Introduction
We started and ended our week long adventure in Seattle and loved it just as much as we did on our first visit 10 years ago. Seattle has a vibe that is all its own and much more of a city vibe than we get in San Diego. I am not sure if it's always an issue but I think the traffic is worse in Seattle than in San Diego. I know they were doing some bridge construction but even on our way back through a week later with the bridges open we sat in traffic a fair amount of time. We both love the city and after San Diego and San Francisco it's probably my 3rd favorite on the West Coast. I definitely find it a little more edgy and busy than some others and if you like the bustle and a green town then Seattle is worth it.
Great Friends
We stayed with some great friends that used to live in San Diego and both took jobs in Seattle a few years ago. Jaine and Nirav were awesome hosts and we were able to kick back in an amazing house overlooking Lake Washington and Mercer Island in the Bellevue neighborhood. The views from their deck look right at the water and we were even able to see the Olympic mountain range in the distance thanks to the beautiful clear day. The weather was perfect for our visit and there is something about the air that seems so fresh and full. The vast colors and abundant trees were amazing and not to be outdone was the national bird a Bald Eagle that decided to make Bellevue her home to raise a couple of eaglets. We were treated to a wonderful home cooked meal upon our arrival and were able to sit back and visit with them and their children Joshua (six) and Ellie (three) who were just as excited about our visit and we were!
Sunday we started out with a great brunch with fresh steamed blue crabs and they were amazing! We followed up by heading over to Ballard to see the boat locks connecting the Puget Sound with Salmon Bay. The thing that impressed me the most about the locks was the "fish ladder" that was adjacent to the boat locks that was set up for the salmon to to swim back into the rivers up steam to spawn. It was like a ladder built adjacent to the locks that allowed the salmon to swim or jump back up steam to spawn and was a sight to see.
Eva and I had not been outside the downtown area of Seattle before and both Bellevue and Ballard were amazing. Ballard seemed to be going through a gentrification process and reminded me of North Park back in San Diego. It's a hip neighborhood that happened to have a very large farmers market going on Sunday morning as well as some sort of street fest going at the same time. The area was full of boutique restaurants, shops, bars etc. I highly recommend checking out this little neighborhood if you head up to Seattle. I am sure there are many places like this but I can actually vouch for this one and give it a double thumbs up. I would say if I lived in Seattle I would probably move to Ballard. We finished the day off with an incredible meal at Chinook's at Salmon Bay website hands down the best fish taco's ever with wild salmon that was amazing!! The views are amazing and the food was all local including the fresh berry margarita's. Thank you again Jaine and Nirav for being such awesome hosts!!
Return to Seattle (following Saturday 7/20)
We booked round trip tickets in and out of Seattle and headed back from Vancouver the Friday before our Saturday departure. The bus ride home was much smoother and easier than our bus ride going up. I think our ride back to Seattle from Vancouver took just under 4 hours and our ride up with almost 5 due to some border issues. Either way the buses were clean and comfortable and since the train only runs first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening the buses are more efficient and user friendly even though they leave and arrive from the Amtrak station in each city. The tickets were $50 a piece round trip.
Friday afternoon we took a walk up to Pikes Place market and checked out the cool shops along First Ave. between Pioneer Square and the top of the market. Paul McCartney was in town on tour and we even saw him pass buy with the window down waving and giving the peace sign with police escort. He seemed timeless and I could not believe how many big time people I have seen relatively close in the past year from Obama to McCartney wow! Friday evening we headed to a cool music venue called The Triple Door website within walking distance and caught a live show with some Ethiopian pop group that was made up of an 11 piece ensemble. It was a dinner show and the menu in the place is Thai food so it's a nice place to have dinner and see a show...something we are missing in San Diego since Anthology closed down last year. We checked their website from Vancouver and booked our seats in advance for $20 so we would have a plan upon our arrival back into Seattle.
In one of my previous posts I mentioned Uber website and how much I love the "on demand" cab service. This time I am going to share another new site I learned about called Airbnb website which allows you to rent someones house or condo etc. at a pre-negotiated rate. The concept is very cool and if you're willing to take a chance it could save you a lot of money and find yourself in something much cooler than a hotel room away from everything. Needless to say we had never done this before and wanted to try it out. We went for a loft in Pioneer Square close to the Amtrak station. All of the reviews seemed to be good and we met the owner out front after exchanging emails and reserving in advance. We saved about $150 from what the closest hotel was offering and had a cozy little studio to stay at in the heart of the city. The owner was on his way out of town for the weekend made a little cash and we saved a little bit at the same time The only issue was the upstairs neighbor singing along to Whitney Houston as we returned home from our evening out. We both laughed about it and could not believe it but we were only staying for one night.
We woke up on Saturday and headed back up to Pikes Place Market for breakfast and cruised the city before catching the light rail out to the airport. We opted to head out the airport early and grab a nice lunch at Anthony's Seafood website in the airport for one last taste of the NW before our departure. I recommend the food (they have been voted as one of the world's best airport restaurants) in the airport and the views overlooking the runways are pretty cool as well if you enjoy airplanes!
Thanks again Jaine and Nirav for everything!
