Good morning Seattle

Last day in Seattle. Woke up to the beautiful view of the Space Needle.

We started our day with a trip to a local donut shop, Mighty-O Donuts. We both had an apple fritter and watched the bustling commuters heading to work.

Perfect morning for a walk. 

Cool sculpture we saw on the way back to our hotel. 

Time to pack and head to the airport. Bye Seattle. 

Din Tai Fung

It is our last night in Seattle. So many people had recommended Din Tai Fung in Pacific Place for dinner, especially the dumplings so we just had to go there. The service was the best so far in Seattle. All the staff seemed to truly love their jobs. The food was wonderful.

We shared pork & crab xiaolongbao, shrimp and pork pot stickers and pork chop fried rice. The xiaolongbao was so delicious with the warm broth center. The pork chop on the fried rice was amazingly tender.

For dessert we had chocolate xiaolongbao, dumplings filled with a rich warm chocolate ganache like filling. Wonderful.

Seattle - Pioneer Square

So we did the touristy thing today and took a walking tour of the “underground” of Pioneer Square. It was quite interesting to hear the history of how the Pioneer Square area of Seattle was constructed after the fire of 1889. The underground is actually just a tunnel system under the sidewalks that was originally the ground level before the streets were added.

The area around Pioneer Square is very up and coming. We strolled the streets until we happened by BRGR Bar. Just a long narrow building with wood tables up front and a small bar and kitchen in the back. Our burgers were some of the best we have ever had, so juicy with an amazing pillowy bun from a local bakery. We added a stack of onion rings that were equally delicious.

Gorgeous day for a walk. We walked the 2 miles back to our hotel and then enjoyed the park area around the Space Needle.  Think we are going to have Tai for dinner.

Seattle means Seafood

We couldn’t come all the way to Seattle without eating seafood. Duke’s Seafood & Chowder is well known for their wonderful award winning clam chowder and Pacific coast seafood.

My husband loves fish & chips so his only question was to select either cod or halibut. Cod won.  It was served with pickled beat salad.

I chose the stuffed and puffed prawns. The prawns were stuffed with Dungeness crab, Harvarti, Parmesan and Asiago cheeses and accented with pesto.  And yes, I did start with a cup of clam chowder. All was fabulous!

Amazon Go - Seattle

Just a bit chilly today. We thoroughly explored Pike Market Place today. Note for visitors, Sunday is the busy day. We had fun browsing the shops and getting a bite for lunch. Being by the bay, it was a bit chilly this morning.

We grabbed a hot drink and headed to the city center streets. Call me super geeky but the highlight this afternoon was going to the Amazon Go store. So cool, just like it says, just scan the QR code on the app, browse the store, pick up your items and walk out.  Lots of salads, sandwiches and kitchen made desserts to choose from as well as prepackaged goods. Just down from the entrance are full height glass windows so you can see into the kitchens where the fresh food is made.

Seattle Dive Bar

Yelp listed Pacific Inn Pub as a Dive Bar and that it definitely was. It was pouring down rain so we took an Uber. That also meant that if we decided not to stay we would have to Uber to another restaurant. The pub was packed with people but after about 10 minutes a couple of stools opened up at the bar. It was worth going out in the rain and the wait. They boasted that they have the best fish & chips in Seattle. I had the seafood platter with Alaskan cod, shrimp and oysters and my husband had the fish & chips. The batter was a bit heavy but very good.  Atmosphere was definitely dive bar :-)

We are planning on spending tomorrow at Pikes Place. I’m looking forward to a fun day of shopping and food.

Seattle - Epicenter of Glass Art

What a beautiful morning for a walk to Top Pot Doughnut shop. Wonderful fritters and doughnuts in a great hipster atmosphere. A must visit in downtown Seattle.

Our first stop after breakfast was to the Seattle Glassblowing Studio for 3 hour lessons on the art of glassblowing.  Our instructor, Phillip was very skilled and the perfect teacher.  After a safety briefing, our instructor discussed the basics of glass blowing and then we selected color for our first pieces. We both started with paper weights.  We pulled the molten glass into swirling shapes of color for the centers of the paper weights. Then he showed us how the clear glass is added and the piece is molded to a beautiful sphere.

After learning the basics with the paper weight, my husband made a double wall blown bowl. So cool how you blow to expand the glass and then suck the air back to form the inner bowl.  Well, not quite that simple but Phillip made it very easy to do.

We were looking for coffee table pieces that were different sizes and designs but coordinated together so we made 3 beautiful burgundy swirl fluted vases and bowls.

To finish off our lesson I picked a fun piece, a yellow and burgundy pumpkin with a speckled green stem and tendril.

We learned so many cool techniques. I’m anxious to see the pieces in a couple days after they have completely cooled and the colors are their final vibrant colors.

After a quick bite of lunch we went to the Chihuly Glass Museum to see the glass displays. The timing of this trip after the glassblowing lesson gave up a better appreciation of what it takes to form these pieces. The Chihuly gardens were just gorgeous.

Seattle Great Wheel

We headed to the waterfront to watch the sunset. It was cloudy but the sun still set. The 17 story (175’) Great Ferris Wheel is a fun cheesy tourist thing but it was a relaxing way to see the city scape and also Elliott’s Bay.  The baskets were completely closed in so the temperature was perfect.

