Pike Place Market
We love food markets and they’re usually at the top of our list when visiting foreign destinations. However, after visiting so many fabulous markets around the world Pike Place just doesn’t make our cut of must see markets. The flower stalls are beautiful, especially in spring with the peonies and lupine in season, but the fish and vegetable stalls are only ho-hum. I appreciate that for the consumer the fish is well iced, but fish under ice doesn’t make for good photos. Market staff are generally friendly and tolerate the hordes of tourists streaming from the nearby cruise ship dock. We also had a great breakfast at Sound View Café with obstructed views of the harbor.
Underground Tour
Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour was the biggest disappointment of our visit to Seattle. I’ve long heard of the famed underground from the late 1800s, created when the city, after the Great Fire, raised the street level but retained the first level of shops and other business beneath the sidewalk. Little remains of the former shops and much imagination is needed to bring the dilapidated corridors to life. Tour guides try their best with exaggerated stories and questionable humor, but in truth this tour is more hype than tour. Several companies rake in the money taking large groups through the narrow tunnels.
Chihuly Garden and Glass
I have long been a fan of Chihuly’s colorful and playful blown glass sculptures that are equally at home in a gallery as in the garden. Many of the organic shapes cry out to be outdoors among the ferns and flowers. Here in Seattle you can visit his hometown gallery and garden that showcases his work through the decades by theme – sea life, baskets (taking elements from Native American basket weaving) chandeliers inspired by Venetian glass, stained glass and more. If you are a fan, the gallery and garden do not disappoint. The gallery, located at the Seattle Center near the base of the Space Needle, is easily reached from downtown on the Monorail.
For links to all the posts in this series see the Pacific Northwest page.
May 25, 2019