Seattle 2018 Trip

Huge shout out to my cousin Diana for being a fantastic host on my recent trip to Seattle. Feel free to use my travel notes as a guide for your future visitors (including myself!).

Fun

Starbucks Roastery (Seattle location), Capitol Hill)
I took a leisure walk to this place on my first full day. I ordered a coffee ((Pantheon 2018, pour over) and did some people watching (so much to see!). On my last day I went to the shop again and got some freshly roasted beans (also Pantheon). They of course also have food options, tons of coffee (made with your favorite brewing method) and plenty of Starbucks Reserve goodies. I can't wait for the NYC roastery to open up soon.



Seattle Center International fountain
Best place to enjoy a bit of sun (on those sunny days in Seattle, lucky me!) and people watching. and also a great place to snap a pic of the Space Needle.

I looked into the music a bit more when I was organizing my trip notes and found some great resources below:

• article about the DJ from the Stranger
• actual playlists!
• I haven't listened to this specific playlist but the date range matches when I visited the fountain. 

Tours

KEXP tour (Seattle Center)
Having listened to KEXP live in studio performances podcast, I was intrigued by the station tour and also the setup of the space. They have a rotating coffee place and also a record store in the lobby. The tour was clearly well-advertised because we had people from all over the world (including Scotland and South Africa). I haven't watched too much of their youtube channel but it is also very popular around the world. The actual studio had glowing, pulsating blue LEDs that are surprisingly calm (note for my future lighting project, ha). I was really impressed with the massive CD library. Each CD also had personalized notes from the DJs. The collection is already being digitized and everyone was relieved to hear that the CD notes will also be scanned and stored as part of the effort. The space had a lot of neat artwork, this one showing the skyline of Seattle was my favorite.


Mount Rainier National Park (2 hours drive from downtown)
Earlier this summer I went to the Grand Canyon and caught the national park fever. Given Seattle is so close to several national parks, I had to visit one! After searching, I found a tour group called Evergreen Escapes and went on a small group tour to Mt Rainier.

We got lucky with the weather and had possibly one of the best days ever for hiking. We were surrounded by beautiful colors of the fall and also amazing old growth trees/forests. I'm glad I took this tour closer to the beginning of my trip (since I traveled from East coast and still woke up at 3am on my first few days in Seattle). The tour specs included a round trip from downtown in a comfortable van. Our tour guide also provided water, snacks, and lunch so we didn't have to bring much. I would definitely do this same trip (perhaps a diff season) and other outings with this company again.





Underground Tour (Pioneer Sq)
I went on this highly recommended tour when I first went to Seattle but my cousin Diana hasn't experienced it yet (because tours are for tourists, not locals)! We joined a bunch of people during a weekend session and had fun walking around underground and looking for purple glass (skylights).  If you go on this tour, you will be causing sidewalk traffic jams like proper tourists. I enjoyed the storytelling part of the tour more so than the so-called 'relics' and 'artifacts' but decide for yourself! 

Theo Chocolate Factory Tour (Fremont)
On the last full day of my trip, I woke up to a gray and rainy day. I skipped my plans for the zoo/garden and ventured out to Fremont for a chocolate factory tour instead. The tour gave a description of the bean to bar process, a peak inside the factory through clear observation room, and of course chocolate samples. I picked up some bars at the store afterwards.

Seattle– The first 24 hours

Seattle was the fourth leg of my west coast trip from August. My one-week stay last year [entry] was substantially longer and slower-paced than this quick two day stopover.

Cast of characters
me – Arrived by BoltBus and looking to wrap up my 10-day trip. What, we’re going hiking and a show?
E. – My gracious host who moved recently to a new apt with a view of the space needle. Attempting to complete his mountaineer program while entertaining me and J, who are both visiting from out of town.
S. – E.’s friend from college, visiting Seattle for the first time. Originally from NY and based in Chicago. Huge radio lab fan and avid traveller.

The Night Before
Sushi, sake, and funny Portlandia show

The Prep
Breakfast: E. made scrambled eggs with turkey, spinach, tomato, mushroom for all of us. Way to start out the adventures with a bang!Coffee pickup: Caffé Vita [http://www.caffevita.com/]
Lunch pickup: Bahn mi place that I can’t remember the name of. We got awesome sandwiches though.
Backpack contents: 2 jackets (one fleece, one windbreaker), water, blue Gatorade, chocolates, trail mix, Bahn mi sandwiches for lunch, camera, extra shirt, socks.

The Road Trip
Mt. Si is a few hours away so we spent time talking, listening to podcasts (mainly SYSK and Radio Lab I think?) and NPR. I don’t have a pic but we actually made a make-shift iphone speaker out of a camping cup. E. and S. would make for good road trip buddies.

