The sun was warm and comforting to my vitamin D deprived body except for my eyes which were squinting for a while. The big red iconic sign of the pike place market is quite inviting. I stopped at the entrance to wait for my friend and the book-dog in me smelled a bookstore by the name - Left bank books. It looks like a small shop and smells of old books with yellow worn out pages. The entrance and the shop name sign feels like you are visiting Olivander’s wand shop on the Diagon Alley. Left Bank has a great collection of political and history books available at half price.
As we walked our way in the market, we entered the 3 storey building with lower floors in the basement and faced towards the waterfront. Surbhi, being my tour guide, kept giving me directions on the next shop we should visit. I was completely in awe of the number of stores that could fit in this space. We passed a
vendor who was selling my favorite lavender candles. My feet stopped as if pulled by an external force and I impulse shopped candles - what is a better way of unwinding than reading a book in a room of lavender smell?
Next stop - the Polish pottery. Elegant, delicate, and pricey - three adjectives that describe the pretty shop on the 2nd floor. It has some really great pieces of indigo pottery with intricate work - each worth $34 or more. I particularly kept eyeing a salad bowl which had evergreen vines, and peach colored flowers painted on the inside. But then decided to give it a pass, as I had figured out by then, there were more dollars to be spent during the day. I remember I kept looking back as I left the store, wishing I had the money to buy almost everything in there.
After almost 3 hours - we gave in to the hunger and decided to fetch some food. I was in for a good sandwich, but Surbhi took me to a Seattle Dumpling shop to eat mushroom dumplings. I wasn't thrilled by the idea of mushroom filling but gave it a try anyway. And I had my mind blown away! Easily the best dumpling I have ever tasted - this even beats Din Tai Fung dumplings for me! What made them even better were the sauces - Yellow chili sriracha, chili oil and soy. Ummm hmmm!! The place hardly has any place to sit, it's a really small eatery with just enough space for a bar counter style dine-in. But it's pocket-friendly and super delicious.
As we walked out craving for some more food - we stopped along the way for a Piroshky (a Russian pastry), breadzel, Beecher’s mac n cheese and some peach flavored apple cider. Bon Appetit! Armed with our lunch takeouts, we headed towards the waterfront, had our lunch with a view and headed back home with filled bellies and happy hearts.
