This past weekend we took our first trip to Seattle for a mini family getaway and to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary which is coming up on May 31st. One thing I will say about this trip is that first off we didn’t do enough research prior to going on our trip and making our hotel reservation. Overall I was a little disappointed in Seattle but we’ll be giving it another chance this October when we head up for my first half marathon.
Where We Stayed:
Downtown Westin Seattle– We made our reservations a few months ago for Seattle via Hotwire and got an amazing deal on this hotel. We decided to go with a hotel downtown thinking that it would be the best and most accessible for doing things without having to worry about driving places. The hotel was nice and it was near the monorail that takes you over to the Seattle Center, it is within walking distance to a number of sites including the aquarium, Pike Place Market, and shops. It is also only a few blocks from the bus and train. The hotel had a pool, cardio room and weight room so we were able to stay active.
City Pass Sites:
Since there were so many sites we wanted to see we decided to get the City Pass Seattle to save money on admission, although I think in the end we didn’t end up really saving any money because we didn’t make it to the Pacific Science Center or a second time up the Space Needle due to time or the Argosy Cruise due to the weather.
We did however visit the EMP Museum where Neil was in heaven because there was a Nirvana exhibit going on. It is a really fun museum filled with pop culture/music history as well as fun interactive exhibits. Unfortunately Edith was just a bit too young for most things here so we didn’t get to explore as much as we would have liked to.
Next we visited the Space Needle and a bonus of having the City Pass was not having to wait in line to get a ticket. I have to say I might be a tall building snob because the Space Needle despite it’s beautiful views of Seattle is by no means as impressive as the CN tower, however Neil would like me to point out that if you have never been to the CN Tower that Space Needle is probably more impressive than I think.
We also used the Woodland Park Zoo pass which was really fun because it was the perfect spot for Edith. They even had a spot where she could go in and meet a few goats which she thought was just amazing. We had fun showing her all the animals and enjoyed the zoo as well.
The last City Pass we used before heading home was the Seattle Aquarium. Now let me first say that you want to get here when they open because it gets busy fast and by the time we left at 11:30a there was a line out the door to get in. This museum was fun for all of us because we got to touch some of the sea creatures, we were able to a huge octopus and lots of beautiful fish. I have to say this was my favorite of all the City Pass activities.
Beyond the City Pass:
Besides the City Pass sites we also visited the Saturday University Farmers Market where we had a yummy vegan tamale that was piled up with veggies. We admired all of the fresh produce, wishing that we would take some home with us but alas no fridge at the hotel to store it in until we headed home.
We also visited the Fremont Sunday Market which has one or two produce stands but is mostly food stands, a flea market and people selling their crafts and other goods. We strolled through and found ourselves around the corner at Theo Chocolate sampling all there dark chocolate pieces. We wanted to go on a factory tour but unfortunately we thought about it too late and all the Saturday tour spots were filled.
After browsing around the Fremont Sunday Market and gorging ourselves on free chocolate samples we decided to walk to the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market. Now if you live in Seattle you are probably shaking your head because what crazy person walks from Fremont to Ballard? Well these crazy people do. Honestly it was fine for the first mile or so because you are on a bike path but then once you hit the Fred Myers (for anyone who knows that I’m talking about or plans to try this) you find yourself in a very industrial area which wasn’t the best place to walk through.In the end we made it to the market and were hungry so we went searching for something to eat.
After making a round of the beautiful market we decided to get a veggie sausage with all the fixings and a homemade fruit soda. Once we finished our veggie sausages we decided to catch a bus back to Fremont where are car was and do a little more exploring over there. We ended up stopping into a pub (I don’t remember the name) to have a beer and share a hummus platter before heading out. Now I wish we had stayed in the Fremont or Ballard area because it is just so much more walkable and has lots of cute shops and restaurants.
I should also add that we did go to the famous Pike Place Market which I honestly was not impressed by at all. I don’t know why but I thought it was going to be something more exciting than it was and holy tourist. I mean yes we are tourist too but it was packed to the brim and just didn’t make for an enjoyable experience. We did however find the Gum Wall both impressive and disgusting at the same time.
Stay tuned I will be back soon with where we ate.
What are your favorite Seattle sites?
