Honeymoon in Seattle / Portland (Pt 2)
Oh good, you’re back for more adventure! Continue on to read Part 2 of our honeymoon #selfietrip to Seattle and Portland. To go back and read Part 1 click here, or skip to Part 3 here.
*Disclaimer: This was a #selfietrip. Sometimes when photographers go out into the real world to have real experiences, they leave their fancy cameras and lenses at home to enjoy the little moments as they happen. This was one of those trips. Feel free to excuse yourself now if you can’t handle looking at two people, madly in love, taking face-photos together.
Located right below the Space Needle (like, RIGHT below it), Chihuly Garden and Glass is the culmination of Dale Chihuly’s colorful vision and glass sculpting skills. His artwork, ranging in size, shape, and pattern, looks like treasures from another planet. View more amazing photos of the indoor/outdoor exhibit here.
The “Original Starbucks” store opened in 1971 in Pike Place Market, but with a long line snaking around the block, we opted for a slightly different Starbucks experience while in Seattle. With dozens of storefronts scattered around the city proper, Seattle can boast having the most Starbucks shops per capita, with 23 shops for every 100,000 residents. At Seattle’s current population, that means more than 160 stores JUST in the city alone. So yeah, we passed a few. But none were as extra as the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room.
An impressive, vaulted space with a serious factory vibe, the Reserve contains huge bean roasters taking up half the building, for a behind-the-scenes peek of the coffee roasting process. At this location, once the beans are done roasting, they swirl through copper pipes and land in the polished steampunk dispensers below.
You may recognize the star and “R” on mugs at your local Starbucks. Well, this is the mother store for all that fancy swag. We were served from a stand-alone island in the center of the room, surrounded by bar stools. I’m not a huge black coffee fan, but during this special visit, we sipped on The Origin Flight, a three-part experience of light to dark coffee shots sourced from around the globe, served in individual decanters.
See more Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room here.
Another fun surprise that we stumbled upon – the Jones Soda headquarters! We first thought Jones might have a factory tour to explore (we LOVE factory tours), but after entering what was clearly a regular office space, the kind receptionist offered to give us a few sodas (for $1 each) as a parting gift. Score! Oh well, maybe we can visit the real Jones Soda factory next time, wherever that is.
The Fremont Troll! This quirky cement art installation was the winner of a city-wide contest to figure out how to deter ruffians and drug dealers from hanging out beneath the overpass. What a fun idea!
Before we switch over to the Portland side of this honeymoon, here are a few more fun adventures we went on in Seattle, but didn’t nab a photo of:
- Seattle Aquarium
- Included with our CityPass, located on the waterfront, a block away from Pike Place Market.
- Beard Papa
- Amazingly huge made-to-order cream puffs and other pastries, located in the Asian market mall in the Chinatown-International District.
- Woodland Park Zoo
- Included with our CityPass, located in Fremont (north Seattle).
- Ballard Locks
- Completed in 1917, the locks connect the Puget Sound with Lake Union and Lake Washington, which are at different elevations. We enjoyed watching the salmon swim up the fish ladder in the underground viewing room.
- Pacific Science Center
- Included with our CityPass, located near the Space Needle. After exploring the museum, we watched a nature documentary in the museum’s six-story-tall IMAX theater, then caught the hour-long laser show featuring songs by Prince, as a tribute to his passing. RIP Prince.
- Comedy Underground
- This comedy club is a guarantee nightlife option, any night of the week.
- The Athenian
- This is the restaurant in Pike Place Market where Tom Hanks ate in the film “Sleepless in Seattle.” We recommend the crab cakes and Puget Sound views.
The trip continues! This is a Pacific Northwest Tour in three parts. Read “Honeymoon in Seattle / Portland (Part 3)” here, or skip back to Part 1 here.