Isn't this just beautiful? My husband had to , just HAD to go to Port Angeles , Washington for business and I got to come along on this trip. Our daughter A.Joy was taking care of our animals and my husband and I had a 4 day get away in a part of Washington that brings back memories of our honeymoon. He did have to attend meetings though and I had the first 2 days to myself, then we would spend the evenings together.
Port Angeles is one of the gate ways from the U.S. to Canada.37 years ago we went to Canada on our honeymoon and caught the ferry from Victoria, Canada to Port Angeles on our way home. Victoria and Port Angeles are more beautiful than words can describe.
Flags flying at the ferry loading dock.
My husband and I were fully aware that this weekend is the Lavender Festival. ( more about that in next post ) We were very
un-aware of the power and attraction of vampire lore in Port Angeles though. Our first evening in Port Angeles we walked up 2 blocks from our hotel in search of a good spot to have dinner and this restaurant appealed to us. BELLA
ITALIA . The savory scents wafting out called " come hither..." and we
hithered on in. Boy oh boy, was it packed, on a Tuesday night!We were told there was room at the bar, or we could wait an hour or more and they MIGHT have a table for us. We took our 2 seats there at the bar because we were hungry and everything smelled so delicious. As we sat there we visited with the other patrons at the bar and they were very friendly, the food, absolutely ALL of it was exceptional, from the salad, to the chowder to the meal itself...even the
garnishings. Nothing on the plate was below exceptional. Now we knew why the restaurant was packed, we thought!
We did not realize a very powerful draw to the restaurant was VAMPIRES! Yes, vampires. Apparently , this place has something to do with Bella and Edward in the Twilight series of books by
Stefenie Meyer. I admit, I have not read the books, I did see the movie on DVD at home, but did not register this fact. As my husband and I were talking to other local patrons there we mentioned the TWILIGHT books and a
pre-teen girl behind us squealed loudly. She had heard us and was so excited to be in this very restaurant because of her TWILIGHT addiction. Then I looked around and saw most tables had
pre-teen or older girls who were showing various signs of TWILIGHT addiction....
hmmmmmmmmm....
Across the street from the restaurant is this store. All merchandise relates to the TWILIGHT series of books. We also discovered many of the shops have added 'Bella' to their name, or a room or dish, drink, etc. named 'Bella', and various other
allusions to the books' characters seem to pervade the town. From what I have read, the story itself takes place in Forks, WA which is about 45 - 50 miles away. Apparently Bella and Edward ( the vampire ) visit Port Angleles, thus, the claim to fame.
Look, a bottle of sparkling syrah made , named and bottled in honor of TWILIGHT.
Alas, we did not see any vampires, just beautiful scenery. Here is a picture of our hotel from the ferry docks. We had a wonderful and relaxing ( well I did, I wasn't here on business ) time in Port Angeles. I think anyone would love it here, with or without vampires!
Isn't this just beautiful? My husband had to , just HAD to go to Port Angeles , Washington for business and I got to come along on this trip. Our daughter A.Joy was taking care of our animals and my husband and I had a 4 day get away in a part of Washington that brings back memories of our honeymoon. He did have to attend meetings though and I had the first 2 days to myself, then we would spend the evenings together.
Port Angeles is one of the gate ways from the U.S. to Canada.37 years ago we went to Canada on our honeymoon and caught the ferry from Victoria, Canada to Port Angeles on our way home. Victoria and Port Angeles are more beautiful than words can describe.
Flags flying at the ferry loading dock.
My husband and I were fully aware that this weekend is the Lavender Festival. ( more about that in next post ) We were very un-aware of the power and attraction of vampire lore in Port Angeles though. Our first evening in Port Angeles we walked up 2 blocks from our hotel in search of a good spot to have dinner and this restaurant appealed to us. BELLA ITALIA . The savory scents wafting out called " come hither..." and we hithered on in. Boy oh boy, was it packed, on a Tuesday night!We were told there was room at the bar, or we could wait an hour or more and they MIGHT have a table for us. We took our 2 seats there at the bar because we were hungry and everything smelled so delicious. As we sat there we visited with the other patrons at the bar and they were very friendly, the food, absolutely ALL of it was exceptional, from the salad, to the chowder to the meal itself...even the garnishings. Nothing on the plate was below exceptional. Now we knew why the restaurant was packed, we thought!
