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by PAM
As my phone's alarm sounded at about 7:30 a.m., I realized that my sister and I have been in Seattle for about 48 hours now. Her primary reason for choosing Seattle for our brief vacation and bonding time was to visit the Space Needle as she failed to visit it the last time she was in the 'city of rain' with her husband. That was her first time to be in Seattle, actually. In my case, I just wanted a break from the
University that was in the middle of nowhere. I wanted to see a real city... which became a serious need after three months of being in State College, PA. The place is not bad, in fact, it is a wonderful place... but it's too quiet. Boise, ID where my sister and her husband live, and where I am currently taking my winter break, is quite cosmopolitan while it still maintains its small-town warmth but, hey, I come from Manila, Philippines - a MEGA city! It's 'crazy'... and I crave 'crazy' after three months of counting trees rather than automobiles in the 'middle of nowhere' (my classmate's words, not mine) in PA.
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| A promising morning on the last day of our visit. |
My sister and I chose Seattle because it's 'crazy' enough, close enough to Boise, ID that travel time is not insanely long, it has many things that are unique and exciting... and I haven't been to Seattle until this trip. So far, so great! And, we were excited to commence our third and final day of visit. The Space Needle was priority today as well as a short meeting with my former student who now works in the area in a high-tech global company. We wanted to eat lunch or early dinner at Jollibee in
Tukwila, WA but it was too far. Without our own car, it was quite risky. We decided to just play it by ear as far as eating at Jollibee was concerned.
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| Saying goodbye to our 'home away from home', The Westin, for the past 48 hours in Seattle. |
As we haven't completely gotten rid of good ol' sleepiness, we took our time in the morning. We ate leftovers from dinner, and some chunky cookies and fruits bought in the Farmers Market from the previous day. The free coffee at Westin was not bad... it was Starbucks. So, breakfast was satisfying. Our flight back to Boise, ID was around 8pm. So, we had almost the whole day to see some more of Seattle. We checked out before setting out for the Space Needle. We packed our bags and left them at the baggage storage of the hotel. We descended from the 23rd floor of Westin's North Tower for the last time in that visit, and headed out.
The Space Needle was about 0.6 mi walking distance from the Westin via 5th Ave, which took about 15 minutes. We had about an hour on our hands before our scheduled entrance to the Space Needle. So,
we decided to make a little detour and walked along 6th Avenue instead to have a close look at the phenomenal Amazon HQ in Seattle. Starting from the impressive "Spheres", Amazon's urban campus did not disappoint. It did look like an architectural marvel. My sister and I spent time walking around the grounds of the campus, taking in the shiny surfaces of the buildings and the indoor gardens inside the Spheres, which was reminiscent of the Osher Rainforest at the California Academy of the Sciences (CAS) in San Francisco. I had the great opportunity to visit the CAS for the first time back in 2010, and again in 2012. It was awesome both times. Considering that the Amazon Spheres are still primarily a workplace, it wasn't too shabby for comparison.
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| A fortunate detour from 5th Ave to 6th Ave where the phenomenal Amazon HQ is located. |
We also enjoyed sightseeing along 6th Ave. where we found the celebrated Rubinstein Bagels and the tourists' highly acclaimed Lady Yum Macarons & Mischiefs. Unfortunately, there is only so much our stomachs can take otherwise we would stuff ourselves with such heavenly goodies. We walked towards the Space Needle in such good spirits, all the while seeing the iconic structure in front of us, which grew bigger as we moved closer amid the incredible buildings at the South Lake Union. We were also blessed with a very good weather... especially per Seattle standard.
The Space Needle definitely lived up to our expectations. It was amazing! We felt the innovative Seattle spirit that it symbolizes. The 185-meter tower was every inch an attempt for perfection - in
engineering and technology, in architecture, in vision, and the desire to educate, entertain and inspire. We simply loved it! As we had a few more minutes before our scheduled entry to the saucer-shaped top house, we walked around the grounds and checked out their shop. Surprisingly, we found many items in the shop that were reasonably priced, and we took advantage. The climb to the top via limited-capacity elevator was exciting... and seeing Seattle for the first time from the top of the needle as the elevator opened was unforgettable! When they said that it was "awe-inspiring", they weren't kidding!
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| The excitement build-up as we prepared to climb the top of the Space Needle. |
My sister and I spent about an hour going around the open-air view deck at the top house. We took photos and videos, and simply admired the beauty of Seattle - its harbor and piers, the phenomenal buildings that speak of the level of engineering and technology that Seattle nurtures to leading innovations, the variety of architectural phenomena that spoke of taste and standard of the locals and the vision of everyone for this city that they love collectively, the shared spaces all over the city where
residents celebrate their history, iconic achievements and their future, and the beauty of nature, preserved amidst all the incredible progress around. It was enjoyable as it was educational.
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| Every second atop the Space Needle was incredibly fun! |
All the excitement and adrenaline rush made us hungry after a while, so we decided to eat late lunch at the top of the needle. We decided against eating at the Loupe Lounge and ate at their snacks bar instead. The food was delicious and satisfying... the chicken tenders are highly recommended. After lunch, we went to check out the revolving glass floor one level below the open-air view deck and where the Loupe Lounge was located. We did not only see the city from the glass walls in front of us but also through the glass floors underneath us - amazing!
We felt that an hour-and-a-half of being at the top of the Space Needle was not enough but we wanted to save some for the next visit... hopefully with more family members. For this visit, we contented ourselves with the great feeling of having flown the atmosphere of this 'rainy city', almost touching the thick gray clouds that hung over it almost constantly, and thankful that within the three days that we were in the city, the clouds kindly held on and never let go of the rain that it was keeping. We, on the other hand, stayed a little sleepy... and so, it was time to wake up. Starbucks, here we come!
To be continued....
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Photo credit: All the photos used in this entry are mine.
