More of Seattle

What to do when you feel you haven't had enough of something?  Just go for more, right?  Well, that is exactly what we did on Monday.  We went back to Seattle Center and this time we found Gas Works Park, the perfect place to see Seattle skyline and take some pictures.  It was again a beautiful sunny day with a perfect temperature.  From the hill at the center of the park you could take a 360 degrees look at the city and its adjacent areas, in addition to people enjoying aquatic sports.

 

As always, we find little things that bring us a smile!  On our walk back to the parking area, my ever aware husband spotted a little metal tube attached by a magnet to a gas tank.  Not wasting time, he opened it to find out this little tube was a time capsule!  Immediately we added our names to it and put it back were it was for the last three years. So, next time you visit Seattle, go to the Gas Works Park and look for the capsule, just continue the fun!

From the park we went straight to Pike Market, we just did not have enough time the day before to see it all. This time we saw the entire place (if this is possible!), went back to the German restaurant for lunch, and purchased few gifts.  It was fun to see all the action that goes on at that place.  Finally we  could get in at the Starbucks Coffee (after waiting for 25 minutes), and got our delicious drink.  Their employees are young and happy people ready to help you with your decisions... light or regular? J

                                    

After spending several hours at the market, we went back to pick up our bike and our new friend, Ramon, mentioned about a Puertorican restaurant nearby, and suggested we sample some of their food.  Of course, that was exactly what we did!  We though to try some appetisers before our dinner date at the Space Needle but when we saw the menu at La Isla Restaurant, we knew there was no way we will skip that experience.  So, we called and canceled the reservation at SN, hoping someone else could use the spot we left.  We highly recommend La Isla Restaurant if you are looking for something different and absolutely delicious!  They offer authentic Caribbean food which includes seafood menus, and a beautiful display of original artwork from Puertorican Artists.  On another note, we shortly learned that parking in Seattle is a challenge but if you park at the City Target's parking lot (below the store) and spend $20.00, they will deduct $10.00 off your parking ticket.  This is a good thing if you need to buy something anyway since the parking price around town are really high!

We finally made it to the Space Needle and had a great time up there.  This year they are celebrating their 50th anniversary and the top is painted in orange, the original color at that time.  Visiting this landmark is always a nice experience.  Obviously for security reasons, they are now inspecting all hand bags and such items at the entrance.  If you are having dinner at their restaurant, the entrance is included in the cost. 



Notice Mt. Rainier on the background

                                                    

So, next time you visit Seattle, make plans to include this experience on your schedule... we are.J

Sleepless in Seattle

We can not believe what a beautiful weather we encountered in Seattle!  Sleepless, because we just want to keep going instead of returning to the hotel at night!  There is so much to see and do in Seattle that you really have to chose very carefully what you want to do, otherwise you will soon realize that you miss out the most interesting things.  In our case, we knew we wanted to dine out at the Space Needle, go to the Glass and Art Museums, stroll Seattle Center, go to Pike Market Place, and see Mt. Rainer.  Well, first of all we did not know we needed to make reservations for the restaurant (we have visited the place before and at that time we didn't need reservations), so it was impossible to have dinner up there on Sunday night.   We tried to make reservations for Monday night, and it was also completely booked!  They told us to call in next morning to see if there were any cancellations which we did and found a spot at 8:45pm. Lesson #1, always make reservations a day or so ahead if you really want to have dinner at the Space Needle!  Instead we went to see a group of street musicians from Peru who were offering a beautiful show just across the SN, and from here to a nearby restaurant.

We also went to see a memorial to one of the most loved journalists in Seattle who just died from a 12 yr battle with a brain tumor last Monday.  People were leaving notes of sympathy, messages and flowers at the entrance of the TV station were she worked until her lasts days. We learned that she had just created a foundation for the treatment of brain tumor.  This was one of those things that it just happens when you are around and you feel compelled to offer encouragement to others. 

From here we went to the Glass museum where we had the opportunity to attend a lecture and demonstration from one of their featured artists.  It was amazing to see how from a little piece of glass they ended up with a 20lbs vase which was added to the artist's collection to be painted and exhibited next year.  Beautiful exhibition!

 

 

  

From the Glass Museum we went to the famous Pike Market Place.  WOW!!!  We love this place!  It is fun, interesting, and definitely unique.  Of course, to go around the entire market you need a full day, and we had just few hours before they started closing up.  We found this great German restaurant, Uli's Beierstube, and had authentic Thueringer, Nuernberger, and another German Bratwurst with loewensenf, potato salad, slaw, and sauerkraut.  Matt felt at home!  Can you believe we came back next day to lunch the same thing?  They did not even asked what we wanted, they just knew what to serve! Lol  Really nice people.  At the market you will see from fascinating vendor's interaction with their customers, like Pike Market Fish Co., to street performers; making the visit a fun attraction for the whole family.  

                                                                        

                        

                                         

Of course, you can not miss the first and original Starbucks Cafe.  The line to get in was so long that we just took some pictures of this incredible situation, and decided to come back 

next day. 

Yes, it is fun to visit Seattle and even more when the sun is out and the temperature is around 75F. Definitely a sleepless time! J

Arriving in Seattle

Yes! We made it to Seattle just as scheduled!  We traveled from Missoula, MT to Seattle, WA on I90  West.  This was a wonderful trip. The I 90 West is one of the most beautiful routes we have traveled so far on this trip.  We started this morning with a temperature of 58F and encountered 103F on the desert like plains on the way  from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to Seattle.  By the way, if you ever come this way, you got to stop in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The area is surrounded by lakes left by the glaciers of the ice age.  Coeur d'Alene Lake is the most scenic of them. This city is one of the most fascinating places to visit in northwest.  We had lunch at Calypsos a unique coffee shop / gallery restaurant.  Here we met Pam, an exceptional and talented artist, with whom we spend a good amount of time talking about her artwork, life and its purpose. J

Couer d'Alene

Calipsos Coffee & Roasting Company

We had a great time riding around Coeur d'Alene, and loved that place so much that we are planning to come back for a longer stay sometime in the future.

Coeur d'Alene is only 30 miles from Spokane, WA.  The view along this route is breathtaking.  With it majestic mountains and lakes, makes the travel relaxing and enjoyable despite the heat.  As we got closer to Seattle, the temperature dropped about 25F, which was great!  So, yes, we got to Seattle at the scheduled time, ready to go for dinner at a nearby restaurant.  We plan to visit some exciting places in Tacoma, and Seattle tomorrow.  The weather has been really nice, and for that we are thankful! J