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		Holiday Shopping In Bellevue, Washington Reprinted from December 2005 Issue -by ROSSELLA BRINA On a rainy Saturday morning recently we found ourselves in downtown Bellevue, a town located just east of Seattle, between Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish. With less than two hours before my daughter’s gymnastics meet my children asked, “What can we do?” The previous evening we had driven to Bellevue from the Tri-Cities, and found a nice Italian restaurant called Firenze Ristorante Italiano, where we had dinner. The restaurant is at 15600 NE 8th Street in Bellevue, across from Crossroads Cinema. When we walked in, I immediately liked the relaxed and casual atmosphere of the restaurant, with some Italian touches here and there, such as photos and a rustic decor. The fact that most of the waiters were Italian was a good omen. I had a lively conversation with our waiter in my native language and that was delightful. We ordered spaghetti al granchio (with Dungeness crab), fettuccine with pesto, and a dish of grilled meats that included quail and Italian sausage. Everything was delicious. For dessert my husband and I had tiramisu, while the children had spumoni. A nice conclusion to a great meal and exactly what we needed after the long drive. Entrees were priced between $20 and $25 dollars, desserts were between $4 and $5 dollars. The next morning we took the short drive to downtown Bellevue to do some exploring, although we had just a short time available to us. Since it was raining, we chose an indoor activity. It was early Saturday morning, but the Bellevue Square mall was about to open. My husband had heard of this shopping center from a co-worker who praised it no end, so we decided to do something we rarely do on this type of outings. Go shopping. The Bellevue Square shopping center is located downtown on Bellevue Way, between NE 8th and NE 4th Streets. It is a shopper’s paradise. Over 200 of the nation’s finest stores and boutiques line the halls of this mall, which draws sixteen million visitors a year. After having wandered from store to store inside this grandiose building, we don’t marvel at the claims that this is one of the premier shopping destinations in the Northwest and one of the best shopping centers in the nation. With stores such as Nordstrom, Macy’s, Tiffany & Co., and hundreds of specialty outfits, this is truly shopping at its best. For the enjoyment of children, there’s a Lego store, a Pottery Barn Kids, and a Build-A-Bear Workshop, among other things. My husband, on the other hand, got excited at the sight of the Apple--as in computers--Store. Of course, bookworms like us always end up at the nearest bookstore, and Bellevue Square didn’t disappoint us. Borders Books and Music was just a short walk from the Nordstrom end of the mall. As usual, I couldn’t forget my penchant for museums. Across the street from Bellevue Square is the Bellevue Arts Museum--a newly renovated center for art, craft and design--and a few blocks away is the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, with more than 1,200 dolls on permanent display. Also nearby is Old Bellevue, a historic area of downtown that has been renovated into a shopping and entertainment center. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and had to rush our daughter to the gym for her competition. More reason to return to Bellevue soon. For more information about Bellevue Square, visit www.bellevuesquare.com. To know more about Bellevue, call the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce at (425) 454-2464 or visit our website www.bellevuechamber.org.