I think I may have found a new favorite carousel. It basically cost me $17.22 just to ride it, but I don't care! It's the first double-decker carousel I have ever been on, it has wonderful different animals in addition to standard carousel horses, and it's absolutely delightful. The best part is that, thankfully since the Seattle Christmas Market has a fee just for entry, the carousel had no further cost once inside. Alexia and I rode it twice.

I checked yesterday, and right now, if you buy tickets to the Seattle Christmas Market in advance online, it costs about $20 (before tax and fees). I got wind of the return of this Market, which had its first year in Seattle last year, back in September, which was when I booked the tickets for Alexia and me—for yesterday at 5:00, the first day of the season for this event. I wouldn't necessarily have made yesterday my first choice, especially as it was almost a week before even Thanksgiving, but it was just a date that worked well for both of us. In the end, it was just an added bonus that we went so early in the season: it was not in the least bit crowded. (Clearly they expect it to be later, given the space allocate for lines that we saw—which was empty: we were able to walk right in. Granted, only after going through metal detectors like we were going through security at the airport.)

Anyway. I had considered this event last year, but when I saw that it was $30 just for entry whe paying at the door, I was like: fuck that! I heard it was not really worth it from other people too. But, when I saw this year that I could get in for $15 ($17.22 with taxes and fees) if we booked early, I thought, well, that's reasonable enough to try it at least for one year.

And you know what? I was pretty immediately charmed by the whole thing once we got inside last night. I still think having to pay just to go inside and shop is ridiculous, and according to Noah, there are several other cities with Christmas Markets and they don't have an entry fee. Nevertheless, after being there last night, I was thinking I might actually be interested in going again next year. I'm not sure I'll want to do it every year, but I can still see going again—at least if I once again have the wherewithal to buy the tickets as early as September.

It's an uber-Christmasy environment, totally my thing because I love Christmas. There's a lot of Christmas light and illuminated displays in there; there's a giant Christmas Tree you can even walk inside; there's a four-level "Christmas Pyramid" with live Christmas carolers in it—the ones performing last night, we recognized from the Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition from last year—and of course, the double-decker carousel that really serves as the centerpiece.

There are several rows of vendor booths, which Alexia and I browsed pretty much all of, passing most and pausing at a few; we did get samples of a toffee popcorn that was tasty but of course too expensive. Maybe half the booths sold treats or food and maybe half sold specialty products like alpaca wool gloves and scarves, or Christmas Tree ornaments, or whatever.

I wasn't sure whether we'd wind up eating in there or not—we ended up not doing that, although I'd have been totally open to it if Alexia wanted to. But, also, Shobhit had dinner made at home anyway. I figured I would want to get hot chocolate from one of the booths if nothing else, and predictably more than one booth sold it. I chose not to get it from the very first booth we saw selling it, and the one I wound up buying from was a place called Ho Ho Hot Chocolate, apparently based in Vancouver, B.C. I happened to see some other people walking by with some very photogenic, red hot cocoa cups. and that was what convinced me. I bought the deluxe version with foamy marshmallow burnt slightly with a kitchen torch, whipped cream, and peppermint sprinkles on it. It was in a 12 oz cup and it cost me $13.78.

It was ridiculous and fun to eat through all that crap on the top, until I finally reached the hot chocolate . . . which was far from the best hot chocolate I've ever had. I really just paid that much for a cocoa spectacle. Oh well. Next year I'll get it from a different vendor and won't fall for the spectacle. I might even see if I can't find a specific hot chocolate recommendation.

I nearly forgot to mention that Alexia had hit some traffic and did not get to my work building, where we agreed to meet, until right about 5:00. We found a free place for her to park at the end of the block, and then we walked the 15 minutes or so over to Seattle Center, so it was about 5:20 when we were finally going through the entrance. We went through the exit at 6:39, so we were there for roughly 80 minutes. That time there yielded 59 shots for my Flickr photo album, many of which I was quite happy with. You can't put a price on memories! Or I suppose you can: $17.22. And another $13.78. But hey, I budgeted all year for Christmas events, and that was how I paid for this!

Anyway, I walked Alexia back to my office building, and as she had never been inside, she was very interested in coming up to the 5th floor and getting a tour. Two of the photos were taken there, including one of the view of the skyline from the balcony that I have taken a few dozen times.

Then Alexia drove me home.

[posted 10:38 pm]