Sightseeing in Seattle

From Rainier we drove to Seattle and checked in to our hotel in the Queen Anne district. We woke up the next morning ready to start exploring.. and eating!

We grabbed a bite to eat at Sugar Bakery and Coffeehouse and walked over to the International Fountain coffee's in hand. The fountain wasn't fully turned on but the boys enjoyed running around it.. and around it and around it.. 

and we watched.. and sipped.. Space Needle in the background. On our way to the Space Needle we came across a park and of course the kids had to play in it.. it was an amazing play ground.. really taking the basic slide and swings to the next level.

Afterwards we strolled through the area passing the Space Needle.. Museum of Pop Culture and the Chihuly Garden.. we had seen some of Chihuly's work when there had been an exhibition in New York last year but didn't have the time to venture into any of the museum's on this visit. We walked towards the water to the Olympic Sculpture Park. 

Not really all that impressive.. but it was free.. so I won't be too harsh. We continued our walk down by the water till we got to Pike Place Market.. and then the eating began!

This stern crossing guard pose was H's pose of choice for the day

We started the boys off with Beechers famous mac and cheese.. and the boys gave it a big old F. They couldn't even finish this little bowl.. H refused to take a second bite.. I tired some too and it was so salty.

There was a long line outside of Piroshky Piroshky

We got one sweet apple and one savory beef and onion Russian pastry.. both good..

Next were macaroons at Le Panier.. there was a long line here too.. and rightfully so.. these were little heavenly bites.. as you can see the boys could hardly wait to take a bite.. I got the lemon, H the strawberry, M got the pistachio and D the chocolate.. all were very very good.

We roamed the market.. stopped by the artisans selling their wares, witnessed some fish throwing and catching.. then when we felt a bit peckish again we stopped at Los Agaves for some tacos. 

We left the market to visit the infamous gum wall.. and it is exactly as gross as it sounds.. and it is not a wall.. it has grown into an alley of sickly sweet smelling old gum.

Just a few minutes away we stopped at the Bottega Italia for some gelato.. I skipped.. the boys shared a lemon which was so so tart.. and M had his favorite.. pistachio.

We strolled the streets heading towards the Public Library.. then Pioneer Square.. grabbed some coffee at some point.. and then found ourselves in Occidental Square.. it was a little rough around the edges.. but they had some games set up in a corner.. so D and M played some ping pong while H and I played Connect 4

Afterwards we got an Uber and headed to Kerry Park..

It was a very small sliver of a park.. but it provided a beautiful view of the Seattle skyline.. and way off in the distance you could even catch a glimpse of Mount Rainier. By taking a staircase the park had a lower lever with a small playground for kids..the boys played and we rested our legs.. afterwards we headed back towards the hotel.. we stopped at the Atlas Lounge for dinner.

The next day we took a Clipper to Vancouver Island but I'll get into that in next weeks post. 

The day after that we had another day in Seattle.. we met up with M's colleague and her husband for breakfast at the Portage Bay.. we had made reservations.. there was a huge wait.. we had a lovely time.. the breakfast was good.. 

M and I split a sweet and savory.. H accidentally knocked over a cup of maple syrup all over himself, me and inside my purse!!! So we had to make a trip back to the hotel before heading to Discovery Park. I don't think we have ever visited this many playgrounds while on vacation.. we usually stay at a safe distance away from them.. but I gotta say Seattle has some great playgrounds. They had a little zip line too.. 

Then we went over to the Ballard Locks.. the locks were open and the boats were parking.. we learned about the life cycle of salmon as well as saw some... and we even spotted baby seals!!

Next stop Freemont.. we visited the Troll Under the Bridge.

Then stopped at Cafe Turko for lunch. It looked like a really cool area with fun shops but the kiddo's are not very cooperative when it comes to window shopping.. :( So we headed to GasWorks Park. This is were they shot the paintball scene in 10 Things I Hate About You.. I felt so nostaligic afterwards I re-watched the movie as soon as we got back home.. oh Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon Levitt.. 

There was a wedding going on at the park.. the park had a great view.. though the kids were upset the playground was under construction.. 

This is what happens when you tell the boys to get in the picture.. they refuse so you pretend to be happy about them not being in the picture.. and then they run to get in the picture.. sigh.. thank you to the person who came up with reverse psychology.. it's a parents best friend.

It was still early.. but we were tired.. we stopped to get some gelato at the Fainting Goat.. good stuff.. and then headed back to the hotel.. got take out from the Korean place across the street and relaxed.

     

                  Etsy           Instagram           Twitter           Bloglovin