Seattle

[Findog]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4065/4217153707_b249b5214b_b.jpg

I'm going to Seattle next weekend for a few days with my gf. We'll be staying two nights with her friend and another two nights in a hotel near the Space Needle. We've drawn up a list of things to do, but I am always open to more suggestions. Out of the way hole in the wall places, or typical tourist stops, I'm interested in any travel tips, advice or suggestions.

[baseline bum]

One of my friends says the strip clubs across the border in Victoria are great. The first thing I'd do out there is go to Mount Rainier, but maybe that's not possible in the middle of winter.

[DPG21920]

I have heard Seattle is so awesome, but I have never been. Isn't Pike Place Market there? For some reason I remember hearing about that.

[IronMexican]

The rock and roll half of fame, Empire State building, Disneyworld.

[Findog]

Yeah, the Pike Place Market is in Seattle. It's on our list.

[Hornets1]

Finny, I went there a couple years ago. It's a beautiful city. CALL RIGHT NOW and get dinner reservations at the restuarant in the space Needle. It's many stories up in the air and it rotates. Great food, breath-taking view.

Check out Pike's Place Market for sure(Go really early if possible). Mt St. Helens is amazing too, as is the Boeing plant. A lot of cool shit in and around seattle.....

[ShoogarBear]

Underground city tour
Science Fiction Hall of Fame

[PuttPutt]

Findog,

There's tons of stuff to do in Seattle.

Go down to Pioneer Square & do the underground tour. The EMP next to the Space Needle, The Locks, Pudget Sound tour, aquarium,lots of places to check out music, lots of restaurants (I'll suggest a few later) & of course The Market (Pike's Place).

Mt Rainier & Mt St. Helens will be difficult to do. Snow pack & all.

Like I said, I'll let you know some good places to eat & their $$$ level later. I get to Seattle several times a month. I live a little over 2 hours from there. Lots & lots to do.

[lurker23]

If you can, you'd probably be better off bringing a good waterproof jacket (with a hood) than an umbrella. IMO, it rarely rains hard enough for an umbrella to be worth it.

The Seattle Underground tour is cool if you're into history at all.
http://www.undergroundtour.com/about/index.html
(If you're looking for a more thorough, around the city tour, the Duck Tours are usually fun, though somewhat pricier.)

Not sure if your gf is into basketball, but if so, the University of Washington has a 12:30 afternoon game on 1/30. Hec Ed is a good college atmosphere, and it should be rocking against their rival Washington State (though it might make tickets a little harder to get).

I realize you may not be into the college scene, but if you are looking for a more youthful crowd, then the U-District near the University of Washington is a good place to go. There are a few different convenient buses to/from downtown, and the main drag there ("The Ave") has a lot of bars and restaurants. The university is quite nice to walk around too with some good architecture. The cherry trees in the quad are quite nice to see as well, though it's probably a little too early for that, since they bloom in the spring.

There's a lot of good food in Seattle. Obviously most of the seafood is fresh, and it's hard to go wrong with that. A place that I liked for seafood with a pub-like atmosphere was Shuckers, which is located on the ground floor of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel (where the Spurs used to stay, very nice hotel). There's also a lot of good Asian cuisine around; I especially enjoyed the Thai and Indian food in Seattle.

[Findog]

Yes, restaurant recommendations are a must. The people we're staying with are vegans and we're going to take them out to dinner as a show of gratitude for putting us up for a couple of days, so a good sushi place would be nice. But the last couple days we'll be on our own in a hotel, so we need not be limited to vegan/sushi.

[leemajors]

beeradvocate.com has the Stumbling Monk rated pretty highly.

[ShoogarBear]

Oh, yeah. Find a coffee shop.

[mrsmaalox]

A ferry trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island is great, but make sure you have a passport or what they are calling an "Enhanced Driver's License" to get back. I loved the whale watching and totem poles there.

Around Seattle, the Pikes Place Market is nice, but it won't take long to experience. I actually prefer the Boeing museum to the Smithsonian Air and Space, because it's easier to get thru with kids and it's very cool. Definitely hit a good restaurant for alder planked salmon, I love Chinook's in the Queen Anne district.

Mt Ranier is pretty awesome and you should be able to access some areas; but the greatest views are from a distance. Hope you get a clear day or 2. I don't know if Snoqualmie Pass is passable right now, but Snoqualmie Falls is a nice short side trip.

I'm surprised I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. You could just hang out and have fun. Just be prepared to drink coffee, lots of it, because you will be hit with an instant somnolence the second you touch down! It's a weird thing.

