On Flying and Downtown Seattle

This is the third and final installment on our trip to our Seattle.  If you missed them, you can also read about the start of our Seattle journey and our day trips outside of Seattle proper.

Seattle Art Museum
If you are remotely close to the Seattle region right now, run over to Seattle Art Museum. Don't walk. Do not pass Go. Just get your feet moving and don't stop until you're in the door. Not only will you get to see this awesome Frank Stella piece, you'll see one of the best exhibitions that I've ever seen at any museum. Gosh, that's a bold statement to make... completely true. I've been raving about it to anyone willing to listen.

Future Beauty is a retrospective of 30 years of Japanese Fashion. The 200+ garments in the collection include runway pieces from the likes of Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and more.  It was such an eye-opening exhibit to see how Japanese designers in the 1980s changed the look of runway fashion. Then to see how those revolutionary designs have evolved and grown into today's Japanese fashion culture. I loved looking at the structure, folds, material choices and finishes that shaped their garments.

Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed in the exhibit, but have peek through the slideshow at the museum's website or pick up a copy of Akiko Fukai's book about the Future Beauty collection.  I adored this exhibit. I visited twice in a week including dragging Craig in to see it. Although I've glanced Japanese textile books and ogled the Pattern Magic series, it was awe inspiring to study shape and form in these runway garments. I particularly enjoyed the room of shadows and room of flatness. They are difficult to capture in words, but show how the garments are constructed to celebrate the garment form rather than the body itself.

If you can't make it to Seattle, you can always watch this short video via the Telegraph about the collection when it stopped in London at the Barbican. Seattle featured some of the same pieces and a few others.  As you can imagine, it was great to see in person .  If I lived in Seattle, I'd be back at SAM a few more times before the Future Beauty exhibition closed.

Seattle Olympic Sculpture Park
Speaking of temporary exhibitions, we also enjoyed climbing the rooftop of We Will Tear the Roof of the Mother at the Seattle Olympic Sculpture Park, another division of the Seattle Art Museum. Of course, the other artwork was great to see there too. I can see why so many visitors make the sculpture park a must-see-port-of-call.

Seattle Underground

As nearly-virgin tourists to Seattle, we felt it obligatory that we squeeze in at least one campy historical tour about the city. We opted for Seattle Underground which explores spaces under Pioneer Square from the early days of Seattle before they shifted the land and buried parts of the city. It's a bit cheesy and staged, but has some interesting relics scattered about. Our guides were quirky and offbeat, it was part historic tour and part comedy show. Craig hates city tours of any sort, but said he liked the history in this one and was impressed by how much he learned. That's about as good a review as any.

Goodbye Seattle (Almost)

...and that pretty much wraps up our time in Seattle. I'm back home now,  The good news is that Hawaiian Airlines has found my luggage. The bad news is that they've misplaced my husband. Ok, misplaced isn't quite the right word... stranded might be more accurate. When I woke up this morning, I was a bit surprised to find him signed into Google Chat.

Why aren't you in the air, Craig?'  We're delayed. The flight now leaves at 4pm. 

That's a seven hour and fifteen minute delay?  Ummm. yeah 

You had a forty minute connection? They'll give me a hotel in Honolulu. I'll get back Monday night.

So what are you doing now? I'm wandering the hallways like Viktor in The Terminal.

Of course, there's been more delays since then. He'll tentatively get in the air at seven, nearly 11 hours after his flight was due to depart. Over 13 hours after arriving early or an international departure. When it's all said and done, he'll get home about 24 hours later than expected. He's taking it better than I am, it seems. He can still make Tom Hanks jokes. After the questionable chicken, mystery meat, botched luggage and delays; it will take quite a bit of wooing for Hawaiian Airlines to win us back. We fly a lot and are used to travel headaches, but this round of flying takes the guava cake (and apparently leaves it sitting on the tarmac).

We liked Seattle, and it seems that Seattle likes Craig so much that they won't let him leave. I know we missed out on quite a bit in the Emerald City. We'll keep our raingear at the ready. Maybe one day we'll get to visit again?