Branzino

In our trips this year to Monterosso al Mare in Cinque Terre, we  observed the Ligurian cooking class at Hotel Villa Steno and learned to make an incredible branzino (and also fabulous pesto).  We bring our new skills home and purchase filleted branzino at Pike Place Market while we are in Seattle, carry them home, and prepare a great dish with the branzino, roasted potatoes, and trofie with pesto.

We start with branzino fillets in a pan with olive oil and garlic cloves.  We then prepare a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, and oregano which we pour over the fish and then cover with olives and capers.  We add rosemary and bay leaves and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Branzino fillets

Ready for the oven

For the potatoes, we thin slice Yukon Gold potatoes with a mandoline food slicer, layer them in a sheet pan, and cover them with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  We pop them in the oven with the branzino and prepare trofie with pesto using trofie pasta and the pesto sauce that we made from our basil plants (and grated Parmesan cheese, grated Romano cheese, toasted pine nuts, salt, and olive oil),

Potatoes ready for baking

Trofie mixed with the pesto

Dinner is ready!

This is a simple, but fabulous meal and we'll enjoy it many times.

Seattle Waterfront Park

We make a quick trip into Seattle and walk through the new Waterfront Park completed in September of 2025:  20 acres (8 hectares) from Belltown to Pioneer square that includes playgrounds, public community piers, bike lanes, thousands of native plants, and event spaces for diverse cultural programming.  The new area includes Overlook Walk connecting the park to Pike Place Market.  We start at Pike Place Market and walk down to the park.

Views of the harbor

Overlook Walk connecting the spaces

Looking up at Overlook Walk and Pike Place Market

We stroll through Overlook Walk and down to the park on the water, wandering around the piers and the shops and restaurants.  We first walk out onto Pier 62, a revitalized historic pier now offering community space for cultural programming, fitness classes, performances, concerts, and informal group spaces, all with the mountains and sea as a backdrop.

Pier 62

Container art on the pier

Looking back at the city from Pier 62

Leaving the pier, we stroll south along the water, over towards the Seattle Great Wheel, admiring the gardens and parks along the way.

Approaching the great wheel

Parks and gardens along the way

Floral displays everywhere

Looking back at the city from the Great Wheel

Views across the water

Small containers for pop-up shops on the walkalong the water are also decorated to please.

More container art

We head back up the multiple sets of stair at Overlook Walk and look at the art on the buildings and back at the spectacular views of the Seattle Waterfront Park.

Art on buildings

Looking back at the park

Map of the park

This project has really modernized the waterfront and connected it to the city and Pike Place Market and is an incredible use of the space.

Thunder Knob in the North Cascades

Thunder Knob is located along Highway 20 on the western edge of the North Cascades and we stop to experience the hike as we travel back home from Winthrop.  The trail climbs from Colonial Creek along Thunder Creek and Thunder Arm to Diablo Lake, offering views of the lake and Diablo Dam.  

We find the trail head in the campground and start up, crossing Colonial Creek over a metal bridge that is only available in the warmer seasons (at times, the creek is high and fast-flowing and the national park service removes the bridge).

Trailhead

Crossing the creek

Starting up

Initial views of the lake

Continuing up

Views of surrounding peaks

At the end of the trail, we have views of Diablo Lake in many directions.  The lake is a reservoir created by Diablo Dam, part of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project and managed by Seattle City Light to provide power to Seattle, 177 miles (285 km) away.  The valley was formed by runoff from the Cordilleran Glacier and the beautiful turquoise hue of the lake's water is attributed to glaciers grinding rocks in to glacial flour that remains suspended in the lake.

Diablo Lake

Surrounding peaks

We enjoy the view, then return to the trailhead (and our car) and continue our drive back home (passing through Seattle in the late afternoon to add to the experience) from our short stop in the North Cascades.

Returning, along and over Colonial Creek

It's been a great few days and this is another place to which we will return!