even those not-so-hardy souls can enjoy a little mountain biking beneath the I-5 freeway at the Colonnade Mountain Bike Park.
In a moment of sheer genius, the community came together to turn this former stomping grounds for drug use, homeless camps, and trash dump into the first-ever urban bike park gives. The space gives mountain bikers a place to both learn and ride...
January 31st, 2011 | Seattle | Read More
Sip Sake in Seattle
When you’ve had enough of Seattle’s coffee, beer, and wine offerings, head to Sake Nomi in Pioneer Square to learn about and taste premium Japanese sake. Owners Johnnie and Taiko Stroud are trying to spread the enjoyment of this beverage, along with some of the tradition and culture that goes along with it.
Sake Nomi is both a sake store and a sake bar, where sake aficionados and novices alike can share an interest or curiosity in this mysterious alcoholic beverage. Learn, ask questions,...
January 28th, 2011 | Seattle | Read More
Seattle Clock Walk Tells Perfect Time
Does anybody really know what time it is?
In Seattle you don’t even need a watch to answer that questions as you’ll find clocks all over the city, over 29 public clocks in the downtown area alone. You can rely on the accuracy of these time keepers, as city municipal code requires all public clocks to be working and displaying the correct time. If they aren’t? Then they must be covered (for no more than 14 days) until they are fixed. Seattle takes it time seriously!
You can spot all...
January 27th, 2011 | Seattle | Read More
Discover Wine & Beer Pairings at ART
Paired dinner have become a popular dining choice, as diners learn how food and beverage can bring out the best in each other. I’ve long been a fan of wine pairings, as both a way to sample new wine, new foods, and discover what tastes good together. ART Restaurant at the Four Seasons Seattle is going to challenge me even further with two upcoming paired meals – one based on beer, the other on wine.
It’s about the Beer
Beer & Cheese Moveable Feast: This afternoon event will have...
January 14th, 2011 | Seattle | Read More
Hawaiian Moments in Seattle
Yes, it’s rainy and gray outside, but Sunday evening you can warm up with some fabulous Hawaiian music and entertainment in the first of three shows in the Perfect Moments in the Island of Hawai’i concert series. The series kicks off with a Sunday performance by Makana, with special guest, Taimane Gardner.
Makana is a slack key guitar master and is considered one of the top three guitarists in the U.S. Esquire Magazine had this to say: “Slack key guitar music, indigenous to Hawaii,...
January 8th, 2011 | Seattle | Read More
Where to Watch the Space Needle Fireworks
We’re heading into the final hours of 2010, full of memories of the year to go and full of bright optimism of the year ahead. It’s an exciting time of year.
The biggest New Year’s Party in town is the one around the Space Needle, where upwards of 50,000 people gather to watch the fireworks off the Space Needle. The fireworks are regularly listed among the top 10 fireworks displays in the country. You’d better bundle up, though, as the weather forecast calls for weather below freezing.
The...
December 30th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Breakfast Gourmet: Top Pot Doughnuts
When your morning wake up call involves coffee and a doughnut, you can’t go wrong with hand-forged doughnuts from Top Pot. With five locations around the area, you’re never too far away from some of the best doughnuts in town.
I typically go to the downtown location, a building that looks like a cross between a cool house and an old fashioned library. Its huge windows make a showcase of the interior terrazzo floors, steel furniture, floor-to-ceiling book-lined walls (with sliding ladder),...
December 29th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Lobster-Maine-ia Comes to Seattle in January
Formerly known as Lobsterpalooza, Lobster-Maine-ia boils over at the Seafood Waterfront Grill on Pier 70 during the month of January, in this annual celebration to the undisputed King of Crustaceans – the lobster. And this year it will be predominantly the Maine Lobster, featured in all but one of the special lobster dishes created for this culinary event.
Although the prized species can be found from the Canadian Maritime provinces to North Carolina, about half the annual catch of cold-water...
December 26th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Sing-along Sound of Music at 5th Avenue Theatre
The 5th Avenue Theatre comes alive with the sound of music, in the third annual Sing-along Sound of Music, an evening of musical interactivity that gives the audience a chance to boo the Baroness and the Nazis, cheer the plucky Von Trapps, and sing along to every well-known number in the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein score.
Audience members are given goodies bags upon arrival, full of essential props they’ll need for the evening, and guided on how to participate by the evening’s host, Richard...
December 21st, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Holiday Party Supplies from a Champion
For over 70 years Champion Party Supply has been the definitive source for Seattle party goers and givers. From Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations to summer picnics to baby showers and more, Champion has provided all the goodies you’ll need for an extra-special event.
Champion has themed papers, plates, balloons and helium tanks, and lots of other fun decorations, along with theatrical makeup and costume rentals for adults and kids. Santa and elf costumes may be hard to come by at...
