Day 3: Rainy

Our last day dawned rainy and cold, but we made the best discovery of the weekend: brunch at Belltown's Macrina Bakery and Cafe. It was hard to decide between the chocolate cranberry coffee cake, the fried egg sandwich, and the waffles ― but we soon found this was a place with no bad choices. Even the coffee was outstanding.

Down First Avenue in the heart of downtown, we visited the Seattle Art Museum, presided over by a 48-foot-tall sculpture of a hammering man. The museum has a great collection of Pacific Northwest and Canadian First Nations masks, sculpture, and art. We also liked the Japanese teahouse and ink paintings, which led us to appreciate the great collection of Asian and Italian papers at the nearby shop De Medici Ming Fine Paper.

The rain was falling harder, and it was close to time for us to leave. But we stopped across from Pike Place Market first for a quick lunch of white bean soup and a tortilla at the Spanish Table, a Spanish and Portuguese import store with a deli. We couldn't turn down one last dose of caffeine, either, tasting tea amid the overwhelming variety of spices and herbs at nearby World Spice Merchants.

Relaxed after our three-day break, Jim and I were both surprised to find that we'd actually stayed within our $350 budget. For about $344, we had enjoyed a long weekend of dining, sightseeing, and coffee tasting. If only we'd known. Jim could have had two more lattes.

The Tab
$350 BUDGET

Day 3
Macrina Bakery and Cafe
Belltown breakfast $12.26

Seattle Art Museum
Northwest art
$14

The Spanish Table
Warming soup and a tortilla
$11

World Spice Merchants
International tea tasting
$4

Total
$343.81