I Saw Blue Skies In Seattle!

Well, more like little patch of the sky amids the clowds, but still, this is Seattle, the rainiest city in the country.

We've had a full and busy day today. After checking out of our room around 9.30 AM, we walked downtown to a deli place which was recommended to us. It turned out they stopped serving breakfast at 10, and they sent us across the street to a restaurant called Lola. It was a local, nice little place with all sorts of menu options. I felt more awake after some eggs, fruit and caffeine intake. We then headed to the Public Market for some real coffee.

Few blocks further we found ourselves in a busy touristy area. First things first, I got me some Seattle's Best Coffee. Then we strolled through a hustle and bustle of the Farmers Market. They have all sorts of sea food there, as well as local fruits and vegetables. It was entertaining to watch the merchants interact with the public, by tossing the fish across the hall for packing, or transporting credit cards in a tennis ball to a cashier. They also had some, rather good street musicians, and lots of trinkets and souvenirs. We ended our tour of the Public Market by watching the raising of the Christmas tree at the main square.



>



We then made our way to the waterfront, checked out the views, and walked over to the Pioneer Square on the other side of the city center. I read that coffee shop in The Elliott Bay Book Company is where the fictional coffee shop Café Nervosa from Frasier got its inspiration, and it was time for another cup of coffee, so we went to check it out. I don't know who wrote those comments online, but this place to me didn't look at all like the one from the show.

Also at the Pioneer square is the Smith Tower. It used to be the tallest building west of the Mississippi River for almost 50 years in the early 1900s. It is 42 stories high, and it's observation deck on the 35th floor is supposed to give a great second best after the views from the Space Needle, and much cheaper. When we walked in they told us that the deck is only opened on the weekends, and asked us if we could come next weekend. I then explained that I am visiting just for a day, and after their asking told them I came from Texas. To our surprise, their response to that is to let us go up arterial, and for free. Who new mentioning Texas would have such an affect on people. :) The elevators looked like they could be the original ones, and each of them had a man operating them in full uniform.

The views from the top of the tower were great. We were able to see the Space Needle on the other side of the First Avenue. The weather was actually quite nice for Seattle. There was mostly clouds coverage, but it wasn't raining or windy, and we even so few patches of clear blue sky. The top room with the exit to the deck is decorated with Chinese artifacts, some of which were 500 years old, a gift from an emperor. We met a very nice older couple there, who shared with us their travel experiences in Croatia's cost, and in Mostar and Medjugorje in Bosnia. :)


We then took a bus from Pioneer Square over to Pine St. and then walked over to the monorail station. The fact that there is a toll observation tower and a monorail reminded me of Sydney and my visit there last year. Similar experiences, but in another way completely different memories. The monorail is just a two minute ride to the Space Center.

We didn't have time to spend on going on top of the Space Needle and wait in line, so we just took some photos. Then we headed to the Experience Music Project. It is a museum dedicated to the history and exploration of popular music. It was already 3.30 PM, and I still wanted us to go over to the Kerry Park which is supposed to have the best views of the city. I asked the young man and the ticket counter how long it would take us for the museum, and how we had one more thing on our agenda before the sunset. He told us it would take at least 2 hours to see all of the museum, and that the half an hour we had would probably not be enough to fully experience it. Then he asked where I came from, and when he heard my answer, Texas, he too did something I didn't expect: He let us go in for free! Wow, people here must think very positively of Texas. :)

So, we started our exploration, first of history of guitars and Jimmy Hendrix room, both of which I was not that impressed with. The upstairs had few interesting exhibits of science type instruments, which I enjoyed. Finally, we discovered the recording studio and instrument playing area, and that was tons of fun. I wish I went to that room first and wasted time reading about evolution of string instruments. I played a guitar, piano, drums, and did some voice recording, and we would continued to have fun there it they didn't kick us out for the museum closing.

It was time for dinner, and this time we managed to find Wild Ginger restaurant on a first try, and find parking without problems. The trick is just to get there few minutes before 6, when the free parking starts and the street parking is not yet full. Then, people usually sit in their cars for 5-10 minutes until exactly 6 PM, to avoid getting tickets, and there is almost no more street parking left at that time. The restaurant was extra, with exceptional service and great food. It was a great ending of this short visit to Seattle.

On our way to Vancouver, we stopped at my friend's sister's house in Bellingham to pick up some ski equipment. I warmed up by the cast iron stove, and had a feeling I was already in the mountains. The border crossing was a breeze, and in less than half an hour further we were at my friend's home. Another full day has come to an end, and judging by the time right now, tomorrow will have to start late too. I have to remind myself from time to time this is my vacation, not a race. :)