Adventures in Seattle, Part 1

After 20 hours on the Amtrak Coast Starlight, we arrived in Seattle at nearly 8:00 pm on Thursday, June 23. We checked into our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Seattle, and admired the stunning view from our room. 

We quickly unpacked and headed downstairs to find dinner. We ate an incredible meal at Andare Kitchen and Bar. I'm still thinking about the chicken caprese sandwich and the housemade trofie. Yum!

This was our view as we were getting ready for bed. Seattle is always beautiful, but I particularly liked seeing it lit up for Pride. 

We slept well after our minimal sleep the previous night and awoke to a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. I was able to determine this by looking out the western window I'd photographed the night before AND the second window on the northern side of our corner room that I hadn't noticed until the morning. (The curtain was drawn and I was tired. Plus, I'm famously unobservant.) 

This is the view to the northeast....

.... and this is the northwest. 

In selecting the Hyatt, I followed my usual procedure for choosing the right hotel. The #1 criteria is always location. We wanted to be able to walk to all of our destinations, which were spread out over about two miles. By choosing a hotel (location pin) between the northernmost (star) and southernmost (triangle) places we'd be visiting, we'd have an easy walk no matter where we were headed. 

You may be wondering why we didn't choose a hotel closer to the shore, like near Pike Place Market. That would have shortened our walking distances but it also would have emptied our wallets. Seattle is an expensive city. By picking a hotel a little bit further away from the main tourist attractions, the prices dropped significantly. That's worth some extra walking for us. The reviews for the Hyatt Regency were excellent, plus Steve had stayed there for a conference, so we were confident that it would be the right hotel for us. And it was. 

We started Friday, June 24 with a short walk to get the breakfast of champions (donuts). I love trying unusual donuts and everyone I talked with said Top Pot Doughnuts had the best in Seattle. 

We split this fun assortment and they were fantastic. My favorites were the lemon old fashioned, the raspberry glazed, and the Pride. 

Fueled up, we continued our stroll until we were at the base of this famous landmark. 

  

With limited time in Seattle and a lot we wanted to see and do, w'd opted not to go up the Space Needle. Steve had been up a few years ago when he was in Seattle for a conference. I went up as a kid (and ate in the revolving restaurant that's been replaced with a 21+ cocktail lounge). My parents both grew up in the Seattle area, so we visited a lot of the tourist attractions when I was young. This was Trevor's first time in Seattle, but there were a lot of things he wanted to do more than ride to the top of the Space Needle if he couldn't eat in a revolving restaurant.

We headed to Chihuly Garden and Glass. I love glass art in general and I am a huge Chihuly fan. This was my top priority for Seattle and it did not disappoint. It was breathtaking. 

  

  

The indoor exhibits would be reason enough to come to Seattle, but the Glasshouse and Garden showed off the glass in such a different way than inside. 

  

  

As you can imagine, Chihuly Garden and Glass is not a hands-on museum. But I was very pleasantly surprised that there was a staffed touching table set up in the garden! The informative employees encouraged us to touch everything and ask questions. I did both! 

I enjoyed Chihuly Garden and Glass so much that I was convinced I'd already experienced my favorite part of the trip. Nothing else could compare. But Seattle has many gems and we were headed to another one next. I'll tell you about that tomorrow.