Through the years that I have traveled and explored the world, I have realized every place has hidden gems that only the locals know- places that embody the spirit of the place and restaurants that embody the culture in every bite. I was fortunate to have explored some of those hidden gems in Seattle as mentioned in my blog, The Lesser Known Seattle. While I love exploring the lesser known places, you cannot claim to have visited a place without doing the more popular touristy spots. Those are bragging rights! You cannot say you have been to Paris without visiting the Eiffel Tower. I cannot claim to have conquered Seattle without visiting The Space Needle. On a gloomy Seattle weekend, I explored the well known Seattle spots for my bragging rights.
Space Needle is an observatory tower in the Seattle Center. The tower stands tall with an observatory deck at the top of the tower and a restaurant providing the Seattle landscape as the ambience. The observatory deck is rotating which I did not know until I reached up there, and was unpleasantly surprised. I tried hard to hold my motion sickness in check while enjoying the beautiful view ahead of me. One can see the entire Seattle downtown, Olympic Park and Mount Rainier from the Space Needle. The space needle can be viewed from most downtown restaurants, and irrespective of the number of times I have walked the downtown with the Needle in the background, I have always stopped to take a picture of the Space needle. The magnificent icon representing Seattle is so spectacular that it warrants a picture at every glimpse.
As a kid growing up in India, I loved my fresh fish. When I moved to America, fish did not taste the same as it did in India. Even the fresh fish available at the various Chinese stores did not taste as fresh as back home. I occasionally tasted salmon but it never made my cravings list. When I decided to visit Pike Place Market in Seattle, it was mere curiosity than excitement. Pike Place reminded me of the fish markets back home and instantly grabbed my attention. One can buy fresh seafood at the market or dine out. I believed I knew what Salmon tasted like prior to tasting one in Seattle, but I was wrong. It was one of the best fish I had ever had in my life, and I have since become a Salmon fan for life.
Like other by cities,Seattle has several museums such as the Chihuly Garden and glass museum, Experience music project museum to name a few. My absolute favorite was the underground tour. Though not a museum in the true sense, the tour takes you underground to the real Seattle. Seattle has several beautiful parks and hikes for the adventure junkies. The one that challenged me physically while rewarding us with beautiful waterfalls was the Snoqualmie Falls. We ended our day with a warm cookie- just to make sure we made up for all the lost calories.
I could go on and on about Seattle and her beauty, the miles of hiking and the amazing food. Seattle has challenged me physically, enriched me emotionally and made my palette extremely satisfied. Through the weeks of boarding and unboarding flights, I fell in love with not just the destination but the journey.
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