We woke up to a warm and sunny Seattle day. That kind of sounds fake, doesn't it? Warm and sunny in Seattle, you betcha! We mapped out our itinerary for the day, grabbed some breakfast and walked from our hotel to the check-in kiosk at the Space Needle. I highly recommend buying tickets on-line for the Space Needle, as the lines can get long especially in the summer. Buying on-line allows you to bypass the ticket line and head right inside to show your bar code and ride the elevator all the way to the top of the 605 foot structure. After growing up in New Jersey and spending a lot of time riding to the top of both the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center, the ride to the top of the Space Needle didn't seem all that long or impressive. However, when we stepped out of the elevator, the views were amazing. All around you, you can see water and snow-capped mountains. It wasn't particularly clear enough to see through the cloud layer and get a good view of Mt. Rainier. I had been to the Space Needle when I was about 18, but guess I never realized just how impressive Mt. Rainier is. I decided to do a little research and saw that this massive 14,000+ foot volcano is actually termed a dangerous super-volcano. Now doesn't that just make you feel comfortable? I guess the millions of Seattle/Tacoma residents just put that right out of their minds. To me, the beauty and recreational opportunities of living here far outweigh the risk of the volcano.
After the Space Needle, I was able to accomplish another first (hang on as there were several on this particular day) - heading into the Chihuly Glass Gardens. Spectacular was the first word to pop into my mind when I saw this amazing collection of glass works by Dale Chihuly. After spending a bit of time reading about this artist, I came to realize that I have seen his work featured in both Salt Lake City and the ceiling inside the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Words cannot describe the beauty of this artist's work.
The second "first" for the day was heading down to Pike Place Market and into the Le Panier French Bakery. Wow, the food in here was delicious. I spent several years living in Belgium, so was able to be blessed to go to Paris quite a bit. The bakery was like stepping back in time to my years over there. The bread and macaroons were beyond divine. We had grabbed some cheese from the next door cheese factory Beecher's (www.beechershandmadecheese.com ) and combined with the bread and macaroons, a day spent in heaven was what we experienced. When I travel outside of Utah, I am always amazed at how much better the food is for some reason. Is this due to scenery, better chefs, I am just not sure. All I know is I was able to enjoy the best food I have had in a very long time.
No trip to Seattle would be complete without checking out the Gum Wall near the Pike Place Market. According to Wikipedia, The Market Theater Gum Wall is a local landmark in downtown Seattle, in Post Alley under Pike Place Market. Similar to Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo, California, the Market Theater Gum Wall is a brick alleyway wall now covered in used chewing gum. Parts of the wall are covered several inches thick, 15 feet high for 50 feet.
As our day came to an end, visions of a delicious dinner swam in my thoughts. Alas, we will save that for the next post!
Until My Next Adventure,
P.A. Walker
