Contrary to popular belief, winters in Seattle aren’t a constant stream of depressing rain and clouds (although having grown up a desert rat, I quite enjoy the rain). The sun does occasionally make an appearance during the winter, as occurred a few weeks ago when we had nearly an entire week of incredible blue skies and sunshine.

Earlier this winter we purchased the Seattle CityPass, which lets you visit a bunch of touristy things for a ridiculously low price. With the appearance of blue skies, we seized the opportunity to use our ticket for the Space Needle.

Built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the Space Needle quickly became the symbol of Seattle. At a height of 605 feet, the Space Needle offers amazing views of the Seattle city skyline, Elliott Bay, Mount Rainier, and the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges. One trip to the top and you’ll quickly agree that this is the most beautiful city in the United States.

Downtown Seattle

Ships in Elliott Bay

Lake Union

Mount Rainier in the distance

The rest of the photos are here.

Though my travels usually take place in Eastern Europe, I have been increasingly fascinated by the Mediterranean region since visiting Croatia and Montenegro. The beautiful scenery, extremely hospitable people, and delicious food I experienced there are just some of the reasons that I wish to return to that area. In particular, I’d like to visit some of the many islands that dot the Mediterranean, such as Menorca. Unfortunately, Menorca isn’t the easiest island for me to get to, requiring multiple flights and at least two days of travel. Once you’ve reached the island, though finding car hire in Menorca is relatively easy, so you will be able to explore the island at your own leisurely place rather than rely on public transportation.

Considered the most peaceful and undeveloped of Spain’s Balearic Islands, Menorca has miles of unspoiled beaches with far fewer visitors than neighboring Ibiza and Mallorca. In October 1993, UNESCO designated the island a biosphere reserve in an effort to protect Menorca’s unique wetlands and archaeological sites. The island is well-known for its stone monuments that date back to the Bronze Age, and the island was once invaded and occupied by the Roman empire (and, subsequently, the Moors and British).

In addition to its beaches and historical sights, Menorca offers its visitors plenty of outdoor activities, including scuba diving and horseback riding. And, what better way to end your day than by enjoying a sumptuous feast of caldereta de llagosta (lobster stew) and paella, with a few tall glasses of Gin Xoriguer?

After a particularly long stretch of foul weather, including a week of snow and ice storms, we were coming down with a slight case of cabin fever. So, despite the cold and rain (this is the Pacific Northwest, after all) we decided to head over to Whidbey Island for a short hike at Deception Pass State Park. We hiked from West Beach to Goose Rock, and this has definitely been one of my favorite hikes so far (I just wish it were a little longer). The scenery is absolutely stunning – a combination of driftwood-choked beaches, small offshore islands, and old growth forests.

The rest of the photos are here.

On New Year’s Eve we took the Clipper to Victoria, British Columbia. Victoria has been on my to-do list ever since we’ve arrived in Seattle and I figured the extended New Year’s weekend would be a good opportunity to finally make the trip up there.

We left early Saturday morning and after a comfortable three hour ferry ride, arrived in Victoria. Our hotel was just a short walk from the downtown area, where we spent most of our time. There is stuff to do in Victoria, like visit the famous Butchart Gardens, but I’m not really the garden going type, so we spent most of our time walking around with the occasional pub stop. We had brunch at Canoe Brewpub, where I had poutine for the first time in my life. Fries covered in cheese curds and gravy – yes, it is as wonderful as it sounds, especially when paired with a Red Canoe Lager.

We spent the evening at Garrick’s Head Pub, which was really laid back and served the local Dough Head Gingerbread Ale. We also smoked a Cuban cigar, because Canada is the land of freedom.

British Columbia Parliament Building

Victoria is known for its afternoon tea, especially the afternoon tea served at the fancy Empress Hotel, and since I acquired a taste for those delicious finger sandwiches and scones during my time in London, I was determined to have afternoon tea in Victoria. The Empress is ridiculously expensive, however. $47 for tea? WTF? So instead we went to the Venus Sophia Tea Room in Victoria’s Chinatown. It was half the price of the Empress, and did not disappoint. They have a million different teas to choose from (Monk’s Blend was pure heaven) and the sandwiches, scones, and sweets were delicious. I would highly recommend this place if you are looking for a great afternoon tea in Victoria.

