Destination: Seattle, Washington

While the past two days were spent in the natural landscapes of Oregon, our following day was a return to the urban environment. This time, my family and I would be hopping over the border to Washington to visit Seattle, and we would only have one night to take in the sights and sounds of the largest city in the state.

Time was short, but we managed to squeeze in the majority of what we wanted to see in Seattle. We left Olympia where we’d stayed the night to make the hour drive over, give or take 30 minutes due to traffic (as the case is for many big cities in the United States, as I’ve noticed!).

Arriving in the city proper close to 11:00, we first made our way to Volunteer Park, located in the Capitol Hill district. Spanning almost 50 acres, this green and spacious park had a quiet, residential feel to it as we walked through its paths. We came across the iconic Volunteer Park Conservatory that houses a botanical garden, its crystal-glass framework modeled after the Crystal Palace in London (although on a miniature scale). At first, we’d thought that it was free to enter, but it turned out there was an admission fee– while we were interested, we decided to forgo the visit in order to save time and check out more of what Volunteer Park (and the rest of Seattle) had in store for us.

On our way to the Volunteer Park water tower, we passed by the Black Sun (a tire-shaped statue that offered a glimpsed of the famous Space Needle through its hole) and the Seattle Asian Art Museum (containing art pieces dating back to the 10th century). There was also a small pond where we saw a mother duck guiding her little ducklings through the water– so adorable!

We reached the water tower, which is the highest point on Capitol Hill. It offers *free* views of the Seattle skyline, and you can bet that we were keen on that! Climbing the stairs to the top, we got decent views of the high-rise buildings, even the Space Needle, from the distance. There were also plenty of trees and greenery surrounding it, which gave the right balance between nature and urban in this iconic Washington state city.

Descending the water tower, my family and I made a loop around the park before piling into our car to head downtown. Of course, more traffic was to be had as we went up and down the hilly main street (a lot like San Francisco, actually) in search of parking– as it goes with any big city, really! Eventually, we found a parking structure situated between the Waterfront and Pike Place and parked there before heading over to the former for its boardwalk and views of the Puget Sound. While the place appeared rather gimmicky with its Ferris Wheel, Seattle Aquarium, and tourist-trap restaurants and shops, I admit it had a pleasantly-grey Santa Monica vibe to it, which reminded me a bit of home.

Heading uptown, we made our way to Pike Place Market, a public market known for selling seafood and local produce as well as consisting of many casual restaurants and bars for people, especially tourists, to mill around. We entered Pike Place through the back and made a stop at the Gum Wall, a small alley which is full of, you guessed it, tons and tons of chewed-up gum. With the gum-sticking tradition starting back in the early 90s, it has since become a well-known spot for visitors to check out, as well as contribute to the colorful array of gum all over. Certainly a multicolored (and rather disgusting) exhibition, and I also happened to bring some gum to chew and stick onto the wall… which I did!

The alley merged into Pike Place and we passed through the famous fish market which hosts a fish-tossing show for spectators whenever someone chooses to purchase one from the stand: we didn’t get a clear look at the fish-tossing (it happened too fast!), but all the same, it appeared to be a jolly good time.

Rather, we continued down to Pike Place Chowder, a well-known food joint known for serving up award-winning clam chowder (as I saw the plaques against the wall). It was around lunchtime when we arrived, so we decided to wait in the *long* line, which wrapped in and around the corner of the restaurant, even cutting halfway along the alley so as to let passerby get through! My parents claimed a seat outside in the public seating area while my sister and I waited in the line; thankfully, it went fairly quickly, and soon enough, we were at the front of the counter where we order four small clam chowders and two lobster rolls to share.

What we didn’t expect, though, was for our meal to cost an upwards of $75! Granted, the clam chowders were almost $7 per piece (on the high end, yes), but it was the lobster rolls which were at market price, i.e. changes regularly, and cost nearly $19 each– mind you, they weren’t very big, either! Probably the biggest shock I’ve experienced when ordering food, but we still got our meals and enjoyed them in the midst of a packed, touristy plaza. Clam chowder was creamy and the lobster rolls stuffed with lobster and buttery rolls, but for the price, it wasn’t completely worth it– at least we can say that we’ve tried one of Seattle’s landmark food joints!

After lunch, we continued down Pike Place where we saw the original Starbucks– turned out to be smaller than I’d thought, and there was a huge queue outside for the experience, I suppose. We chose not to go inside, instead getting some savory and sweet pies from Piroshky Piroshky, a Russian pie joint just a few stores down from Starbucks. We ended up saving them as supper back at our hotel that evening, and they were pretty good! Thick and hearty, they were certainly well-made pies: I had a mushroom-onion for the savory option and a cherry-white chocolate for the sweet, and both were absolutely divine! If there’s any touristy place worth checking out, it’s Piroshky Piroshky.

By early afternoon, we finished our visit of Pike Place and drove over to our hotel, located less than five minutes from the Space Needle. After checking in, we headed towards the iconic tower, but instead of visiting it then, we went to the Chihuly Garden and Glass, an exhibition-museum that features the glass artworks of Dale Chihuly, a reputed sculpture native to the Pacific Northwest. I’d been interested in checking it out after looking up places to visit in Seattle and, despite the hefty $30 admission fee, it was completely worth it! There was so much to see both inside and outside: we went from room to room, being impressed each time with the towering, intricate, and colorful glass art which I can imagine took a lot of time and patience to get to just the right fitting…all without breaking anything! From exhibitions like the Sealife Tower and Mille Fiori inside of the building to the rainbow-colored glass plants in the garden outside, the Chihuly Garden and Glass was truly a highlight of my time in Seattle.

Leaving Chihuly Garden and Glass, we headed towards the Waterfront once more– this time, though, we made our way to the Olympic Sculpture Park, a small park with several abstract sculptures spread throughout the area. While I wouldn’t say that it was as impressive as the artwork I’d just seen at Chihuly, I admit that Alexander Calder’s Eagle was quite interesting, as well as showcasing a *free* space for artwork straddled between the beauty of the Puget Sound and the Space Needle.

It was around 16:00 when we ended our visit at the Olympic Sculpture Park. We were feeling a bit tired, and we decided to head back to our hotel to rest before we would head out again later at night to the Space Needle. We had our Piroshky Piroshky pies for supper and around 21:00 we walked over to the emblematic Seattle tower. Admission to visit the top was $27 per person and we took the 41-second elevator to the top, at around 600 feet (183 meters). It was still rather light outside when we got off at the top floor, so we waited around until 21:40 for the city to light up before taking photos of the views, along with admiring them. Definitely felt like something out of a Sleepless in Seattle scene, and it was the perfect way to wrap up our brief stay in the city.

If I had to say which place was my favorite during my time in the Pacific Northwest, I would have to choose Seattle. While much of it is gimmicky (e.g. Waterfront, Pike Place), it goes for just about any big city in the United States– instead, what I love is its atmosphere, surprisingly calming for such a dense, urban environment. It has both nature and city life, and strangely enough, I could see myself returning to Seattle again and again in the future, perhaps even live there! Who knows…we’ll have to see!

Stay tuned for the last post of my adventures in the Pacific Northwest this summer. Coming up: Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, Washington!

 

— Rebecca