Divas and Drag

Things are about to get a bit sentimental, but before you pull out the tissues trust that things are not going to stay innocent. You are about to embark on a weekend bachelorette party full of chocolate making, divas, and drag queens in honor of my closest friend Natalie who will be tying the knot next weekend.

But first, let’s get the sentimental out of the way. Natalie and I have been friends for over ten years and have experienced so much of life together. She is intelligent, insightful, and a world traveler to boot. In fact, I have to admit, she may be the reason I caught the travel bug. When Natalie and I first moved out, we were sharing an apartment while attending college. During our first summer as roommates she suggested we go to Hawaii. I had never been anywhere on my own and had experienced limited travel opportunities up until that point. Our trip to Hawaii instilled in me a desire to see the world. Sure it was only Hawaii, but I will never forget walking up to Waikiki Beach for the first time feeling as though the ocean went on for eternity and that home was millions of miles away. She helped me to know what true freedom really is. Since then we have only grown closer and earlier this year we celebrated our friendship and upcoming marriages with a trip to Miami, Florida. We truly have been through it all together.

Alright, I know I said things were going to get risqué, but before we journeyed into the world of drag queens, there was a whole lot of chocolate love going around. The morning of the bachelorette party we met up with none other than The Chocolate Man himself for a day of confectionary bliss. We rolled chocolate, dipped it, swirled it, decorated it, and… ahem… yes, tasted it. By the end of the day we had created over 250 beautifully decorated truffles and molded chocolates as favors for the wedding. I have to be perfectly honest. I am a chocolate snob, and there are very few chocolate makers whom I trust. These however, were pretty dang good if I do say so myself.

But the night was far from over; in fact we had only just begun. No bachelorette party is complete without an evening of embarrassment for the bride-to-be. We took our party to Julia’s on Broadway where we lingered over pre-show dinner and drinks. Julia’s serves up American style food in several Seattle locations with a budget friendly menu. My first experience with Julia’s was phenomenal, yet each proceeding meal has incrementally gotten worse. I kept coming back because they offer one of the greatest happy hour menus around, but after this last time, I am definitely going elsewhere.

Julia’s on Broadway is unique in that it hosts drag show entertainment post dinner. Our Saturday night tickets got us seats for Le Faux, a knock-your-socks off celebrity impersonator show. We may have been skeptical at first, but it took just one song and dance to convince us otherwise. These ladies bedazzled the audience with their outrageous dance moves and double take celeb look-a-likeness. Perhaps it was their toned abs and flawless skin, but was I feeling a little jealous? I think I can vouch for everyone, that leaving the show we all had a newfound respect for drag queens.

The bachelorette party was a success; Natalie was pulled on stage and received a ton a free swag for being the woman of the hour. Donning her veil next to the Bette Midler look-a-like, I couldn’t help but wonder if Dirk could pull off Bette for the wedding. No offense Dirk, but Natalie and Bette make a pretty hot pair. Congratulations you two!