Sleepless in Seattle

"Oh the places you'll go..."
Aug 23, 2016
Self Growth

Seattle is such an amazing city, with a vibrant culture and a great mix of technology and nature. I was fortunate enough to spend a few unforgettable days in Seattle (and a few nearby locales) and this was what I discovered. 

Seattle is fully immersed in nature. As we traveled along the highway and trekked from point A to B, it is impossible to miss the number of trees and flowers all around. Just looking around it feels as if this city sprang from a dense forest of evergreen pine trees. Even within the heart of the city you will find parks scattered throughout and flowers graced on the sides of buildings. 

(The great wheel, 2 coliseums, and Mount Rainier spotted off the pier)

Seattle is full of art everywhere. According to a fun fact that was obtain during a Duck Boat tour around the city, 1% of all property tax is used towards public art. As a result there are fun random art pieces scattered about the city. There is the metallic tree at Olympic sculpture park, the Fremont Troll that lives under the bridge waiting for the three Billy goats gruff, and the glass workings in Chihuly Gardens. Of course these are big sites but you will see quite a few interesting pieces all throughout the city with unfamiliar names. 

Seattle is full of interesting architecture. I had the chance to check out the 10 stories that formed the Seattle Public Library. Each floor had its own function, whether it was the cafe or reading room or job resource center. The entire building is covered in windows allowing in the maximum amount of natural light without being overwhelming. The interior often showcased the art that the city is known for. Located in the heart of the city is the iconic Space Needle which overlooks both the Chihuly Garden and EMP. Chihuly Garden features a number of glass sculptures big and small. They range from the size of a small hand basket to a 12 foot tower. All the pieces are full of vibrant colors and interesting shapes. It offers some great photo opportunities like having glass sculptures and the space needle all in one shot. The EMP building showcases a number of rock legends. The building is easily recognizable and not recognizable. You know you are there because you will be standing at a bright red building with a number of twists and turns. If you are not familiar with it, you may not be able to recognized it was designed based on Jimmy Hendrix's broken guitar. These are a few of the architectural styles you can see while in Seattle but there is more to come. Amazon for example has a new building under construction, which looks like a golf ball. It's unique design will definitely help their creative team think different. 

Seattle is full of great food. Located by the water, the city offers some of the best seafood around. You can swing by Taylor's to have one of their succulent oysters, my wife loved it and we just happened to get in right at happy hour. We were also taken by a friend to enjoy cioppino and fish & chips at Steelhead Diner. This was possibly the largest bowl of seafood I have ever had. After dinner, we walked next door to grab some of Rachel's Ginger Beer, which is a definitely not what you find in the grocery aisle. The come in a number of flavors including guava, pineapple, and mango mate. If you so wish, they have spirits available to liven things up even more.

(Oysters on the Half Shell at Taylor's)
Seattle was an amazing experience which we were fortunate enough experience. It is so full of great art and food and we cannot get enough. We also benefited from not having rain while we were there which from my understanding is unheard of.