We arrived in Seattle late after a delayed train, but to an upgrade to a fancy room on the 40th floor with beautiful views of the city.
We became obsessed with Rachel’s ginger beer, and with discovering bars hidden in alleyways or in random apartments – hello Bathtub Gin Co and Upstairs! Both were really small venues and had the most amazing cocktails in both. Bathtub gin had a capacity of 45 and was only accessed by a pretty much unmarked door way.
We got tips on some amazing spots for cocktails in Belltown, we visited dive bars and we ate pizza by the slice. We watched the men throw fish at Pike Place, ate our first proper chowder and got bitters making tips from hipster barmen.
We watched Indian Jones in an old school cinema like it was 1981 again (but what’s with the clapping at the end of a film America?) and got photobooth photos taken after 1 or 5 too many beers at The Crocodile.
We did all the touristy things the city could throw at us including boat tours, the Space Needle and the EMP music museum – our city pass got a hammering. We walked a lot. Again. Oh, and at some point – I dislocated a rib from my spine…….yes! Ouch!
We were told that Seattle wouldn’t have enough for us to do for 5 days but we proved that wrong – and if Nike Town was open (sob – closed for a refurb) we might have needed another few days!
There will be a special prize for the person who gets what these photos are about too. “I was just…nowhere near your neighbourhood”
After Seattle we ventured back up to Vancouver for another couple of days. You can read about our Vancouver trip here and the start of our trip in Whistler here!
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The Details
Where we stayed.
We stayed at the Westin on Jim’s India trip hotel points which was lovely as we got a bit of an upgrade and as he stays with them in India a lot we got free wifi and breakfasts too. It was a pretty good location for early morning shopping trips before Jim got up and for exploring the city – it was about a 20min walk to the water front and Pike Place. It was also right next to the Monorail stop and a couple of places on our ‘Singles‘ tour of Seattle.
Where we ate and drank
We did quite a bit of snacking or food on the go in Seattle. On our first evening we were directed to the Belltown area by a friendly bar man and we fell in love. One of our favourites was Rocco’s – an awesome cocktail and pizza by the slice bar. It’s right on the main street in Belltown and well worth the visit. OUu ultimate drinking establishment was Bathtub Gin & Co which is tucked away down a side alleyway. Round the corner was also Upstairs which we found on a recommendation from a fellow Bathtub Gin drinker. We made a point of going to the 5 Points Café after Jim saw it on Diners, Drive ins and Dives. The food was great and it was so divey too!
Getting around.
As we were so central we mostly walked everywhere. We did get the Monorail out to the Space Needle and science park area – how could we not. But it wasn’t that far as we walked back into Seattle. We got to and from Seattle on the train which was super easy as it dealt with customs at the Canadian end.