Our day in Seattle began in the most predictable way – with a visit to Starbucks. Plans for visiting a church didn’t work out, so we got our coffee and headed over to Pike’s Place Market. It was interesting to compare this bustling market to the one we had just visited in Portland. This market had more options and a permanent structure but less community. More tourists fresh off of the nearby cruise ship, fewer neighbors and families. Still an interesting experience. Unfortunately I missed the famous fish throwing stand, so that’s a reason to return in the future, I suppose.
In the afternoon, we went on a rather strange underground tour of Seattle. I guess I was expecting in an underground tour lots of creepiness but the tour mainly focused on (depending on your sense of humor) funny stories about the less than respectable past of Seattle, with a bizarre emphasis on bathroom jokes. In a way, I was a bit turned off at first but then I thought that it was kind of nice the city didn’t take itself too seriously, that unlike other places we have visited on this trip, the people running this tour were willing to tell the less-than-glamorous parts of the story. Essentially, the city had undergone a significant restructuring late in the nineteenth century, and had basically raised the entire city a level, so there is a whole underground that used to be mostly saloons and brothels. It was very strange, because the tour guides have not revamped this underground at all for their tour, other than adding a boardwalk for customers to easily maneuver their way around the wreckage of decades of history. It was a strange experience but in a way gave a more authentic feel for the history there than just viewing relics in some fancy museum.
A few of us ended traversing quite a bit of the city in efforts to find a place to eat dinner, and we ended up settling on a very trendy new restaurant called Icon. Even though I was completely exhausted after our trek, walking around the city definitely is the best way to get a feel for it, in my opinion. We ended our day with a visit to the Space Needle, which offered an absolutely incredible view of the city and the bay at sunset.
In the afternoon, we went on a rather strange underground tour of Seattle. I guess I was expecting in an underground tour lots of creepiness but the tour mainly focused on (depending on your sense of humor) funny stories about the less than respectable past of Seattle, with a bizarre emphasis on bathroom jokes. In a way, I was a bit turned off at first but then I thought that it was kind of nice the city didn’t take itself too seriously, that unlike other places we have visited on this trip, the people running this tour were willing to tell the less-than-glamorous parts of the story. Essentially, the city had undergone a significant restructuring late in the nineteenth century, and had basically raised the entire city a level, so there is a whole underground that used to be mostly saloons and brothels. It was very strange, because the tour guides have not revamped this underground at all for their tour, other than adding a boardwalk for customers to easily maneuver their way around the wreckage of decades of history. It was a strange experience but in a way gave a more authentic feel for the history there than just viewing relics in some fancy museum.
A few of us ended traversing quite a bit of the city in efforts to find a place to eat dinner, and we ended up settling on a very trendy new restaurant called Icon. Even though I was completely exhausted after our trek, walking around the city definitely is the best way to get a feel for it, in my opinion. We ended our day with a visit to the Space Needle, which offered an absolutely incredible view of the city and the bay at sunset.
I got a similar sense from Seattle as I did in Portland – all the perks of a big city, like good shopping, diverse culture, beautiful buildings without the intimidation and busyness you feel in other major cities. I enjoyed Seattle quite a bit, especially that view from the Northwest coast…there’s nothing like it. The ubiquitous Starbucks aside, Seattle had a homey yet exciting feel to it and I would love to visit again.
No comments:
Post a Comment