After tea, we took a long walk through Holland Point Park and Beacon Hill Park.

Looking across the Salish Sea toward Port Angeles, Washington, USA.

And then, prior to heading back to Seattle on the afternoon ferry, we ate more poutine.

I love snow. Probably because I grew up in a place where the average winter temperature is 74 degrees, so I never had the whole winter wonderland experience. We woke up to our first snowfall of the year here in Seattle. It doesn’t snow here very often, so the entire neighborhood was outdoors throwing snowballs and sledding down the city’s many hills (and, of course, there were plenty of idiot drivers out). Here are a few shots I took on a walk around our First Hill neighborhood.

View from our apartment. It started to come down pretty heavily around noon.

Yes, Venice again. I know it’s quite possibly one of the biggest travel cliches out there, but I adored this city. We spent a few days here during our holidays in Italy, after visiting Rome. This is the Grand Canal, the major water-traffic corridor in the city. You can take either the water buses (vaporetti) or gondolas. Since the gondolas were way out of our price range, we stuck to the public transportation. The canal is is 3,800 m long, 30–90 m wide, with an average depth of five meters (16.5 ft). The buildings that line the banks of the Grand Canal date from the 13th to the 18th century. We had an excellent lunch at a nice little cafe along the canal and loved watching the boats go by as we chowed down on pizza. Since boats are the main form of transportation in Venice, there are ambulance speedboats, police speedboats, mail boats, and even UPS boats so the locals can receive their packages.

This portrait of “Great Leader” Kim Il-sung and “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il was hanging in a Pyongyang souvenir shop when I visited North Korea in September 2009. The pervasive cult of personality that surrounded the Kims ensured that every building you set foot in prominently displayed portraits of the two leaders. Now that Kim Jong-il is dead, it will be interesting to see if 28 year old Kim Jong Un, Kim’s youngest son, is able to consolidate power and take the helm of the state. I do not have much faith that he will be any less cruel or dictatorial than his father and grandfather, but regardless I wish the North Korean people the best of luck.

The above structure is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, originally built in the year 141. It is currently in the Roman Forum area in the center of of Rome, and contains a number of ancient structures dating back to Rome’s heyday as an empire. Along with the Colosseum and Vatican, the Forum will certainly be on the itinerary of whatever tours to Italy you might take.

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina was built by Emperor Antoninus Pius and was initially dedicated to his deceased wife, Faustina the Elder. When Antoninus Pius died in 161, the temple was re-dedicated to Antoninus and Faustina at the behest of his successor, Marcus Aurelius. It was later converted to a Roman Catholic church, known as San Lorenzo in Miranda, sometime in the 7th century.

I visited the Forum while on a trip to Rome and Venice in 2005. While I would love to go back someday, I would prefer one of the Italy tours that focuses on the countryside, perhaps in Tuscany.

One of the great things about living in the Pacific Northwest is the hiking. Yes, the east coast has hiking, but nothing that compares to what we have on the West Coast (in fact, I am hard pressed to come up with anything the east coast does better. Subway systems, maybe).

Back in October we hiked the Snow Lake Trail, located in the Snoqualmie Region an hour’s drive from Seattle. The hike was eight miles roundtrip, and not very strenuous, especially considering how quickly we seemed to gain elevation. This supposedly one of the most popular hiking trails in the region, but since we went in October when it was a bit chillier, it wasn’t very crowded.

At about 3.5 miles in, once you reach the ridge, you are greeted by the sight of this beautiful alpine lake:

One of several waterfalls

By the lakeshore

And what better way to end a long day of hiking than by visiting the local brewery? The Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom is located not far from where we went hiking, so we ended the day with a giant plate of nachos and delicious beer sampler:

Although the Soviet Union fell nearly 20 years ago, symbols of the regime still remain throughout the former USSR. This hammer and sickle adorns the Russian State Duma (the lower house of the federal legislature) building in Moscow. This building formerly housed Gosplan (State Planning Committee), the agency responsible for economic planning in the Soviet Union, which included the infamous five-year plans.