A couple of weeks ago I made a trip to Seattle for work. A great tip from one of my hip employees led me to a boutique hotel in Belltown called Hotel Andra. Even though I was there for business, I felt comfortably at home. The room was more like an studio apartment (apparently it was once upon a time) with it's king size bed with crisp yet smooth sheets, decorative lighting, calming wall colors, and huge windows that I opened each night to let in the cool Seattle air. Right next door was a restaurant called Lola where we had an amazingly delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon that I swear was a quarter inch thick and “hash browns” that were made by smushing a whole potato into a round, pancake-like form. Delicious, but yeah, we all moaned about the fat and calories as we wiped our greasy lips. The location was convenient - - a block this way, a small grocery store/deli; a few blocks this way, a mall; a few stops on the monorail, a museum – you get the picture. And Jimi Hendrix is like the Elvis of the North East. His image is all over buses and buildings.
In spite of the passing traffic and frequent cabs swinging by the Andra, the busy Lola restaurant and bar guest gatherings, Hotel Andra has a calming effect. Maybe it’s the earthiness of the natural Scandinvian-influenced designs of wood and stone mixed with the hip furnishings or the studio loft-like feel of the rooms (did I mentioned the large walk-in closet?) or the polite, Seattle hospitality, or just the medicine of being away from your day to day responsibility, even if it’s only for a few hours of the evening.
One evening I sit in my hotel room with the window open, the cool, crisp air such an escape from the humid-drenched southern air, and chat with with my friend Ellen 3,000 miles away, back in the humid south. I tell her about the air and Scandinavian influence, which she knows and appreciates well. She tells me about friends from her native Denmark who left the country for Seattle and enjoyed the cool, crisp air and never returned. I consider never returning.
After a week of working in a hotel conference room the four of us were content if for no other reason than the constant tending to our needs -- the steady stream of sodas, water, Starbucks coffee and tea. The creamy, bitter Greek yogurt and fresh berries for breakfast, served just on time, right after our caterer changed out of her biking clothes. Lunch right on queue: will it be a healthy sandwich with veggies or an outrageously meaty burger and generous cut fries?
Soon it was friday, our work week together was coming to an end and the red eye was in my near future. We wondered: Who will be bringing our breakfast on Monday? Laughter. Goodbye.
Comments