Hi all!

My partner and I (mid 20s) visited from downtown Ottawa, Canada late November and we really enjoyed our time (6 nights)!

For context for my comments below, we stayed at Inn at the Market, and were back and forth between Pike Place and the Space Needle area via the Monorail (so cute but wish it went further/had more stops) very often.

General observations

• Accessibility – I was genuinely shocked that the sidewalks downtown were SO WIDE and almost every intersection had TWSIs and audible walking signals. (Neither of us have a physical disability but I touch on accessibility for my job so I always keep an eye out)
• Ryan Henry Ward murals – omg I loved his little stoned animal murals all around the city. Adorable! Upon further research, I wish we did the mural bus tour but we didn’t know about it at the time we were planning.
• “And just a question on the screen for you there, boss” – My brother in Christ, you’re handing me a pastry from a glass display. I am smashing the no tip button, I’m sorry. That being said, we went to a couple places that had a 20% service fee and a waiter told us it’s actually for BOH retention. I’m cool with this as long as it’s clearly states/visible on the menu.
• Newly revitalized waterfront area – lovely use of public space.
• USPS – we went to the USPS at 3rd and Union to mail souvenirs home and it looked like the apocalypse inside…? “strapped for cash” vibes; I hope it doesn’t get privatized 🙁

Notable activities

• City Pass – very easy to navigate and a decent price for tourists so kudos!
  • Space Needle – whoever thought of the selfie cameras on the outside viewing deck deserves nothing but happiness in their life
  • MOPOP – the horror and sci-fi exhibits had a lot of interesting props
  • Aquarium – watching the keepers feed the sea lions was so cute
  • Boat cruise – the part of the tour through the shipping area was actually the most interesting lol
  • Chihuly – INSANE!!!
• Bill Speidel’s underground tour – this was actually on our “alternate” list, but luckily, it was the biggest unexpected hidden gem for my partner and I. Great history lesson and our tour guide (TJ) was hilarious
• Connections museum – my partner’s choice lol; interactive displays of technologies spanning over a century of telecommunications history. Very interesting but the hours are quite limited as the guided tours are led by volunteers.
• Pinball museum – so cool that they had machines going back to the 1960s, you can really see the evolution of pinball machines by each decade.
• Seaplane tour – another one of my partner’s choices lol; very nice tour above Lake Union & downtown.
• Pike Place Market – this is like if Ottawa’s Byward Market was… good. Beecher’s mac and cheese was yum, Lowell’s clam chowder in the bread bowl hit the spot, and the cider folks under the red tent can continue to rob me of 10usd for a small cup of peach cider.

All in all, it was a lovely trip and we didn’t get rained out! The sun was out a couple days and we even saw a freakin rainbow. Many thanks, Seattle!