FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF SEATTLE (with a local)

These two are dangerous.

Looks like all my favorite things in one place.

We don't actually need to buy anything, but we're going to the Amazon Go store just for the experience. Let's see if I give it to Jerome. If it'll charge him or us.

We are Karen and Nate, and we spent the last four years traveling to 100 countries.

This is exciting stuff.

But 2020 brought us back to the US where we bought a converted sprinter van to explore our own backyard. Over the last few months, we've driven our van over 3,000 miles across the country to Seattle, Washington, where we traded our van for a houseboat. That'll be our home base as we explore the Emerald City for the first time.

Navigating a new city during this strange time has been a little tricky, which is why we're super excited to have a local showing us around today.

Jerome.

Oh, my gosh. Meet our friend Jerome. We were Internet friends who became real life friends when he joined us in Italy on our Vespa tour. And earlier this year, he came to our hometown of Nashville to celebrate with us at our Hundred country party. And now that we're finally in his hometown, he's going to show us around for the day. Oh, my gosh. We are starting the day with what I was most excited about visiting in Seattle.

The first Starbucks ever.

Okay.

So I unapologetically love Starbucks, but when we're traveling, I always feel a little bit guilty going to Starbucks instead of, like, a local coffee place. But we're in Seattle, where Starbucks started, so I can get this guilt free.

I actually ordered a drink that I've never gotten before because we're at the Pike's Place Market. I got the Pike's Place flat white, so it feels different and special. Ready to start the day.

Living here for the first 32 years of my life, I have never seen it without a line. It was crazy.

It's only 10:30 in the morning, but it's really hard to pass up Mac and cheese when they're hand shoveling the cheese curds.

Thank you. Have a good one. Well, this day is just getting better and better.

Oh, my gosh.

First coffee, no Mac and cheese. This might be the best day ever. Look how cheesy this is.

This is the best Mac and cheese I've ever had.

Is it good?

It's the best ever.

You're not just saying that, are you?

I'm not. It is, like, perfect consistency and, like, not too salty. I'm so happy right now. This is like brunch, right.

Well, that was the famous market where they do the fish throwing. But kind of as expected, it's a lot quieter than normal. I think as. Oh.

This is crazy. This alley is called the gumball, and this whole thing is full of people's gums.

A few years ago, they did a power washing session all throughout. This corridor used to be a lot worse.

I cannot imagine there being any more than there is. This is nuts.

Like, this is probably the least sanitary place we could be during COVID Pretty disgusting.

I know I keep saying it, but just when I thought the day couldn't get any better. Coffee to Mac and cheese to pizza. This place is nuts. I think Jerome put it best. It's like a Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. But the coffee version. It's so beautiful in here. It's one of the few Starbucks reserve roasteries in the world. And apparently each one has, like, something unique about it. This one has an Italian bakery inside. They're actually roasting the beans here.

Server, go.

And there's even a cold brew cocktail bar. This place is a drink. Wow.

Cheers.

It's so raining.

Yeah.

So we don't actually need to buy anything, but we're going to the Amazon Go store just for the experience.

This is crazy.

I'm walking into the future right now.

So much technology going on in the ceilings up here.

So crazy.

So the way that it works, there are sensors at the very top of the ceiling that are working with RFID technology. And at the same time, the shelves are also weighted so it somehow knows when you pick something up and you kind of walk out with it at the other one. There's actually alcohol in it. You actually have to talk to somebody.

What should we buy, Nate? We don't need anything.

Let's see if they have kombucha.

Ooh, kombucha.

All right, so getting this one.

It knows. Let's see. If I give it to Jerome, if it'll charge him or us. That's actually good. So I picked it up, and I scanned in on Kara's card, but I handed it to Jerome. It's gonna be a true test.

I'll get my defense up.

This is exciting.

Classic.

All right, so we're doing one more little test. We picked up a box of cheez Its. We're gonna walk it around the store and put it back and then see if we get charged for it.

Thanks very much.

Okay, we're walking out. This feels so wrong.

We paid.

Oh, yeah.

Miss didn't steal it.

Wasn't me. All right, all Right. Check the lap. Mine still doesn't know that I've left, pending charges. Enjoy your trip.

So it's free?

It might be free.

Let's get out of here.

I assume that we're going to be charged at some point. We'll keep you updated.