December 20th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Asian Shopping at Uwajimaya
If you’re looking for the ultimate in Asian shopping in Seattle, you need look no further than Uwajimaya, a family owned Asian supermarket in the International District.
It would be a mistake to think of this 60,000 square foot business as merely a super-supermarket. Its story began back in 1928 when Fujimatsu Moriguchi sold fishcakes and other goods from his truck to Japanese workers. He called his business Uwajima-ya after the town of Uwajima, adding “ya” (the word for store) to the...
November 30th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Bottoms Up at Elysian Brewing Company
With its microbrews and sophisticated beer palate, the Pacific Northwest is becoming as well known for its beer and it is for its wine. Seattle is a beer kind of place, with some nice tasting brews along with fun brew pubs and interesting breweries and brewing methods.
On Capital Hill, you’ll find the Elysian Brewing Company with both a full service restaurant and bar and a 20-barrel brewing facility. A walk by gives you a quick look at both, but pop inside for its pub menu and a cold one...
November 26th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Plan Your Seattle Bus Trip Online
There are all sorts of good reasons to take public transportation in Seattle, and the current snow and icy conditions is just one of many. From most outlying locations into downtown King County Metro is a quick and easy and often connection free. The bus is an easy way to navigate the downtown core, and is free for much of the downtown area.
To figure out how to get where you want to go, use the regional trip planner, entering in your starting point, your intended destination, and either the...
November 23rd, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Holiday Gospel Music in Black Nativity
Put a little soul into your holidays with a performance of Black Nativity, a re-telling of the Christmas story through the words of the great American poet, Langston Hughes. Traditional carols are sung gospel style by the entirely black cast, and the stage is turned into a joyous “nondenominational church” that unites artists and audiences of different faiths, ages, backgrounds and beliefs through the heart-stirring power of song, story and dance.
The production begins in the dark, as singers...
November 20th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
A Vegan Family Thanksgiving Dinner
While many of us savor the smells of roasting turkey and baking pies on Thanksgiving Day, others look for creative ways to have a festive meal while adhering to vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free diets. Seattle choices are made easy with a hearty, locally-sourced Thanksgiving dinner at Cafe Flora.
The talented culinary team at Cafe Flora has combined organic, sustainable, and regional ingredients in a dynamic 4-course, prix-fixe, vegetarian holiday dinner with options available for a vegan or gluten-free...
November 14th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Big John’s: Tasty Goodness at a Reasonable Price
With the holidays fast approaching, it’s time to start with menu and party planning. Trying to make this year’s event even better than last? Or maybe it’s your first year at entertaining? If you’ll be hosting any time at all, I’d recommend you turn to Big John’s PFI for some over-the-top help and suggestions without an over-the-top budget.
Big John’s may well be one of Seattle’s best kept secrets, but locals in the food industry have long relied on it for reasonably priced Italian...
October 30th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Business Central: Washington State Convention & Trade Center
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people come to Seattle to attend a trade show, conference, or convention. For some people, this means a drive across town, the bridge, or enduring traffic on the freeway. But for a lot of others, the journey to Seattle is a cross-country, or across the ocean, trip.
If you’re coming to Seattle for such a business event, chances are good that you’ll be spending some time downtown at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center. Located in the heart...
October 27th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Halloween Greenwich Village Style
Now in its 38th year, the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade brings together the economic ethnic, social, sexual and racial diversity of New York City into a huge neighborhood party. This is a family friendly event, and the NYC Police Department has recognized the Parade for its contribution in making Halloween a safe event, bringing together the community in a creative and playful way.
The parade originated with a Greenwich Village (Travel Guide) mask maker and puppeteer walking from house to...
October 27th, 2010 | New York | Read More
Free Pumpkin Party for Kids & Parents at Cafe Flora
One week till Halloween – do you have your pumpkin carved yet?
Dress up the kids and take them to Cafe Flora for a morning of pumpkin decorating and treats while parents can relax and enjoy the process. Cafe Flora, Seattle’s sophisticated and award winning vegetarian restaurant, honors the gourd of fall and teams up with Tonnemaker Farms (from central Washington) and neighborhood Thrive Art School to create a very special experience for all the little ghosts, goblins, and ghouls around town.
Halloween...
October 24th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
Paint it Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness
Support the efforts to find a cure for breast cancer with Paint it Pink, a special papering event at The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and you no doubt have seen plenty of pink clothes, events, and special purchases designed to bring attention to this disease that has taken the lives of so many women and men. Yes, men also can get breast cancer.
Paint it Pink has been designed as an evening of fun and relaxation, with an opportunity to enjoy...
October 19th, 2010 | Seattle | Read More
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