Alright my friends out in TVInternetland, a quick update.

I’ve spent the last couple days getting to explore a bit more of the city, so here I am to write about it.

First, there was Wednesday night.  I received a text from a friend telling me she had just gotten into AFP for free.  My natural response to such exciting news was to text back, “I have no idea what AFP is.”

Turns out AFP is Amanda Fucking Palmer, the (former?) lead singer of the Dresden Dolls and current wife of author Neil Gaiman, and the happily married couple were performing at the Moore.  And what do you know, there was an extra ticket.  I threw on my shoes and ran down to join her.

Now, I’ve always enjoyed the Dresden Dolls’ self-titled debut, but I’ve never really followed their work after that, and have only heard random songs here and there from Amanda’s solo work.  But that didn’t damper my enjoyment of the show.

Both Amanda and Neil performed songs and poetry (pretty rare to see poetry get such a large exhibition), and Neil even read a humorous sci-fi story.  Amanda was also celebrating Neil’s birthday, which resulted in a performance of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” plus a surprise cabaret performance that ended in this:

(not my video.)

At one point, they discussed the difference between the British and American implications of the word ‘lovely’.  It is an important distinction (especially in a marriage).  The night also included this particular gem of a song (though at our show, Neil sang it, and I actually think it’s better that way):

It was an unexpected and quite entertaining evening out.  It ended with a drink at a spot I hadn’t tried before, Rendesvouz, which apparently doubles as the Jewel Box Theater, so I’ll have to go back and check that out again.

The next day, I met up with my friend again, this time at Caffe Fiore.  The spot’s in Ballard, where she lives with the same couple I had considered living with when I was determining my options before moving to Seattle.  The couple has had me out for dinner and I’ve enjoyed spending various afternoons/evenings with them, or, like  in this case, just the missus.  Hi Clarice.

The three of us checked out some of the gorgeous scenery in the Ballard area.  First, we went to the Locks to watch the boats rise and fall and to unsuccessfully look for Salmon swimming up stream (will have to return in the summer).  There is also an absolutely beautiful park that surrounds the area.  My phone’s camera doesn’t do it justice, but here are a couple shots:

After the Locks, we drove down to the beach at Shilshole (I feel like this is a word I would butcher if I tried to say out loud; I’m terrible with Sh’s) and watched the sunset at Golden Gardens.

(Again, I wish I had a better camera for these shots; I’ll have to plan a day to go out there and take my real camera.)

After dark, my friend and I enjoyed a tasty Mexican dinner at a popular Ballard spot, Señor Moose, before traveling down to Capitol Hill to check out the art exhibit of a coworker, being held at Faire Gallery Cafe-Bar.  She does great work, check her out here and if you’ve got the means, support an independent artist.

We followed up the art exhibit by stopping into a Speakeasy across the street (I’d say the name, but I’m not sure I actually know it) to have a couple cocktails.

Overall, it was a wonderful fall Seattle day, with not even a hint of rain in the air and plenty of little Seattle-specific happenings that made me appreciate the city all the more.  It was a day that reminds me why I do this.

You might even say it was a lovely day.  British lovely.