Seattle! Back on the West coast again!

First stop in Seattle has to be The Market!!  You cannot visit Seattle and not check out this place!

 Contrary to what you may have heard about this city, the weather was lovely and sunny, so we took a nice walk towards Puget Sound.

We enjoyed a fresh salmon lox bagel for breakfast, while looking out over the sound.  You never want to shop hungry, so I made sure to get some fresh seafood in my bear belly before all the walking and browsing.

 

There are so many fresh things to be found in the market.  Rows of bright flowers, fresh samples of ripe veggies and fruit, even artwork from the locals.  One of the best things to find that close to the water is of course, the seafood!

 

There are several places in the market to find fresh fish, but the best place to be entertained by wild fisherman is Pike Place Fish.  You can stand by and wait for a fish order comes in, and then watch as they fling huge fish across the counter.  They have become famous for this method of preparing fish for their customers, and they obviously have a lot of fun in their jobs!  They play around as they work and thrill the customers with every fish toss.  They even have a scary monk fish attached to a chain (which isn’t visible under the ice) that they pull to make him jump, and often yell and scare whoever is closest.  I saw a poor little girl get terrified as she got close to inspect the ugly fish and it jumped unexpectedly.  They certainly enjoy their jobs and have fun with their fans!

We stopped and had some ginger beer floats at Rachel’s Ginger Beer… mine was blood orange flavor and was so refreshing!  Once we sat and got off of our feet for a few minutes, it was hard to get back on them.  We decided it was best to do one last walk through for the day to grab some things for dinner, and then head back to the hotel.  Our haul for the day included fresh bread, salami and cheeses, some wine, and some fresh white peaches.  Yum!!  

  

As we left the market to head back, we came across the often talked about, gum wall.  It was artistic and kind of disgusting all at the same time.  You can see the work of visitors from years and years passing through and contributing their own piece to the Seattle landmark.  Some were even crafty enough to spell out messages, or hang business cards.  I found it quite a challenge to find one small space to sit which I wouldn’t stick to!  I managed to get a photo, but then decided there were too many bees floating around for my taste.

 

There is way too much goodness to enjoy from the market in one day, so I will definitely have to go back again before this trip is over.  More tomorrow 🙂

~ Mr. Bear