Healing Lifestyles & Spas

The Best of Seattle

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By on Retreat&Renew

By Alex Nicole Leviton

Let’s just get this over with. Yes, it rains in Seattle. Yes, the winter is overcast most of the time. But the summers are beautiful, the average temperature is in the mid 70s and the winters are actually quite mild – it rarely falls below freezing. The rain thing is actually a ruse invented by locals to keep Seattle from overcrowding. While Seattle gets a higher percentage of rainy days, it actually gets less precipitation than most American cities, including Washington, D.C. and New York City.

Seattle is one of the best examples of urban planning in the country. The public transportation is excellent, downtown is pedestrian-friendly, and there’s plenty to keep you busy for years on end. The city is surrounded by beauty – mountains on one side, and water, well . . . everywhere. Jet City, as it’s known, has the best of urban living – museums, hip live music venues, top-notch restaurants, shopping – but you’re also minutes away from kayaking, skiing, or hiking. Seattle is one of the most progressive cities in the country, and it has a thriving health and wellness community.

Best All-Natural Day Spa

There aren’t many places in the middle of a city that one would use the word “tranquility” to describe. At Spa Bellissima arrive for your service early, to allow yourself as much time as possible in the “quiet room,” where you’ll wear extra-fuzzy robes and sip tea. Kristi, the owner, founded Spa Bellissima as a second career after growing up with a French grandmother who taught her about the healing power of natural ingredients. The ingredients used for your facial or massage look like they belong on a chef’s table. Unlike most facials, where the therapist leaves the room during a mask treatment, at Spa Bellissima, that’s when you get the hot stone massage. Plus, the prices are very reasonable. Contact (206) 956-4156

Best Vegetarian Restaurant

At Carmelita’s before dinner arrives, you’ll receive the usual fresh baked bread. But instead of butter, the bread comes with a roasted shallot olive oil that makes eating the entire loaf an all-too-real possibility. Many of their ingredients come from local farmers, and they cook with organic ingredients whenever possible. Try the excellent Portobello mushroom roulade, which is made with the roasted shallot olive oil. Contact (206) 706-7703

Best Urban Outdoors Experience

Imagine driving around Lake Union to look at all the sights. There’s traffic, pedestrians, honking, and stress. Now imagine paddling through a near-silent Pacific Northwest lake, strumming your fingers through the still water. Combine the best of these two experiences and you’ve got kayaking on Seattle’s Lake Union. You can either rent kayaks or join a trip with the Northwest Outdoor Center. Hint: cross the lake and meander through the houseboats to where Tom Hanks lived in Sleepless in Seattle. Contact (800) 683-0637

Best Place for the Four-Legged Crowd (and their owners)

If dogs could develop their own spa, Marymoor Park would be it. This forty-acre dog park has everything they’d ask for: miles of trails, a small stream to frolick in, even their own portable restaurant out front, featuring “gormay dog biskits.” The best part about the dog park is, as one owner put it, “Other dogs can get our dog a lot more tired than we can.” We’re not sure who enjoys the outdoors and socialization more, the dogs or their humans. (S.O.D.A. – Serve Our Dog Areas; call for information or to volunteer.) Contact (425) 881-0148

Best Pedicure

With two locations, Habitude, an Aveda concept salon and spa offers the full service – pedicure, manicure, haircut, massage, retail shop, etc. The pedicure is your best bet: you sit in a big comfy chair and sip yummy Aveda tea while your toes become beautiful. The price is steep, but if you’re looking for a spa experience, or you want to give a gift certificate to someone and don’t know exactly what to get – this is your place. Contact (206) 782-2898 or (206) 633-1339

Best Bookstore

Elliott Bay Book Company, an independent bookstore is located right downtown, so locals and tourists alike can spend hours browsing through a tremendous collection of new, used, and rare books. They also feature a staggering array of literary events, from speakers to book clubs. Contact (206) 624-6600

Best Aromatherapy Boutique

In addition to the multitude of dried herbs and aromatherapy supplies, Samara Botane also offers classes on just about anything you’d ever want to know about aromatherapy: herbal defenses against colds, botany, ayurveda, soap making, and even basic chemistry. Classes last anywhere from an hour to a couple of days, and cost $25 to more than $250. If you’re not local, you can order most of their products online. Contact (206) 283-7191 or visit www.samarabotane.com

Best Market

Sometimes tourist traps are what they are because they’ve been that way forever. And sometimes tourist spots are visited by millions of people for a very good reason. Pike Place Market sits soundly in the second category. This outdoor marketplace isn’t just a place to buy schlocky souvenirs and pay fifty cents to see the shoes from the world’s tallest man (downstairs, on the right), it’s a great place to meander, or shop for organic fruits and vegetables. The market features organic foods and goods on Wednesdays and Sundays, but there are several daily organic stalls, as well. Contact www.pikeplacemarket.org

Best Massage for the Best Price

Brenneke School of Massage has been teaching massage for more than twenty-five years. If you’re looking for a massage at a low price – and you don’t mind if a supervisor wanders in while you’re in dreamland – then try this massage school located on the bottom of Queen Anne hill. A one-hour massage with an advanced student is $20 for your first visit and $25 per visit thereafter. Contact (206) 282-1233

Best Yoga Studio

Ballard Firehouse Yoga offers Ashtanga, Pilates, and Bikram, taught in a beautiful old converted firehouse in Ballard. Their Bikram classes are excellent and because the space is used for other types of yoga classes, the room is never oppressively hot. Best bet of all: during the winter, you don’t have to pony up for both a sauna and yoga. Contact (206) 789-8099

Best Weekend Getaway

One of the best things about going to Whidbey Island is how close it is to Seattle. It takes only an hour or so, and you’ve got your choice of car or ferry (or both – you can take the ferry there and drive back). One of the longest islands in the contiguous United States, Whidbey Island offers spectacular scenery, quiet beaches, and plenty of romantic bed and breakfasts. Stop by Greenbank Farm for their local craft market, berry pies, and walking trails. Nearby, you can stay at the Guest House Log Cottages, equipped with fireplaces and bed and breakfast. Pick up your free maps and tourist information on the ferry ride over. Contact (360) 678-3115 or visit www.whidbey.net/logcottages

July/August 2003

Healing Lifestyles & Spas Team
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