Seattle: Sights And Sounds

We had a wonderful day today touring the city.  Usually when we come to this great city we go to Pike's Place Market, and while I've never regretted going there, I'm glad we didn't go there this time around. It was time for a change, so this time around we took in some of the other sights that the city has to offer.

In summary, we visited a couple of parks, a canal, and a hip district.  Along the way, we ate some sandwiches, and unfortunately, we finished our day with a a so-so Italian dinner.  But all in all, a lovely day.  The weather, while chilly, cooperated with overcast skies but virtually no rain.

Golden Gardens Park

We began our day here, based on the advice of the concierge of our hotel.  It was good advice.  We walked along the beach for a good 30 minutes, enjoying the breezes, taking in the serenity and peace such a setting offers.

Ballard Locks

Jennifer has on a few occasions suggested that we go to view the Ballard Locks, a canal-like system linking the salt-waters of the Puget Sound with the fresh waters of Union Lake.  So we went there next, and watched some ships navigate the "locks."

Fremont

On our way to Gasworks, we stopped in at trendy Fremont.  To me, this neighbourhood has a mixture of various Vancouver neighbourhoods all blended into one: it has the outdoor adventure shops of Broadway between Cambie and Main; it has some of the interesting eateries and coffee shops of the Main St. corridor; and it has some of the eccentricities of Commercial Drive too, like a statue of the Soviet leader Stalin, right in the middle of a small square!

Here at Fremont we ate our lunch at a sandwich spot.  Very yummy!

Gasworks

This is my second visit to Gasworks, and in many ways the experience was similar to the first visit: it was chilly, windy, a few raindrops, but even so worthwhile, because of the view.  The park is located at the north end of Union Lake (not too far from the I5), where the Seattle Gas Company previously operated a gasification plant.  The remnants of the plant are still there, and add a unique aspect to the park not only historically, but visually.  Notice the rainbow in the first picture: it was that kind of day!

The most disappointing part of our day was actually our dinner.  We were downtown, tired, and not in a mood to look around for a long time and so picked an Italian restaurant attached to a mall (we should've known better), mainly because it was close to where we were staying and didn't require much driving/walking around.  The food was very average.

Tomorrow we go back home, but not before a good breakfast at the Essential Baking Company near Gasworks.  On the way home we also want to visit a wine store and the outlet mall.  If we have time, we'll eat dinner at the Olive Garden too.  We aim to be home by around 9pm.