We did not realize a very powerful draw to the restaurant was VAMPIRES! Yes, vampires. Apparently , this place has something to do with Bella and Edward in the Twilight series of books by Stefenie Meyer. I admit, I have not read the books, I did see the movie on DVD at home, but did not register this fact. As my husband and I were talking to other local patrons there we mentioned the TWILIGHT books and a pre-teen girl behind us squealed loudly. She had heard us and was so excited to be in this very restaurant because of her TWILIGHT addiction. Then I looked around and saw most tables had pre-teen or older girls who were showing various signs of TWILIGHT addiction....hmmmmmmmmm....
Across the street from the restaurant is this store. All merchandise relates to the TWILIGHT series of books. We also discovered many of the shops have added 'Bella' to their name, or a room or dish, drink, etc. named 'Bella', and various other allusions to the books' characters seem to pervade the town. From what I have read, the story itself takes place in Forks, WA which is about 45 - 50 miles away. Apparently Bella and Edward ( the vampire ) visit Port Angleles, thus, the claim to fame.
Look, a bottle of sparkling syrah made , named and bottled in honor of TWILIGHT.
Alas, we did not see any vampires, just beautiful scenery. Here is a picture of our hotel from the ferry docks. We had a wonderful and relaxing ( well I did, I wasn't here on business ) time in Port Angeles. I think anyone would love it here, with or without vampires!
21 comments:
Kathy, somehow I lost track and I was hoping you were okay. And now I see you were much better than (just) okay! It looked like a great place to spend 4 days or so! Do not tell anyone (LOL) but I have have had the itch to go somewhere. I has been about 9 years since I've had that urge! The photo of your hotel, with the landscape behind it sure is beautiful. Glad to read your post...and hope you do come visit me at my new blog. I moved everything over, both posts and comments. I am still sorting things out, and adding a blog roll, etc..., but it is falling into place. I can be added to the the blog rolls on Google as well, friends just need to enter the new URL in their "followers" list. Take care!
loved the scenery but just don't get the vampire thing. never have, never will. why, sometimes perfectly sane, people get riled over vampires, the occult, etc. is simply beyond me. A good friend LOVES being scared to death via books or movies; I HATE bring frightened; if I want the socks scared off me, I'll read Revelation...again. -smile-
How lovely - DH said it is indeed a beautiful place (he lived in Woodinville for several years). I admit to not even reading the Twilight books. The restaurant sounds more than worthy even with with the vampire connection (I somehow thought you were going the direction of --and they feature roasted garlic and garlic ice cream at the restaurant - being the vampire connection - LOL)
Glad you got away for some lovely time together - Happy almost anniversary!
I'm so happy for you that you got to get away and enjoy yourselves. That restaurant food sounds tasty. It has been a couple of years since we have vacationed. We just can't seem to come to any conclusions about that. Seems as we get older it's harder to leave home! Thanks to A. Joy for filling in!
This city looks so beautiful and the restaurant sounds like a lot of fun. I'm glad you got to go too. You asked about the okra pickles. They are pretty crispy. I tasted them and think I needed less vinegar. Fresh okra is delicious, especially fried. Hope you get to try it sometime.
What a scenic area and fun about the vampires/books etc. That restaurant sounds delicious. So happy you two got to visit such a special place and hope you both are feeling more rested.
Looks beautiful there. It must have been nice to have a little getaway even if it was partly for business for your husband. That whole series of Twilight books is wildly popular at the library. All the titles in the series have been on really long reserve lists for months now. I haven't read them, but they sure are a big hit---especially with teenage girls as you mentioned.
Mary, I visited, and what a move you have undertaken. I want to learn more about importing posts, etc., guess I will read and learn as you do!
Thistle Cove, amen sister! Revelations will do that, and also encourage...maybe? The occult is most definitely forbidden in the Bible....