This says 113. We didn't live for, like, 1:25. Yeah, still nothing.

All right, it's been 15 minutes. Still no bill.

Wait, are you not touching it?

What?

It helps. When you're in, like, the hill, hilly places. In Seattle, you don't have to deal with parallel parking.

Jerome's car just parked itself. Parallel parks itself.

It's not even a Tesla.

We're experiencing all kinds of new technology today.

We drove up to Cary park, which might have the best view of the entire city.

Darn it. Still no charge from Amazon.

The Fremont troll.

I just got a notification that says, going gone. Your trip time was 10 minutes, 55 seconds. Your receipt is ready.

What did it charge you for?

It got it. Right. It charged me for the coconut kombucha that you picked up and handed Jerome and the ginger that you picked up and handed to me.

Wow. No cheez its.

No cheez its. That's impressive. Jerome walked out with my coconut water, right? Yes.

And it still charged you for it.

And it still charged me for it because you picked it up and I scanned you in. It also gave me a CF Seattle sweetened beverage surcharge of 52 cents. What does that mean?

There's an added surcharge of, like, however much percent to, like, incentivize people to not drink sugary drinks in Seattle.

No. Yeah.

That must be a Seattle thing.

Do you want to try the Gina.

With the coconut milk?

Yeah.

Do you want to get the lechon be Express?

Really good.

Yeah.

Yum, yum, yum.

For dinner, Jerome has brought it favorite Filipino restaurant, and we pretty much ordered one of everything. We're starting with these.

Lumpiang Shanghai.

Lumpiang Shanghai.

This is basically like a Filipino egg roll.

It's amazing. Thank you.

So that one's sinigang.

They just brought us the bala soup on the house.

Usually it's a tamarind soup, but the way that it's sour, the sour Asian is actually Granny Smith apple, so it's very local. I would say that's a heart. It looks like there's taro in here too. So, like, a lot of the food dishes that are in this restaurant are kind of like Filipino dishes but kind of elevated to be a little bit more modern. So, like. Yeah, with the gummy Smith apple instead of the tamarind. That's kind of what they swapped out to make it taste a little bit different but very familiar for Filipinos.

Kind of want to just try the broth.

It's gonna be sour.

Oh. Like, the broth by itself is, like, wild.

It packs a punch.

Yeah.

A lot of the times people eat it, like, with rice, and then they just drench the rice with the broth, and then the pork is torn off of the bone.

Yeah.

Okay, so we got two dishes out right now. The first one is the adobon, which is noodles, and it has a squid ink. Squid that's fried and sauteed with some fish flakes on the top. And then this other one is, like, literally my favorite one. It is called ginataan. It is, like, vegetables that are pretty much cooked in coconut milk. And he said that there's turmeric in there. I didn't know that. But we all love turmeric, and we love cilantro, and we love cilantro.

I'm most excited to try this one. I mean, I know I'm gonna like that, but this is, like, a really unique dish. The guy who cooked it used to cook this for his family in the fishing town where this dish is popular in the Philippines. He used to make it for his.

Family in Cavite, which is in the Philippines.

And so it's just cool that, like, the people in the kitchen are kind of putting their, like, culture into their food. It's gonna be.

Wow.

The best Filipinos ever, though.

It almost felt like we were, like, celebrities. They closed it down just for us.

They heard we were coming, so.

Excuse me, everyone. You can get back in.

I actually called ahead of time.

Never had pizza with potato chips on it before.

So crazy saying this, but it's even better than the Caste Pacific Lounge.

Don't speak of classmates words.

I think that's the only other place I've had one of these, but I think it might be better. I'm sorry, Kathy, but saving us to love you.

I love it, and I haven't tried it yet. I just look at your face, and I'm just like, oh, she's just in pure joy right now.

Yeah. Stay tuned.

Have a good one, man.

Yay. I love the surcharge. I feel like if somebody tried to do that in Nashville, there would be, like, an uproar.

Jerome, this is, like, the dreamiest shot ever.

Gotta elongate the neck.

I like how invested Jerome is with your happiness.

I'm just like, I'm like, having so much joy seeing her, like, close her eyes and just savor having a moment.

You ordered so well. Like, we sat down and we were like, we have no idea. And he pretty much told us, and it's perfect. Like, seriously, this is, like, all my favorite things. The crunchy garlic on the rice is everything.