We started and ended our week long adventure in Seattle and loved it just as much as we did on our first visit 10 years ago. Seattle has a vibe that is all its own and much more of a city vibe than we get in San Diego. I am not sure if it's always an issue but I think the traffic is worse in Seattle than in San Diego. I know they were doing some bridge construction but even on our way back through a week later with the bridges open we sat in traffic a fair amount of time. We both love the city and after San Diego and San Francisco it's probably my 3rd favorite on the West Coast. I definitely find it a little more edgy and busy than some others and if you like the bustle and a green town then Seattle is worth it.
Great Friends
We stayed with some great friends that used to live in San Diego and both took jobs in Seattle a few years ago. Jaine and Nirav were awesome hosts and we were able to kick back in an amazing house overlooking Lake Washington and Mercer Island in the Bellevue neighborhood. The views from their deck look right at the water and we were even able to see the Olympic mountain range in the distance thanks to the beautiful clear day. The weather was perfect for our visit and there is something about the air that seems so fresh and full. The vast colors and abundant trees were amazing and not to be outdone was the national bird a Bald Eagle that decided to make Bellevue her home to raise a couple of eaglets. We were treated to a wonderful home cooked meal upon our arrival and were able to sit back and visit with them and their children Joshua (six) and Ellie (three) who were just as excited about our visit and we were!
Sunday we started out with a great brunch with fresh steamed blue crabs and they were amazing! We followed up by heading over to Ballard to see the boat locks connecting the Puget Sound with Salmon Bay. The thing that impressed me the most about the locks was the "fish ladder" that was adjacent to the boat locks that was set up for the salmon to to swim back into the rivers up steam to spawn. It was like a ladder built adjacent to the locks that allowed the salmon to swim or jump back up steam to spawn and was a sight to see.
 |
| View from Janie and Nirav's Deck |
Eva and I had not been outside the downtown area of Seattle before and both Bellevue and Ballard were amazing. Ballard seemed to be going through a gentrification process and reminded me of North Park back in San Diego. It's a hip neighborhood that happened to have a very large farmers market going on Sunday morning as well as some sort of street fest going at the same time. The area was full of boutique restaurants, shops, bars etc. I highly recommend checking out this little neighborhood if you head up to Seattle. I am sure there are many places like this but I can actually vouch for this one and give it a double thumbs up. I would say if I lived in Seattle I would probably move to Ballard. We finished the day off with an incredible meal at Chinook's at Salmon Bay website hands down the best fish taco's ever with wild salmon that was amazing!! The views are amazing and the food was all local including the fresh berry margarita's. Thank you again Jaine and Nirav for being such awesome hosts!!
 |
| Coffee shop in Ballard |
Return to Seattle (following Saturday 7/20)
We booked round trip tickets in and out of Seattle and headed back from Vancouver the Friday before our Saturday departure. The bus ride home was much smoother and easier than our bus ride going up. I think our ride back to Seattle from Vancouver took just under 4 hours and our ride up with almost 5 due to some border issues. Either way the buses were clean and comfortable and since the train only runs first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening the buses are more efficient and user friendly even though they leave and arrive from the Amtrak station in each city. The tickets were $50 a piece round trip.
Friday afternoon we took a walk up to Pikes Place market and checked out the cool shops along First Ave. between Pioneer Square and the top of the market. Paul McCartney was in town on tour and we even saw him pass buy with the window down waving and giving the peace sign with police escort. He seemed timeless and I could not believe how many big time people I have seen relatively close in the past year from Obama to McCartney wow! Friday evening we headed to a cool music venue called The Triple Door website within walking distance and caught a live show with some Ethiopian pop group that was made up of an 11 piece ensemble. It was a dinner show and the menu in the place is Thai food so it's a nice place to have dinner and see a show...something we are missing in San Diego since Anthology closed down last year. We checked their website from Vancouver and booked our seats in advance for $20 so we would have a plan upon our arrival back into Seattle.
 |
| Paul McCartney |
In one of my previous posts I mentioned Uber website and how much I love the "on demand" cab service. This time I am going to share another new site I learned about called Airbnb website which allows you to rent someones house or condo etc. at a pre-negotiated rate. The concept is very cool and if you're willing to take a chance it could save you a lot of money and find yourself in something much cooler than a hotel room away from everything. Needless to say we had never done this before and wanted to try it out. We went for a loft in Pioneer Square close to the Amtrak station. All of the reviews seemed to be good and we met the owner out front after exchanging emails and reserving in advance. We saved about $150 from what the closest hotel was offering and had a cozy little studio to stay at in the heart of the city. The owner was on his way out of town for the weekend made a little cash and we saved a little bit at the same time The only issue was the upstairs neighbor singing along to Whitney Houston as we returned home from our evening out. We both laughed about it and could not believe it but we were only staying for one night.
We woke up on Saturday and headed back up to Pikes Place Market for breakfast and cruised the city before catching the light rail out to the airport. We opted to head out the airport early and grab a nice lunch at Anthony's Seafood website in the airport for one last taste of the NW before our departure. I recommend the food (they have been voted as one of the world's best airport restaurants) in the airport and the views overlooking the runways are pretty cool as well if you enjoy airplanes!
Thanks again Jaine and Nirav for everything!
 |
| Fresh Seafood at Pike's Place Market |
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