Seattle: Above & Under Ground
I know it’s weird to start a travel blog with a beer, but Seattle has one of best beers Darren and I have ever had. It’s Pike Brewing Company’s Kilt Lifter, a Scotch Ale, and you can find it in their eclectic brew pub inside Pike Place Market.
Now, on to the blog.
Seattle is one of my favorite cities and one that Darren has visited numerous times. During our last visit we packed a lot into a few days. Once again, we had a hotel walkable to most of the places we wanted to go. We relied on friends and Uber for some additional locations.
Any visit to Seattle should start at Pike Place Market, famed for its fish throwing, fresh flowers, and quirky shops. There is so much to browse here you can spend hours. Don’t miss the Market Magic Shop, a Mecca for magicians famous and amateur. Right across the street from the outdoor food vendors is the very first Starbuck’s. It’s not much to see and not very big, but there’s always a line of people who want to say they stopped there. You could say they get a latte business.
The shoreline behind Pike Place has been recently updated and it’s beautiful! Much easier to walk and negotiate. If you have time, the Seattle Aquarium is really nice. For seafood, The Crab Pot is a good stop. There are a lot of fun stores along the waterfront, and a sunset cruise on Elliott Bay can be spectacular if the weather cooperates, which it did for us. The Olympic Sculpture Park is also worth a walk-through.
Of course you’ll want to visit the Space Needle, but right beside it is the Chihuly Glass Museum. I have always been a Chihuly fan. The entire ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas is Chihuly glass. The museum is just a magical display of the art of glass blowing. In one atrium, you get a view straight up the Space Needle.
Along with Pike Place Market, the Space Needle is the most iconic thing in Seattle. It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew more than 2.3 million visitors. At 605 feet high, the Space Needle was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River. Elevators take you to a 520 foot high observation deck, which offers panoramic views of the downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay, and various islands in Puget Sound. You can also eat a meal in The Loupe Lounge rotating restaurant, but book a reservation well ahead of time! Also near the Space Needle is The Museum of Pop Culture, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MOPOP has organized dozens of exhibits, 17 of which have toured across the U.S. and internationally.
If you make your way down to Lake Union, walk around the Museum of History and Industry, featuring iconic artifacts and diverse collections spotlighting Seattle's history in a lakefront park building. Across the water is Gas Works Park, the site of a former oil plant now a 20-acre park with picnic facilities & dramatic city views. If you have time, stop at The Fremont Troll, a public sculpture located on N. 36th Street at Troll Avenue N., under the north end of the George Washington Memorial Bridge. The 18-foot troll is clutching an actual Volkswagen Beetle, as if it had just swiped it from the roadway above. He weighs 13,000 pounds!
As you may have noticed, there is a lot to see in Seattle. We really like The Seattle Underground, a network of subterranean passageways and basements in the Pioneer Square neighborhood, featuring remnants of the original 1850s city. Created after the 1889 Great Fire when streets were raised one to two stories to avoid flooding, this "hidden city" was abandoned for decades. Guided tours, such as Bill Speidel's Underground Tour, explore these spaces for roughly $27-$30, showcasing old storefronts, Prohibition-era remnants, and historic artifacts. Pioneer Square is also a nice place to visit. In the summer, try to catch a Mariner’s game.
Missy Travel Tip: The rumors about rain in Seattle are true. They average more than 37 inches a year, so pack a waterproof jacket with hood and a small umbrella. Hopefully you won’t need them but be prepared.
If you have time, it's a quick Uber ride (or drive) to the Museum of Flight, the largest independent, non-profit air and space museum in the world! With over 130 aircraft and spacecraft and dozens of exhibits, the Museum and its people bring humankind's incredible history of flight to life. You can even walk through a Concorde and a decommissioned Air Force One! So cool.