The Ascent
Besides taking a few photo breaks here and there, I used most of the climb listening to our hiking footsteps (quite relaxing), chatting, and just letting my mind wander. The hike was tough but incredibly rewarding. I will let the photos speak for themselves:

Mt Si VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Best pizza outside of NY
During my previous visit in Seattle, E. introduced me to Verde Primo pizza from Pagliacci Pizza. I liked it so much, I actually requested to have it again. Here’s the description from their menu: Artichoke hearts, mushrooms, pesto, goat cheese, garlic and mozzarella on our seasoned tomato sauce. We also tried some Mac & Jack beers on tap from the place.

It’s (Radio) Show Time

Before the show I only knew Radio Lab as a cool podcast (I loved the Colors episode!). Props to S. for suggesting this awesome live show, especially as there probably was zero chance to ever even get near tickets in NY. The only unfortunate part was we were so exhausted from the hike, we ended up missing a portion of the show. Some highlights that would sound incomprehensive to people who haven’t seen it: space part near the end, lights in the audience, dancing eyeball people with eye patches. Go check out the live show if they are going to your town. Or if you don’t get a chance to, check out the podcast.

Stay tuned for the next 24 hours:
-Pike’s Place Market
-Coffee / Cafes
-Lowell’s
-Meeting J.
-Shopping

The Northwest Pt 1

My friend E. recently moved out to Seattle and put up wonderful photos of the city to encourage visitors. I had been looking for a destination for my Oct vacation so took up the offer.
While I took a week to write my first entry, I wanted to capture some highlights and make a list of "everything else" so I can come back and write part two.

Seattle Space Needle

Seattle, Washington
Pike Place Market:
You'll find fresh seafood here, $5 bouquests of flowers, fresh produce, a few eateries, and a ton of neat gift/specialty shops (paper, posters, jewelry, etc etc). We actually made dinner out of fresh king salmon and swordfish steak from here. Delicious.

If you dislike the smell at other seafood markets, I invite you visit here because I don't think I've been a cleaner market. No fishy smell at all. You'll also find the original Starbucks with lively musicians out front and a ton of fans looking at specialty coffee and merchandise inside. I was tempted to buy a mug but after thinking about the fragil transport I decided to pass on it. If you like City mugs from Starbucks, I have to say the Seattle one is the best (and I thought the NYC one was impressive).
http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/

Laser Dome:
Just next to the famous Space Needle (vintage world fair 1961), you'll find the Pacific Science Center which hosts a variety of science related exhibits and the very unique laser shows. If you go, check out the crowd's advice from Yelp (especially regarding what to bring, pillows and blankets!). Walking through downtown Seattle like we're going to a slumber party was quite a scene. Daft Punk's music is perfect for laser shows, as is Lady Gaga and Pink Floyd. Makes me wonder about other cities and whether they  have laser shows too. As an aside, the EMP not too far away also has great music exhibits and shows.
http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/Laser-Dome/laserdome
http://www.empmuseum.org/index.asp

Blokus:
Since I was in Seattle for more than a couple of days, I was lucky enough to attend a house party (board games!) and met some wonderful people there. The one new game that I loved was blokus and I'm in the process of ordering a set myself for familiy and friends here. It's also on ipad so I may get that before I get the physical game. Another game I learned to play was Fluxx but I'm not sure if I ever got the hang of it...
http://blokus.com/
http://www.looneylabs.com/games/fluxx

Vancouver, Canada
MARKET by Jean Georges:
This was my vacation splurge. Beautiful space, attentive service, and amazing food. I ordered the lunch prix fixe which included a really cool rice cracker crusted tuna and snapper with nut and seed crust.
http://www.marketbyjgvancouver.com/

Trolley Tour:
Funny enough, I've never done a hop-on, hop-off tour anywhere and the first time I decided to try it is in Vancouver. Due to the wait time at each stop (45 min), I actually ended up not hopping off at all.


Canada Place

The route started at Canada Place, which was a block or two from my hotel, went through Stanley Park, Granville Island, and rest of downtown/Chinatown/Gastown. If I go next time, I'll have to plan enough time in Stanley Park's Lookout Place. http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/

Sun Yat-sen Garden:

Garden

This was my first stop in Vancouver after a quick lunch of shrimp wonton noodle soup in Chinatown. I also caught the tour guide's daily tour and learned some interesting things about the garden design and Chinese culture. If you go, you should take your time walking around.
http://www.vancouverchinesegarden.com/

Transportation logistics worked out well.  I went to Vancouver via Amtrak train from Seattle and returned via bus (dependent on schedule, you can take train or bus both ways). I barely used Canadian dollars in Vancouver even though I did exchange a small amount. Mastercard, even with foreign fees and exchange rate, came out a better deal for me.

Other topics for Pt 2
Reading, Pandora, and Entertainment Setup
Argosy Cruise and Port Knowledge
Seattle Underground Tour
Boeing Tour
Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
Various Coffee Shops (Caffe Vita, Roy Street Coffee and Teas, Waves Coffee House)
Iver's Fish and Chips
Hiking (Twin falls)
Vancouver Waterfront and Canada Place
Gastown and Water Street Cafe
Seattle Pagliacci Pizza Verde Primo