Saturday in Seattle

Yesterday I took a day trip to Seattle with some friends. This was my first time to visit the Emerald City (really anywhere I visit in the Pacific Northwest is a first). It's about a 3 hours drive north from Portland to Seattle, so we left early in the morning and went straight to Pike Place Market. Have you ever seen on tv the place where vendors throw big fish around? That's the Pike Place Market! It is a large outdoor market full of fresh flowers, food and crafts. We visited the original Starbucks, listened to several folk bands playing on the street, stuck our gum on the famous gum wall, and even met a "cat whisperer". The market was very crowded yesterday because it was Valentine's Day and lots of people were buying flowers and food for dinner. We bought 2 and a half pounds of salmon, fresh vegetables and fruit, orzo, and a loaf of olive bread.
After we left the market, we visited a few parks that had a beautiful overlook of the city. First we went to Carey Park were we witnessed a couple get engaged! The guy got down on one knee, proposed, and then we took pictures for them. Next, we went to Gas Works, a park containing remnants of the sole remaining coal gasification plant in the US. The views from these parks were gorgeous. I have only seen pictures of The Space Needle, Seattle's iconic building, on tv and in movies, so it was neat to see it in person.
I loved Seattle and can't wait to visit again and experience more of the city!

Pike Place Market in Seattle

A folk band playing in front of the original Starbucks

fresh and delicious produce

smelly, but tasty, salmon

our group in front of the gum wall

the view from Carey Park

Oh yeah, we went to visit the troll under the bridge and met the Seattle Hash House Harriers, a "drinking group with a running problem". They had just completed their Valentine's Day Red Dress run... interesting people.