Seattle, Until Next Time...

Beneath Seattle, lies an intricate system of sidewalks and barrier walls, remnants of a bustling city from over one hundred years ago.  If you are going to visit Seattle you MUST take the Bill Speidel's Underground Tour!  To join the tour, go to Pioneer Square where you'll find Doc Maynard's Public House, a restored 1890's saloon, and if you buy a drink while you wait (come on, you're in a saloon!) then you get first dibs on seating when the tour begins.  The tour guides are highly entertaining, hilarious really, and also informative.  Matt and I learned bookoos about the early days of this remarkable city.  Fascinating facts like after the Great Seattle Fire, the business men were anxious to build again, (naturally) but the city planners knew they needed to raise the level of the city.  Business vs. Government, sound familiar?  So they worked out this plan of erecting business first, then the city engineers built retaining walls, and after they covered the original sidewalks with iron support beams and concrete, essentially raising the street one level on each block.  The first floor of these buildings became the basement.  Interesting, right?

Before we took the tour on day four, Matt and I joined a couple of his work friends for a full day of sight-seeing!  After breakfast, we strolled beside the bay, inhaling the crisp morning air while a cool breeze whisked through our hair as we took in a gorgeous view of the bright, blue water.

From the Pier

Kissy, kissy!

Smack dab in the middle of the pier was a random piano!  Uh-huh, your guess is as good as mine, but the sign said something about bringing arts into the city.  Sounds good to me!  I video "creeped" on another tourist who obliged me a tune!

On our walk to the iconic Space Needle we passed by the Sculpture Gardens. Although we didn't have time to walk through, I was able to snap a pic of a.... wait for it....metal tree.

 

Alas!  After a uphill climb that could have been Mount Rainier to my jello legs, we arrived!

Excuse the narcissistic Kardashian selfie: I couldn't help it. ;)

 The Seattle Space Needle hovers at 500 ft in the sky offering breathtaking 360 views of the city! Located inside the monument is the SkyCity Restaurant offering both brunch and dinner.  We didn't eat there because they were booked when I called to make reservations! Call early.  Brunch runs around $45 dollars and dinners can cost upwards of $60.  Sounds pricey, but you'll pay $15-$25 for a decent lunch in Seattle anyway.  Combine lunch with the price of a deck ticket and it costs the same.  Since we couldn't get reservations, we purchased a ticket to ride the glass elevator to the viewing deck for $26 and grabbed a coffee in the cafe.  Once inside, visitors can sign an electronic guestbook and view their name and home city on the map.  The Hubbards are in!

Whew! All this exercise and sight-seeing made us hungry, so we rode (because we darn sure weren't going to walk again--heaven forbid!)  the Seattle monorail into downtown only to walk, yet again, to Etta's,  for lunch.  I had the "Rub with Love" SALMON and it was tasty!

Refueled and ready for action, we leisurely strolled through downtown to Pioneer Square for the above mentioned Underground Tour.  Afterwards, on our way back to Pike's Market we grabbed a margarita, chips, and salsa from some cantina with an open patio.  Note: if you're from Texas do NOT bother buying Mexican food in Seattle.  The margarita wasn't good and the salsa didn't taste like salsa but more like straight tomato sauce.  The view was nice and the chairs were fantastic--really, any chair would have worked after trucking the hills of Seattle.  I'll tell you what, people aren't fat in Seattle! Incline of 50 on the treadmill!

So Matt and have this joke; anytime a place closes early we'll say, "Is this Sweden?"  because in Sweden when the shops close at 6:00 pm (if you're lucky), they WILL kick you out.  Like, in line to try on an outfit, a store associate will come up to you and say, "we're closing and you'll have to come back tomorrow." NEVER does this happen in the USofA because we ARE greedy capitalists who will NOT turn down a possible sell.  Come on! 
So we made our way back to Pike's at 6:00 pm on a FRIDAY in the MIDDLE OF PEAK TOURISM SEASON, and the place was a ghost town! We said, "Are we in Sweden?"All the market vendors had closed up shop!  I kid you not.  If you're reading this and planning a trip to Seattle, make sure to plan accordingly.  (The next day, before we flew out to catch our flight we returned so that Matt could experience all that is Pike's Public Market.)  However, we did spend the evening sampling beers at the lively Pike's Pub and had a wonderful time with our friends. My favorite sample, Pike Kilt Lifter.  Watch out!

As I mentioned, we drove back on Saturday before we left, and the big take-away from the morning was Ellenos real Greek yogurt!  This isn't your supermarket yogurt: this stuff is other-worldly delicious! Best news ever: they accept online orders!  This screenshot from Twitter best sums up our tasting experience:

After enjoying the exceptional yogurt, we drove to airport, luggage in tow. 

   ~Truly, Cinderella