With time to kill, I went wandering. *The UW campus is even bigger and prettier than Cal. [Insert picture of bucolic university quad lined with stately temples of learning.]
A useful way to sight-see is to go looking for something in particular. *I remember I spent a week in Madrid visiting every slot car track and slot car store in the city. *This took me to lots of out-of-the-way places that weren't the Prado. *Nowadays I go looking for a bike shop. *"Siri, where is the nearest bike shop?" *
Down by the marina, there is Recycled Cycles, which should be a Seattle institution if it isn't already one. *At least a hundred used bicycles, including plenty of interesting vintage rides. *An Eddy Mercxx, a genuine Raleigh Team Professional track racer (in the course of my search for one of these, I've learned to identify the fakes), a Schwinn Paramount, Colnagos (plural), a sweet Gitane, and more. *
The bins of used parts were productive, yielding some brake parts I need. Someday, I'll take the train up here, arrive bike-less, and plan on buying a vintage bike to ride the STP on the following day. **That would be a trip with just the right amount of randomness. *A nice rainstorm would be cool too. *
There were a lot of tempting ethnic food places in the U District. *Korean, pho, sushi, gyros, ramen. *Hungry! *But I was saving myself for dorm food, and trotted back to the campus where I learned that dormitory dining halls are a lot nicer than when I went to school.
Back in the room. "Traditionally Rome was founded in 753 BC but even antiquity there had been many variant dates proposed, ranging from 814 to 729 BC, before Atticus and Varro established a conventional chronology." *Oof. *I can't believe this is the only book I brought. *