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An afternoon in Capitol Hill

Stereotypical Seattle day

One of the greatest things about moving to a new place is that everything is new. Obviously. During the past two months, we've enjoyed exploring new parts of the city, finding new favorite restaurants, and discovering some great stores.

Last Saturday, I visited a friend who lives in Capitol Hill. She's from the same area as I, originally, but moved to Seattle after high school and fell in love with it. She showed me some unique spots she likes to frequent in her neighborhood.



A view of the Melrose Marketplace from our table

At first, I wasn't sure what was inside the building at 1531 Melrose Avenue. Was it a warehouse? Was it an indoor farmers market? Was it a restaurant?

 

Answer: A little of all the above.

 

There was a butcher selling fresh meat, a man selling caramels he made, a floral shop and a very neat restaurant called Sitka and Spruce.

 



Evidently, prior to the start of construction this was a lovely view

The decor was homey, with produce and country-chic touches here and there. According to my friend, the menu changes every few days depending on what is available locally. One other neat thing about this restaurant was the kitchen, which was open to the dining area.





Lovely details in the restaurant



Next, we walked a few blocks to The Elliot Bay Book Company store. Walking around endless shelves of books on every topic imaginable, I felt like I was in love. The smell of new books alone was intoxicating. I could probably spend days in there.



Such a beautiful bookstore!

Though I'd never been to Capitol Hill before, I heard it was home to many colorful characters. We saw probably a hundred or more walking up and down the streets dressed as Santa Clauses. I found out later it was part of the Seattle SantaCon. Looked like fun!



A small swarm of Santas walk down the street

If you're wondering why people dressed as Santa Claus would walk all over a city in the cold and rain instead of just driving from place to place, you've probably never tried to find parking in Capitol Hill. It's not easy and it's not fun; but everything else is!