Thursday, August 11, 2011

Project365: Day 206 - First Day in Seattle

On the first day of our honeymoon, we planned to spend the day in downtown Seattle. After breakfast in the hotel, we walked down Pike Street towards the famous landmark Pike Place Market.

Pike Place Market

My coffee-loving wife made sure that a pilgrimage to the Original Starbucks location at the Pike Place Market was at the top of our itinerary for the day. The coffee was excellent and warmed us up nicely on a wet and foggy morning.

Caffeinated Pilgrimage

We arrived at the market early enough to see some of the vendors still finishing setting up their stalls for the day. Judging by the amount of really excellent looking fresh produce in the market that day, I'd say the local growers are having a very good year. One stand had these beautiful bouquets of peppers and garlic hanging from the top of their stall.

Edible Bouquets

Once the market officially opened for the day, it didn't take long for it to get very busy. The crowds were especially thick near the world famous Pike Place Fish Company.

Crustaceans on Ice

Tourists (like us) had all gathered around the stand hoping to watch the energetic fish merchants toss large fish from the sale floor to the packing counter.

Fresh Fish

Airborne Fish

After eating lunch upstairs in the market (delicious fresh clam chowder in a bread bowl) we walked south from Pike Place to Smith Tower in Pioneer Square. Smith Tower is the tallest building in the historic neighborhood where the city of Seattle began. The observation deck at the top of the building offers spectacular views of downtown Seattle.

Rainy City

As proof I wasn't on this trip alone, here is a photo of my lovely wife enjoying the beautiful (albeit cloudy and rainy) view from the observation deck.

Brittany

From the corner of the observation deck you can see the most iconic piece of Seattle's skyline at the other end of downtown: the Space Needle.

Down the Urban Canyon

The interior of the Smith Tower observation deck level is a richly colored, ornate space. The building's original character has been preserved well on this level, as well as in the main floor elevator lobby.

Observation Level

Elevator Lobby

We left Smith Tower and Pioneer Square and began to head back towards downtown. As our day wrapped up, we were able to get a photo of BOTH of us at the end of one of the piers on Elliot Bay. (Brittany says I take too many photos of buildings and not enough photos of us!)

The Newlyweds


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