LindaSue, Woodinville is a very pretty place. And there was enough garlic in the Italian food that if there were vampires they would be deterred there. The food can stand alone as reason enough to eat at Bella Italia!And thank-you, we did have a very nice time together this past week.
Debbie, you sound like me. My poor husband would love to travel more but I love to stay home. Even when we are going someplace I want to see I drag my heels at getting on the road and after 4 days I want desperately to be home. Yes, our daughter and her kids make it possible for us to get away!
Southern Comfort, sometimes fresh okra is for sale in the supermarkets, I will try it out. The pickles look and sound ( read ? ) like they are delicious!
Mildred, the girls AND their mothers were in town in droves....everywhere there were whole families , including the dads, tracing the Twilight story through Port Angeles, onto Forks. Forks has been a seriously economically depressed area for years so they are welcoming this influx of people willing to spend money in their area. And can't think of too many more beautiful places to hang out looking for pretend creatures.
Daisy, as a librarian,in your opinion, have there been any books near as popular as the Twilight and Harry Potter books? What do you think the draw in these series is?
Maybe you could've picked up some garlic to wear along with the lavendar at the festival ... in case of vampires.
Please make note: Nothing died at your house while you were away this time ~ not even the moles!!!!
Kathy, we have a lot of authors that are popular who have their own following, but both the Harry Potter books and the Twilight books have been overwhelmingly in demand. I think part of it is the tie in with movies and the media hype that goes with it that makes them so popular. I also think it is because they are very unique from so many of the books that are written these days. They both are about very specific topics too. If you say vampire books, everyone today immediately thinks of the Twilight Series, and wizardry and wizard's school immediately brings to mind the Harry Potter books. I don't know whether the fact that they both deal with magical or fantasy worlds has anything to do with it or not. They both seem to appeal to both teenagers and adults too, so perhaps it has a broader audience base for that reason.
My thirteen-year-old niece is gaga over Twilight, and her mother has misgivings but has succumbed...I have not read them but my sister's take is it is less a "vampire" story than a teen-love story encased in the supernatural! (oldest story on earth, you know). But, as I said, I have not read them! C
Wow, I never knew Twilight took over a whole area too. I haven't read the series but yes folks, especially young girls are so very into the books. Sounds like you had a wonderful time.
What fun!!! The pics are beautiful. What a lovely place to visit. Thanks for sharing:-)
Gorgeous pictures! How fun that you visited a Twilight place without knowing it! Sounds like y'all had a great time!
Have you heard anything about how your granddaughters are doing?
Daisy, I think you're right, both books have a different take on an old and beloved theme and appeal to all ages. Something about adding the supernatural to everyday goings on just appeals to a lot of people.
A.Joy, durn, not even a mole? Thank-you so much for taking care of things, there was a lot of watering to do with the high heat and we much appreciate the work and effort!
Stick horse cowgirls, Noble Pig, I am hearing that a LOT of grown women love this series too....
English Cottage, thank-you!Pt. Angeles is very beautiful.
Nancy, I had heard Twilight has totally revitalized the Forks , WA area.....but we had no clue how much impact it had on Pt. Angeles, and were very surprised.
I shouldn't fret that you didn't see a vampire. It was probably all for the best (!) however, the restaurant looks good and they've obviously gone to town on the Twilight theme, haven't they. Glad you had such a good time!
Blessings, Star
You know we have a beautiful state, it just seems like the rest of the country knows us for the likes of Kurt Cobain and Twilight. We are not that dark and depressing, honest!
Star, thank-you, and yes, I am very grateful to not have encountered a vampire. I do find the vampire lore interesting. It persists throughout the ages, doesn't it?
Lanny, it is funny ( well, not FUNNY ) what the Pacific Northwest is famous for, isn't it? When I moved here from Virginia EVERYONE thought I was moving to a place where covered , horse drawn wagons and monsoons were the norm,...Kurt Cobain and Vampires...I have not encountered either. Must be the deep dark forests and rain that inspire such ideas.
That's interesting about the vampires at the restaurant. My sister has been reading those books and says they are good. Personally I don't want to read anything that has to do with vampires.
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