That time I went to...Seattle, Washington

“But it rains nine months of the year in Seattle” – Sleepless in Seattle

This line from one of my favourite movies was the first thing that popped into my head when I touched down at Seattle-Tacoma Airport in Seattle, Washington just a few weeks ago. It was early November – by no means fun and frivolous summer time anymore – but I had not expected it to be so foggy and cloudy that I couldn’t see the other planes on the tarmac. My heart sunk. Was Seattle going to live up to its usual reputation as spoken by the characters in Sleepless in Seattle? Would I be rained and fogged out of seeing any attractions?

I have wanted to go to Seattle since…forever. Well, since I first saw Sleepless in Seattle on television and developed a bit of a love for romantic comedies and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. And then when I became a flight attendant five years ago and learnt that Boeing planes are made in Seattle – I knew I needed to visit one day.

Finally that time came during another of my Dallas trips for work. My ever faithful Southwest delivered me to Washington from Texas on an almost empty plane and I salivated over the epic views of the Colorado mountains as we flew. Then I salivated even more when I got what could not be a more birds eye view of Mount Rainier as we flew into Washington. I could not believe what I was seeing – it was spectacular. So spectacular I wasn’t quite sure what I was seeing was real. Just check out this picture I took!

 

 

Regular readers of my blog know that a city has won my heart before I’ve even left the airport grounds if it has a train station connected to it. And bingo – Seattle does! Just a couple of bucks and thirty minutes later I was getting off the train in downtown Seattle. It could not have been simpler! And as I walked out onto the street from the station I was greeted with blue sky and sunshine…the fogginess was gone! Thank goodness.

A relatively simple grid system of streets downtown makes it easy to find your way around Seattle, and if you still have trouble finding your way around, just pop into a Starbucks and use the free wifi to fire up your iphone google maps. A Starbucks will not be hard to find, believe me – Seattle is the birthplace of Starbucks and I am not joking when I tell you they are on practically every corner. Sometimes there are two on one block! They are coffee loving people these Washingtonians! I took advantage of this coffee culture and did not feel bad about having two or three pumpkin spice lattes a day whilst I was there!

 

 

 

 

 

If you can get in the door for all the
tourists keen for a look, this is the
original Starbucks!

 

My first port of call on my little Pacific Northwest adventure was Pike Place Market. This 100+ year old public farmers market is set over many blocks right on Elliot Bay and is an explosion to the senses as you wander through it. Turn your head one way and there’s fish being thrown around by fishmongers, turn it the other and local artisans are selling leather goods and paintings. You can also buy fresh flowers, more than enough types of food, souvenirs and of course, coffee. I didn’t buy anything, just because I wasn’t in a shopping mood, but that was ok – it was a treat enough just to wonder through the market and just take it all in.

A brisk 20 minute walk away from the market was the Seattle Space Needle. The needle is a beacon of the Seattle skyline and something many people recognise as a landmark of the city even if they haven’t been there. Kind of like how everyone knows the Eiffel Tower is in Paris.

 

 

As I walked up to the ticket window and only had to wait for one person to be served in front of me, I silently congratulated myself for visiting in the low season when crowds were minimal because of the chilly weather. Adult admission into the needle costs $22 (seniors $19, kids $13), which includes access to the observation deck for as long as you like. A quick elevator ride will shoot you right up to the deck and the views are pretty spectacular, even on a not very sunny day, like the one I went on. You can have your picture taken up there, look through the binoculars outside on the viewing deck, sit and have a coffee and look at the amazing view, even make use of the interactive exhibit which allows you to digitally write where you are visiting the needle from.

 

 

The views from the observation deck are nothing short of spectacular. The cityscape rolls out before you on one side, the water of Elliot Bay on the other. Spectacular Mt Rainier looms in the distance, impressively massive and snow covered. Any way you turn, the view from the top of the Space Needle is worthy of taking a picture, trust me!

Next day, the aviation geek in me knew I couldn’t leave Seattle without visiting the birthplace of Boeing aircraft. So I hopped in an Uber and drove out to Everett, about 30-40 minutes from downtown Seattle, where the Boeing factory resides. Here the Future of Flight museum is within the grounds too, so I was pretty much in aeroplane heaven.

I arrived just in time to do the Boeing Factory tour ($18 entry, 1.5 hours long), which takes you inside the factory where many different types of Boeings are assembled. The sheer size of the place is impressive enough as it is, but then you get inside and see the squillions of parts that all go into assembling an aeroplane. Even for a person who really has no interest in aviation it’s pretty cool. Your guide will enthral you with many facts about Boeing, what it does every day to pump out at minimum five aeroplanes a week and more than a few cheeky jokes about how apparently Boeing is better than Airbus.

Side note: you can’t take any cameras or phones or bags or wallets or anything loose on the tour just in case it drops down from the viewing platforms and onto the factory floor. Apparently once someone dropped their phone and it hit a wing and it cost three million dollars to repair it. So…lockers are available so you can stash your stuff and ensure you don’t get a million dollar bill in the mail from Boeing.

Attached to the Boeing hoopla is the Future of Flight museum mentioned earlier. Stand beside a 747 engine and feel dwarfed by its size. Explore galleys and cockpits and passenger seats used in yesteryear or simply just marvel at the many aircrafts hanging from the ceiling.

 

 

 

After getting my av geek on all morning it was then time for me to head back to Dallas unfortunately. I wish I could’ve stayed longer and explored more of the cities attractions – there are so many more – and definitely headed into some of the natural areas of the city to perhaps do some walks or hikes and get amongst the beautiful evergreen forests of Washington state. That is one of the lasting impressions I have of Seattle that will never fade – because of those nine months worth of rain a year Washington is SO GREEN. I have never, ever seen a place so green! It was stunning. Of course it probably helped that it was fall when I was there, so the leaves were just starting to change colour, which made it even more spectacular, but even if it hadn’t been I would still have been floored by the beauty of the flora in this great American state.

Visit Seattle to mix it up on your travels from the usual triangle of New York – Los Angeles – Las Vegas cliché. Trust me, it’ll be worth the visit. Just take your gloves and scarf if you’re going after September! I was the luckiest person ever to not experience any rain during my day and a half in Seattle, but I am sure that was just a fluke, so pack your poncho and umbrella if you ever visit too!

Until the next adventure…

Jorgs