On the way to the waterfront we walked through Pikes Market. What a fun place. Fish market, flowers, fresh vegetables, restaurants, entertainment and specialty shops including homemade doughnuts. Think we will come back in a couple days when we have the whole day to explore.

If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going.

Good morning Seattle. What a gorgeous day. No sunshine but perfect temperatures.

Today we headed north of the city to The Future of Flight Boeing Tour. This Boeing plant assembles the 747, 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliner. The main assembly building is 98.7 acres, the largest building by volume in the world. Over 35,000 people work there every day.  Enough with the facts and figures. Our tour guide, Scott was really good. It was obvious that he really likes his job. He guided us through the balconies that overlooked the assembly areas. It was so cool to see the various planes in different stages of assembly. On the final leg of the tour we saw the 777X with the new designed composite wings. The upward curve of the wings makes the plane more efficient but also gives it an elegant look. We actually got to see planes #2 and #3 still on the assembly floor. How cool is that.

On the way back to the city we stopped to make plans for tomorrow, but you will have to wait to hear about that.

There are restaurants everywhere in downtown Seattle. We chose Serious Pie for a mid afternoon dinner. Happy hour started at 3:00 with half size pizzas. We ordered 3 pizzas. The first was sweet fennel sausage, roasted peppers and provolone. Next we picked a roasted seasonal mushrooms, crimini and truffle cheese. The last pie was penn cove clams with pancetta tesa and lemon thyme.  Very yummy and excellent service.

Time to do a little downtown exploring.

Seattle Day 1 Continued

Day 1 continued...

Immediately upon walking in we were greeted by an Apple employee. I told him that I fell and showed him my phone. Instead of commenting on the phone, he asked how I was doing. I said the bruises and scrapes would heal and the knot on my face would go away but I felt terrible about what I had done to my iPhone within hours of arriving in Seattle.  He said they accepted walk-in appointments and would add me to the waiting list. He said they should be able to just replace the screen. He got the IMEI number from my phone, my husbands cell number and said to enjoy walking around University Village and they would text my husband’s phone when a service tech was available. Within a couple minutes we got the text.

The tech came to talk with me about the damage to my phone. He asked how it happened. I told him about the fall and he immediately asked if I was okay. Once he was sure that I was good he said the phone was repairable. He said he needed to check to see if they had replacement screens in stock. When he came back he said they decided not to replace the glass. He said he felt bad about how our trip had started and he did not want this to ruin our time in Seattle. He held up a brand new bright Project Red iPhone 8plus and told me they not only were going to give me a new phone but they were not going to charge me at all. I asked him to repeat exactly what he just said. I thought maybe the bump to my head was making me imagine things.  He reiterated the same comment again and said they wanted me to have a new phone.  He said the phone stopped me from getting hurt worse. We were shocked.  He double checked that I had a very recent backup and also that I had turned off Find my iPhone. Then it was just the simple process of the setup and restore process.  He was so kind during this whole process.  I’m still in awe of what happened.

36’ wide screen on the wall of the Apple store:

From there were strolled around the shops and found Eureka. First it was the aromas outside the restaurant. We decided to give it a try. My husband had the Cowboy burger and I had the blackened fish tacos. Both the food and service was amazing.

I have now been up 22 hours so I better call it a night and say goodnight to Day One.

Seattle

On a whim, we decided to go to Seattle. Work and life have been crazy lately so we basically threw a dart on the map and Seattle won.

It seems we arrived on day one of the rainy season but that is okay. We took the “light rail” from SeaTac airport to downtown Seattle. Very inexpensive way to travel - $3.00 per person.

After a quick stop at the hotel to unload our luggage we headed to The 5 Point Cafe for lunch. Nothing to rave about so we will move on.

During our walk we quickly realized that Seattle drivers are incredibly polite. If they see you on a street corner waiting to cross, they just stop and let you walk. Was not expecting this in such a large city.

Anyway, it should have been a quick couple block walk back to the hotel. The roads in downtown Seattle are not at right angles and because we were new to navigating Seattle, I got out my iPhone and utilized maps for walking directions back to the hotel.  The sidewalks are not even and quite difficult to walk if you are not paying attention and I was paying more attention to my phone for directions and not my feet.  Down I went. First my ankle turned and then my knees collided with the concrete. I reached out with both hands to break my fall. My iPhone was in my left hand. As I continued forward my iPhone went screen first into the sidewalk. Then came my face. Knee was skinned and bleeding, temple was swelling and worst of all, my precious Project Red iPhone screen was cracked with pieces of glass falling loose.

Then Seattle happened. First I noticed a vehicle slow and take note of me laying on the ground. As my husband helped me up they moved along. I brushed myself off and we headed up the sidewalk. As we reached the next corner the same vehicle, an ambulance, pulled to the curb. The paramedic in the passenger seat sincerely asked me if I was okay. I told him I just had scrapes but my iPhone did not fair so well. He double checked that he could not be of help and I said I would be fine. I was shocked that they came around the block to check on me.

Once back at the hotel, my husband looked up the addresses for Apple Stores in the area. We decided on the University Village location. Uber got us there in a little over twenty minutes. First thing we noticed was how nice the shopping center was. Beautiful boutique style shops. Somewhere in the middle of all of the shops was a huge wall of glass with the big white Apple on the wall.  I was so hoping that they would just tell me all was going to be okay and they could just fix my iPhone and we could continue our vacation.

See Day 1 Continued.