Emerald City Adventures

Jeremy and I returned earlier this week from a three-day trip to Seattle, WA. Aside from frequent layovers in SeaTac airport when flying home to Canada, neither of us ever spent time exploring the city. It always seemed like it would be a perfect weekend getaway. Indeed it was.

Arriving early Saturday morning, we hit the downtown pavement just as the city was starting to rise and made our way to Pike Place Market for a hot breakfast overlooking the waterfront. Our breakfast of choice to properly kick off the seaside holiday: salmon hash. Yes, that’s right, salmon for breakfast. Served over a bed of oven-roasted potatoes and scrambled eggs, it was delish.

At 520’ above the city, the Seattle Space Needle afforded wonderful views of Elliot Bay to the west and cloud-covered mountains to the east. We definitely did not expect the sun to shine as much as it did for mid-March, but we gladly soaked up the warm rays (the air temperature was in the mid-50s, so still a bit chilly!) and were thankful for the miraculous lack of rain that weekend.

The Experience Music Sound l Science Fiction Museum is housed in an oddly shaped building next door to the needle. This museum had some really great exhibits, including Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound, the Sound Lab and a Battlestar Galactica exhibit. I won’t lie, I was pretty darn excited (some might say, frackin excited) to check out the actual props and costumes used on set of the SciFi series. I claim that I don’t usually enjoy the science fiction genre, but I believe Jeremy’s influences are rubbing off on me just a little as I really got into BSG (look, I even used the abbreviation like a true nerd.)

A trip to Seattle would not be complete without a visit to the famous Pike Place Market. Our hotel was a 5-minute walk from the market so we frequently found ourselves getting lost in the sea of vendors during our stay. With over 200 year-round commercial stores, 190 craftspeople and 100 farmers booths, the market stretches across nine acres and is a feast for the senses.

Pike Place Fish Market, situated at the entrance of the market right under the iconic sign and clock, beckoned passersby with lively shouts from the fish mongers as they tossed fish back and forth with each order. Colorful stalls displaying fresh produce were abundant in the market. I was especially pleased to find my all-time favorite apple, honey crisp, for sale at one stall! A common sight in and around the market was people carrying vibrant bouquets of flowers wrapped in brown paper. I could just imagine how happy the recipient of those beautiful flowers would be and wished I could take a bunch home with me too.

The decadent smell of fresh croissants, brioche and tarte aux poires beckoned us inside Le Panier, a french bakery that became a daily stop for breakfast. One bite of our chocolatine and amandine, paired with a steaming latte, and we were smitten.

A few doors down from Le Panier was Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, home of the “world’s best” mac and cheese. Yum!

The original Starbucks is located in Pike Place Market, with a endless line out the door and street performers entertaining the large crowds. A narrow store-front that only sold fresh-roasted whole beans when it first opened 40 years ago, the shop is small and dark with no seating inside.

A three-hour tour.....the grey clouds hung low over the horizon as we boarded the vessel for the Agrosy Lock Cruise, which would take us from the salt water of Elliot Bay and Puget Sound to the fresh water of Lake Union via Hiram Chittenden Locks. The narrated cruise was a highlight for me; learning about the goings on in the Seattle harbor and surrounding area, seeing all the boats docked in the harbor, watching the gates of the locks open and close and feeling the boat rise up to the fresh water lake, and snapping pictures of the “Sleepless in Seattle” houseboat.

We loved the city and walked miles in the Downtown area, exploring shops, tasting amazing food, sipping copious amounts of coffee...it was a wonderful urban getaway!