Can we move to Seattle?

We made it back safely from our Seattle trip. I am suffering from a little jet lag and a small virus I think I picked up on the plane. Somehow I managed to sit by people that were coughing and sniffing on both flights. Oh well, it was worth it.

Daniel and I did stick to some of our plans, but modified some as well. I will say, the moment we crossed from the plane to the terminal and could feel the cool air coming through the cracks, we were sold on Seattle. I actually had chills at noon on a July day! We took a 'green cab' to downtown Seattle and, with the windows down, marveled at the trees, the water, the houses, the weather the entire way.

We reached the Crowne Plaza in short order and were happy to discover our room was already ready. Ok, now it's time for a brief rant. For the price, the Crowne Plaza was very disappointing. The hallway on our floor (and several other places throughout the hotel) had a disgusting, garbage-like odor. Thankfully, we couldn't continually smell it in our room (mainly because we kept the AC blowing the whole time). The room was ok...nothing fancy by any means. I understand this hotel is older, and I can accept that. They did provide ear plugs, an eye mask, and a relaxation cd in each room. I guess that was supposed to make our room luxurious? The bell men/concierge were the worst. Very rude- except of course when we were leaving and they wanted a tip.

Saturday we ate lunch and then took the monorail to Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located. Isn't it amazing they let Daniel drive the monorail?
We waiting about 30 minutes in line to get to the elevator to get to the top of the Space Needle. Felt very much like Disney World.
The views were amazing from the top (as you can see in photos below), but it was very crowded. You can see Mt. Renier in the background. Our plane flew right beside it on the way into Seattle. Seattle Center also contains a small amusement park, a huge fountain surrounded by green grass and art work, the Music Experience and Sci-Fi Museum, and a few other attractions. Next trip, I will definitely spend more time in this area checking stuff out. As it was, we just walked around everything and relaxed in the park a little.

Saturday night we went to Salty's on Alki Beach for dinner. We didn't take the limo because we decided to take the Water Taxi instead. Unfortunately, we just missed the water taxi, so we had to take a regular taxi over to Alki Beach. Although we ended up being almost an hour early for our reservation, they had an amazing table ready for us right in front of a huge window overlooking the water and the Seattle skyline.
The food was phenomenal (we both had salmon dishes) and their signature dessert is this white chocolate filled white cake that tasted so much like our wedding cake! We did catch the water taxi back to Seattle and got some of the amazing sunset pics below.
We considered acting out a scene from Grey's Anatomy on the ferry, but couldn't come up with anything that we could take while Daniel held the camera. Note to all- You have to walk down a big hill to get to the Piers from the Crowne Plaza area which means, you have to walk UP a big hill to get back. Flip Flops and being incredibly stuffed from dinner do not make this trek an easy one. At least we got lots of exercise though.

Sunday we ventured to Pike Place Market.
I had no idea how huge this market was going to be. There are two stories of vendors selling fresh seafood, veggies, fruits, breads, you name it. Next trip we will definitely get a place with a kitchen so we can hit up the market and cook with all the fresh ingredients available. Sunday's in the summer they also set up vendors in the road outside the market. Directly across from the market are several 'famous' businesses. One such place, the original Starbucks.
I had to take a pic to prove I had been there, but it was so packed inside, I didn't attempt to get coffee here. We had breakfast just a few doors down at Piroshky, Piroshky. This 'restaurant' was featured on Anthony Bourdain's 'No Reservations' tv show. Besides having seen it on his show, the smell coming out of this place drew us in immediately. Daniel had a spinach, egg, and cheese piroshky and I had a cinnamon/cardamon twist. YUMMY!!!

We moved on to Elliot's on the Bay for lunch. They had a huge selection of fresh oysters to choose from. Daniel ordered a blue cheese topped oyster dish and I got an order of the crab cakes. Both were ok, but didn't compare to Salty's. Pioneer Square was next on our list. This is a picture of the Pergola (1905), designed to shelter passengers waiting for the cablecar that used to travel along Yesler Way. We decided against the Underground tour since we both had on flip flops and were pretty tired. We also got hit up for money here, so that sort of turned us off looking much further. There were great shops here and I would come back and check it out in more detail next trip. Just don't sit on any benches or you risk getting hit up for money. At least he sang to us for his $2.

Ok, I will update you on the rest at a later date. I'm sure you are blogged out.