Today was our first full day in Seattle and we accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. I think at this point Brad and I could write a book on how to do the West Coast on a budget/in the blink of an eye while still seeing everything you'd (we'd) ever want to see!
Excited by our new city we woke up early and got a quick
breakfast at Einstein’s Bagels. The Space Needle was our first destination and
after some deliberation about if it was worth $19 to see the view from the top
we decided to buy both day and night passes. It was one of the best decisions we made
the whole trip. The opportunity to see the view during the day was wonderful but
we were in for a fantastic view when we visited later that night.
View from the top
Before our second visit to the iconic Space Needle we needed
to have lunch and see Pike’s Place. My lunch was the best of all of ours at The Pike Brewing Company , I had a spinach salad with pine nuts, mushrooms,
and a tender salmon filet and Brad got the saddest plate of wings he’s
ever had (hence why there is only a picture of his gigantic side of fries). It was a good spot for lunch though.
The next four hours of our day was spent wandering around
the Pike’s market. We saw so much neat stuff and even made a few purchases.
Gorgeous vegetable stands
Tea and spice store
Found right across the street from the market is the
original Starbucks. I didn’t plan on ordering anything but the over-excited
barista suggested I try his new creation: black iced tea, soymilk, and vanilla
flavoring. I couldn’t say no and I am happy I didn’t. This concoction is
surprisingly refreshing and will be one of the tastes by which I remember my
time at the market.
The pears that almost every vegetable market was handing
out and lightly flavored honey samples quickly joined my taste-memory bank and
I left the market glad that we indulged in such a tourist-y destination.
We of course watched them throw fish and even visited the
disturbingly gross gum wall.
Even though we were pretty tired from walking around Pike’s
we decided to make our way back to the hotel on foot because we knew we would
be taking a cab to dinner at Chinook’s at Salmon Bay.
The view, delicious food, and friendly service made for a
great evening. My day would have been pretty perfect if it had ended there, but
we still had our night passes for the Space Needle.
It is difficult to describe the quiet romantic beauty that
we experienced, it was truly something I will never forget.
