We only had one day to explore Seattle, but that was enough time to hit two of the most popular tourist attractions and try some local fare.  And, really, when it’s cold, what else do you want to do besides eat?

Pike Place Market

Three things I didn’t know about Pike Place Market:

1. It’s over 100 years old. The market opened in the summer of 1907.

2. It’s way bigger than expected. I thought it would be a handful of booths crammed into a small building, or at least that’s how it appeared on TV.  Instead, there are hundreds of shops scattered over multiple levels, everything from restaurants to retail shops, farmers to fishmongers, craftspeople and food creations in the food stalls.

What most people associate with Pike Place Market is the main arcade, featuring the famous flying fish at Pike Place Fish.

There were no flying fish the day we visited.  In fact, the market was pretty much dead.  Supposedly 10 million people a year visit the Pike Place Market… we saw about 20.

We had a late lunch at The Pike Pub and Brewery.  The food was okay but it didn’t live up to the high prices.  I didn’t eat much with the intent of trying some of the food stalls on the main arcade.  But that never happened.  Why?

3. It closes early.  This place shuts down fast!  Turn around for a second and the food stall you were waiting in line for might be gone.  The hours of operation are listed as 9am – 6pm, but it seemed like most of the food stalls were wrapped up before 5.  Bummer, too, as I really wanted to try a stall selling hot, fresh mini-doughnuts that had quite a line.

Rachel, a bronze piggy bank, is the unofficial mascot of Pike Place Market.

The Original Starbucks

None of us are fans of coffee.  And, for the most part, we don’t even like Starbucks as a company.  They’re like the McDonald’s of coffee, Westernizing the world one country at a time.

But we were in Seattle.  And the original Starbucks is a Seattle landmark.  So for a few minutes, we disregarded the idea that Starbucks was a portal to hell.

We saw a big, fancy Starbucks just up the street from the main entrance to the Pike Place Market that had a plaque on it and decided to visit.

It was not the original Starbucks.

A barista told us that the original was just down the street.  Suddenly the notion of Starbucks being an evil corporation came flooding back.  There is no reason to have two Starbucks within a block of each other.  The day I began to despise Starbucks is the day I saw two of their shops in one mall.

The only motivation to walk to the original Starbucks was to see the original logo that features a chubby, bare breasted mermaid.  Some people are just too sensitive to handle nudity, even if its artistic and a mythological figure, and that’s why we have the dumbed down logo you see today.  I guess it’s only a matter of time before we censor Michelangelo’s David for being pornographic.

The original Starbucks serves coffee and teas from a smaller menu, but it’s mainly a souvenir shop now.  There is also a small exhibit on a counter that chronicles the history of Starbucks.  Fortunately, the staff is the nice and they still appreciate their health care.  Perhaps Starbucks is a little less evil.  But I still think they’re part of the Illuminati.

Space Needle

We’ve seen Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower.  We’ve overlooked Berlin from the Fernsehturm.  We’ve studied the city of Prague from the Žižkov Television Tower.

But the Space Needle was the tower that freaked us out the most.

Even though it was designed to withstand 9.1 magnitude earthquakes and 200 mile per hour winds… we felt it shaking.

It wasn’t a particularly windy night, but the tower occasionally rumbled and swayed.  And the scariest part is that the outside viewing deck is a slightly slanted.  We couldn’t help but think we’d be thrown over the edge if a big gust of wind hit the tower.

I don’t think that could ever happen.  But Jackie didn’t want to stay at the top long enough to find out.  So she quickly did a lap around the observation deck and took the elevator back down.

I wouldn’t say the view was worth it.  Seattle isn’t really a looker.  There are no monuments to see from the top of the Space Needle… you’re standing on it.  I’m glad I can say I’ve been to the top, but it’s not something I would do again.

A Taste Of Absinthe

Seattle is famous for its food.  But traveling with two picky eaters doesn’t leave much room for adventure in the food department.

Drinks are a different story.  Just down the street from our hotel, the Mediterranean Inn, was an elegantly designed restaurant and lounge called Ten Mercer (guess what the address is).

The girls weren’t particularly excited about going since I was going to be the only one eating; I had a hankering for seafood and went with the delicious lobster bisque and crab cakes.

But when they saw absinthe on the menu, they perked up.  Absinthe is a liquor with a high alcohol content that used to be called “The Green Fairy” because it was said to have hallucinogenic effects.  Van Gogh drank a lot of it and that’s probably why he cut off his ear and went crazy.

Jackie and I had tried absinthe when we bought a cheap bottle in Prague, but now we know why it tasted like Satan’s piss… we drank it incorrectly.

Our waiter prepared it the proper way: pour absinthe into a glass, place a specially designed absinthe spoon over the glass, light a sugar cube on fire, pour cold water slowly over the blazing cube, and watch the sugar dissolve into the liquor.

Jackie took a sip of the cloudy green libation and said, “Wow, this is really good!”

She was right.  The taste was completely different from the pure absinthe we tried in Prague because this one was sweetened and diluted.  It tasted exactly like black licorice.

As much as we wanted to have another, we didn’t.  Absinthe is like 130 proof, and that doesn’t go well with an empty stomach.  So we were off to our next restaurant in our 3-restaurant excursion.

Roti Cuisine Of India

Perhaps we’ve found a gem.  Not only was the food at Roti excellent, the portions were gargantuan and the prices were reasonable.  That’s a rarity in Indian food.

I only ordered a dessert bread stuffed with crushed nuts and berries, and a cold Indian chai tea… and I couldn’t finish either.

Jackie had the chicken tikka masala and said it was one of her favorites (it’s hard to compare to the Punjab Restaurant in London).

The staff was very friendly and the decor was the most stylish and extravagant of any Indian restaurant we’ve ever been to.

Eating At Dick’s

Three people with three different tastes means we’ve gotta go to three different places to eat.  So we saved the most American for the pickiest eater in our crew.

Dick’s only serves the kind of classic 1950′s drive-in food that made the baby boomer generation what they are today (see: hefty) — burgers, fries, shakes and ice cream.

Bret and Jackie laughing at the name "Dicks"; Ashley posing innocently

But I’ve gotta give it to Dick’s.  First, it’s got a name that makes us giggle like Japanese schoolgirls.  Second, the prices are so low it makes you wonder if they made a mistake.  Cheeseburgers for $1.40.  Fries for $1.40.  Shakes for $1.90.  It makes McDonald’s look like a rip-off.  Third, it stays open until 2am.

I was too full to try a burger, but they are continuously voted best burgers and best cheap eats in town.  Ashley said the ice cream reminded her of the kind she got when she was a kid, and that’s a winning endorsement in my book.