I'll Meet You in Seattle!: Part 1

My roomie is a flight attendant. She often has lay-overs in various cities around the country/world. Well, last week she had a 24 hour lay-over in Seattle! After several requests to meet her in Seattle, I gave in. I did. I tried to resist, but I just couldn't any longer! Why, not?! Seattle is just beautiful and so incredibly fun! I have been once before, but it was about 14 years ago. Needless to say, I was super excited to go back and share some of my favorite places (Pike Place Market) with roomie! So, 12 hours before I needed to get up to catch a 5 a.m. flight, we made plans and booked my flight. Talk about short notice! 

Wednesday morning after a 4 a.m. wake-up call, and two flights I landed just in time to greet roomie as the flight she was working arrived at SEA-TAC airport! Shortly after, thanks to the very nice members of her crew, I was able to hitch a ride with them to the hotel. Little did I know, that the hotel was right in downtown Seattle and literally only about 2-3 blocks away from everything! 

The pictures will give a visual to all the crazy and fun adventures we had that day! Here goes...

Breakfast on the plane...a lovely fruit and cheese plate! Yum!!

View of Mt. Ranier from my seat... Beautiful!

The hotel.

photo courtesy of http://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/seattle/seadt/hoteldetail/photos-tours

Roomie brought us snacks!

View of Mars Hill Church from the hotel room. 

And now for the sights we saw as we walked in and around downtown for almost an entire day! Fun things ahead!

First stop, the first ever Starbucks!! (As a side note, how could I not like downtown Seattle for the lone reason that there is literally a Starbucks on almost every single corner. For real! Amazing!)

Come to find out...this was not the Original! Buh. Never fear though, we found it. It'll make an appearance soon!

My favorite place in Seattle: Pike Place Market! Food, spices, entertainment, people-watching, beautiful views of the bay...you can do it all here!

They have THE BEST fresh flowers, fruit and seafood! (if you're a seafood person...I'm not! More to come on that in a minute.)

The fruit samples we tried we're dripping as we ate them, they were so juicy! Mmm mm! So good!

So the fish thing...well, I don't eat it. Ever. Can't stand the smell, the texture, the taste. I just all around prefer not to consume seafood of any kind. EXCEPT, for smoked salmon in Seattle. I told roomie before I arrived that "Seattle may be the one place you will ever see me eat seafood. If I do it, it will be at the market and it will be salmon." Well, y'all....I did it.

How I felt right before consumption (yes, I was actually a bit terrified/nervous/hesitant!)

How I felt right after the first bite of smoked salmon on a stick! It was delicious! (And no, it doesn't change my mind about eating seafood again. This was the first time in years, and it will probably not happen again any time soon. Oh, and excuse the crazy hair!)

Now back to the Market...

We ran into a really cool dude (and his pup) playing some awesome soul, funk, not really sure what genre, music on his harmonica and banjo! He really was great!

Ever seen or heard of the famous "fish-throwing" that takes place at Pike Place? This is where that happens. 

Next stop, Market Spice. It was established as a small spice and tea shop way back in 1911.They have a huge selection! I made sure to grab some of the Steak Seasoning that I remembered from my trip years ago.You can't beat it. The spices here are incredible!

And last but not least for today, the main event...

THE ORIGINAL STARBUCKS!!! It's worth shouting, because that is precisely how excited I was!! Right in the heart of the Pike Place district, stood this beauty!

Maybe this will help you picture just how I felt...

The line was fairly long, but the employees had it down to a science. Trust me, it was worth the wait! 

Roomie and I got our usual drinks (a classic mocha for me, and a passion tea lemonade w/ peach for Bri!) Additionally, we both purchased mugs to document this moment and place in our lives, and took a snapshot for the memory books!

As slightly dramatic as it may seem to some of you, as I previously said on an Instagram photo of this place, "My heart is happy, and my life a little more complete!" I really do LOVE Starbucks, and I really, really can't explain how fun it was! 

Tired yet? We're not even through, but I'll give you a break. Come back tomorrow for more photos (as requested) and the rest of our Seattle adventures!