26 SLEEPLESS IN...
Nov/Dec 2022 Travel News
SKY HIGH SEATTLE DESPITE the best
BY HOLIDAY NINJA Science Fiction’. efforts of
a
pandemic, it was finally time to see what the bustling city of Seattle has to offer. With ONLY four days to spend in this bustling city, Holiday NInja was certainly ‘sleepless’.
Seattle is VERY easy to get to from this part
of the world with a direct flight from Dublin. Departure time was late afternoon so no rush in the morning or late nights etc travelling down from Northern Ireland (even though Dublin Airport is only 90 mins from Belfast). Despite all the recent negative news around
airport security and queues etc, I have to say this trip was the quickest I have ever moved through Dublin airport. Check-in, security AND the US pre-clearance in 20-25 mins max. The flight time on the way out was ONLY
8 hours 45 mins... this was a welcome surprise, less time than the direct service to the likes of Miami or Orlando and some other closer US destinations. This makes Seattle and the West Coast so much more accessible and the perfect city to make a base and explore the area and neighbouring States. Arriving in Seattle-Tacoma airport was
really straightforward and collecting our luggage was a total breeze. We used LYFT to get to our hotel from the airport. The infrastructure for LYFT, UBER and the other app-based ride providers is brilliant at the airport. There’s good signage which takes you to a designated waiting area in the parking garage. The whole process is extremely well- organised. The Seattle Citypass gives you access
to some of the area’s top attractions but at a discounted rate – so if you are visiting several of them in your trip it makes sense to purchase this in advance. The ticket entitles you to entrance to the Space Needle and the Seattle Aquarium PLUS three of four other attractions (Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Woodland Park Zoo, and / or Chihuly Garden & Glass) With the Citypass, some of the attractions
still require you to get your ticket scanned to obtain an actual ticket to gain entry. Just bear that in mind as there are several different queues and you will need to ensure you are in the right line!
DAY 1 After a fairly routine night’s sleep following
a transatlantic flight (waking up at 5am and not being able to get back to the land of nod ...), an early breakfast at Lola (where the smashed garlic fried potatoes will knock your socks off!) fuelled us up for the first stop: the visually iconic building that was the Museum of Pop Culture, dedicated to contemporary pop culture. While we were there, there were some really interesting and fun exhibitions from ‘Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop’ to ‘Indie Game Revolution’ and ‘Infinite Worlds of
The geek in me loved the ‘Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction’ with the exhibit covering all things sci-fi from Star Wars, Star Trek, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters and many, many more. There are various artefacts from the movies and tv shows and it is really interesting to get to see them up close and get some stories behind them. Any horror movie buff will love the exhibition ‘Scared to Death: The thrill of Horror Film’ while music lovers are particularly well catered for with individual exhibitions for Seattle’s own iconic bands, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. There’s also the visual history of hip hop and the dedicated exhibition to Jimmy Hendrix ‘Hendrix: Wild Blue Angel’. Next
up,
we used our Citypass again to check out Chihuly Gardens and Glass, which is directly next to, and in the area around the Space Needle. It showcases the unique glass sculptures of the artist Dale Chihuly and is
quite a stunning sight to behold. We had been told to visit Kerry Park for
some spectacular views of Elliott Bay and the Seattle skyline and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The views are spectacular and it’s worth visiting for some great holiday pics – especially on a clear day. One word of warning if you are walking to it though, be prepared for the steepest of steep hills to get there! The Seattle Aquarium was next up on our
list. It opened in 1977 and is located on Pier 59 on the Elliott Bay waterfront and offers a fascinating introduction to northwestern Sealife. There are several opportunities to
get up close and personal with some of the inhabitants. Coffee is synonymous with Seattle with numerous independent, boutique and chain coffee shops throughout the downtown and surrounding area – Seattle is also home to the BIGGEST coffee chain in the world which originated in the city: Starbucks. Interesting fact – the Pike Place store is the oldest in the world, BUT not the first one, which many people get wrong. The building the original Starbucks was in was knocked down years ago, so this is the closest you’ll get to that “authentic” cup of Joe.
Finishing up Day 1,
we headed to T-Mobile Park for a major league baseball game. The Seattle
Mariners
are the home team and welcomed the Cleveland Guardians for the first of a three game series that weekend. Something I would always recommend for people to experience that true slice of American Pie.
DAY 2 Today
about
was all Waterfalls
and Wine! We took the
Snoqualmie
Falls & Woodinville Wine Tasting Tour organised through
Evergreen Escapes. The tour last from approximately 10am to 6pm. The tour will pick you up and drop you back to your hotel or pick up point. We started off with the trip out to Snoqualmie Falls which was about 40 mins out from the hotel. The 270 foot waterfall plunges into the canyon below. We viewed the falls from the top and then went down through the woodland to the canyon below. Next was the main portion of the day-trip
out to Woodinville Wine Country for our first of three wine tastings. Although Washington
is the second largest wine producer in the country it only exports 1% of its
wine...they like to keep it all in-state! First up was a trip to the actual home of
Bill Grassie of WM Grassie Wine Estates. Bill was a tremendous host, very engaging, knowledgeable and friendly. The small group (8 of us) had some great banter with Bill as he showcased his wines and told us about the various ones we were tasting and how they were created. If you ever visit with Bill, please ask how he decides on the names of his wines – a lovely touching tale! A gourmet picnic lunch was also provided, all included within the cost of the tour. Second stop was Quid-di-ty Wines with
Greg. We also got a bit of a tour of where the grapes are pressed and a bit of a lesson on the whole process of making the wine. The third and final stop was Patterson Cellars. There was a real buzz around this wine-tasting store (one of several dozen in a retail outlet block) with a lot of other groups and individuals who were there on similar wine tasting visits or enjoying their late afternoon. After the tour ended, we
got left off downtown so we could fit in another of the Citypass attractions - an Argosy Harbour Cruise. We hopped on the last cruise of the day at 7:20pm which was a really lovely time of the day for some super sundowner cityscape pictures. The cruise lasts for one hour
and gives you some great views along the Seattle downtown skyline and the shipping port. The cruise is narrated and you hear some fun and interesting facts about Seattle past and present.
DAY 3 The main activity today was
Whale Watching! FRS Clipper offers
a half day whale watching tour – “sightings guaranteed or you get a free trip” is their motto!. We got an absolutely perfect day
for it with really calm waters and not a cloud in the sky. The trip out to the area where whales were sighted took approximately 1.5 hours and to be honest there is a lot of whale “waiting” rather than “watching” as the guides try to source the whale’s location through their own experience and sightings notified to them. On this occasion we were able to
find one of the Grey Whales which had been in the area for a while and it is a truly spectacular sight when you first lay eyes on their water shooting in the air. It is possible depending on the day etc that you could see Humpbacks, Orcas or Grey Whales as we did. We also found a friendly and vocal seal who had taken to sunbathing on a floating buoy on our return journey.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