[Findog]

Oh, yeah. Find a coffee shop.

Any good mom and pop places? My gf is a Starbucks fiend, and we're going to the original location. Personally, I think Howard Schultz is a douchebag for selling the Sonics to Clay Bennett and I don't want to patronize his business, but you know how it is - if mama aint happy, nobody's happy.

[marini martini]

Underground city tour
Science Fiction Hall of Fame

:tu

[KEDA]

Go say hello to JohnnyBlaze_47...

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Vegans who eat sushi? :lmao

I was surprised to be as impressed as I was by the Boeing Factory and the Rock n Roll HoF.

[symple19]

Seattle is a great city. Pioneer square is awesome.

Make sure you go to Cowgirls Inc. I've been thrown from that damn bull a few too many times.

Capitol Hill has some great restaurants and funky shops/stores.

I would also recommend the various Ferries.

The nude titty bars are okay if you don't like to drink. (No alcohol in all-nude places)

There is a starbucks every 2 feet

[PuttPutt]

A ferry trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island is great, but make sure you have a passport or what they are calling an "Enhanced Driver's License" to get back. I loved the whale watching and totem poles there.

Around Seattle, the Pikes Place Market is nice, but it won't take long to experience. I actually prefer the Boeing museum to the Smithsonian Air and Space, because it's easier to get thru with kids and it's very cool. Definitely hit a good restaurant for alder planked salmon, I love Chinook's in the Queen Anne district.

Mt Ranier is pretty awesome and you should be able to access some areas; but the greatest views are from a distance. Hope you get a clear day or 2. I don't know if Snoqualmie Pass is passable right now, but Snoqualmie Falls is a nice short side trip.

I'm surprised I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. You could just hang out and have fun. Just be prepared to drink coffee, lots of it, because you will be hit with an instant somnolence the second you touch down! It's a weird thing.


Snoqualmie Pass is passable 99% of the time. There's not that much snow up there this year. Especially, compared to last year. Snoqualmie Falls is beautiful, but you won't need to go over the pass to get there.

If you don't want to do the Starbucks thing, look for Seattles Best. Not bad coffee. Or, if you can find it, look for Raven's brew.

I will still post restaurants later.

[mavs>spurs2]

I know one thing you CAN'T do in Seattle, go to a Sonics game :lol

[23LeBronJames23]

go to water fountain tight by key arena

[Frenzy]

I know one thing you CAN'T do in Seattle, go to a Sonics game :lol


might get a sonic jersey...discount :hat

[MannyIsGod]

Go hang out with the Lachino.

[tlongII]

Drive 3 hours south and hang out in Portland. Much nicer. :tu

[shelshor]

Check out the troll under the Aurora Bridge--ask the locals for directions

[baseline bum]

Drive 3 hours south and hang out in Portland. Much nicer. :tu

If you're going to drive that far south, might as well skip Portland and go to Crater Lake or Bend. Then again, I'd imagine you probably can't get up to the lake without hiking it this time of year.

[scott]

Elysian Brewing Co. is world class. Check out their Capitol Hill or Elysian Fields locations.

[tlongII]

Metropolitan Grill is an excellent steak house.

[Bigzax]

Congrats to JohnnyBlaze, pimpin it with the Seattle Times now... :toast

damn...drop a post with the 411 from time to time brah!

[tlongII]

Congrats to JohnnyBlaze, pimpin it with the Seattle Times now... :toast

damn...drop a post with the 411 from time to time brah!

What's he doing for them? Sports reporting? I read the Seattle Times periodically so I'd like to know.

[The Reckoning]

the statue of lenin with the advertisements on him is pretty ironic. the advertisement was for a taco stand last time i saw it.

[I. Hustle]

Drink some Starbuck's

[PuttPutt]

Here's some places to eat. not sure what your spending limits are like, but the following can get spendy. Most of these have websites too.

Steaks
Metropolitan Grill (Very good & as Tlong suggested)
Daniel's Broiler (awesome food)

Sushi
Red Fin (cool place with interesting rolls)

Pizza
Serious pizza (very gourmet pizza & wines)
Zeeks (Right by the space needle & good selection of brews)

Seafood
The Crab Pot (lots of food & not too far from Pike's on the peirs)
Salty's on Alki (Incredible views of Seattle at night & pretty good food. Mainly paying for the view)
Ivars (a Seattle icon)

24-7
Beth's Cafe (12 edd omlette)

There's lots of good Thai, Chinese, Indian too.

If you can, pick up a Stranger or go to www.thestranger.com (http://www.thestranger.com)