This was another year that we were hoping to go to Ireland! We decided again to wait because of certain covid restrictions getting there and back, along with the additional cost that were associated with all of it. Instead we decided to spend a couple days in Orlando and then fly off to Seattle, Washington. I was always curious about Seattle because I was big in to the grunge scene when I was a teenager. When the fiancé suggested it, I was excited. He had also wanted to see the Star Wars section at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and this was the only Disney Park I had not been too. We picked the dates and planned everything out.
Sunday, November 7th we drove up to Orlando and checked in to the resort. We were both getting a bit hungry so we headed to Disney Springs because we wanted to eat at Raglan Road (well since we couldn’t go to Ireland). There was a 2-hour wait, but they said we could order from the little bar around back called The Hole in the Wall. We ordered a couple of drinks first while we looked over the menu. I got a Bailey’s shake and it was so good! As far as food goes we decided to share an appetizer since it was getting a bit late. We got the Pull the Boxty which is a thick potato cake with ham hock and caramelized onions on it. It was yummy! Then before we headed back to the room we stopped at Everglazed donuts and picked up a half dozen donuts for breakfasts.
Monday, November 8th we went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Star Wars section was great! It was neat to see all the space crafts, droids, and storm troopers throughout the area. We rode two of the rides, which both were simulation rides. Normally they mess with my motion sickness but I actually did alright on them. We had lunch at a little place called Docking Bay 7. We had high hopes for this place because the fiancé saw something about it on a show he watched. The food wasn’t as good as we expected, we got ribs and it was full of cartilage pieces. The Moof juice was pretty yummy though. I noticed the Coke’s came in a round bottle kind of shaped like a bomb, so naturally I wanted one. The little red robot in the picture below was the attendants assistant. The guy said he usually talks but he had been quiet most the day. We walked around the rest of the park but nothing else really caught our attention as much. We were exhausted and left around 5pm.
Tuesday, November 9th we ended up going shopping at one of the outlet malls by the resort. For lunch we wanted to go to this place called The Whiskey, that we have been to before, but they were closed for a maintenance issue. We ended up going to Mellow Mushroom and had pizzas instead. We took it easy the rest of the day to pack and prepare for our early flight to Seattle the next day. I didn’t take any pictures from this day.
Wednesday, November 10th we had to get up super early to get to the airport and park the car. I sat by the window and felt like a kid because I love looking out the window to see the scenery. The first picture from the plane I just loved the clouds, the second was part of the Rocky Mountains and then the third was us landing into Seattle. If you look closely in that third picture you can see the Space Needle. In the air we gained 3 hours because of the time difference so we had plenty of time to do some exploring. We checked into the hotel and headed down to Pike’s Place Market. This is where they sell all the flowers and frozen fish. We were both hungry so we first stopped at a place called Beecher’s Cheese Market. They make the cheese fresh everyday. I didn’t get any pictures of this at this time. I got a small thing of mac and cheese and it was so good! I was so hungry that I didn’t even think to take a picture of it. We walked around and ended up at the Gum Wall. I wasn’t going to search this out but we ended up there so I took some pictures. It is a whole alley where people stick gum to the wall. I just couldn’t do it! Then we found we were still a bit hungry and ended up at Pasta Casalinga. I got the Wild Boar Ragu with the Burrata on top (see picture below). This was so good, the pasta was fresh and the wild boar added another level of flavor. We noticed it gets darker a little earlier in Seattle then we are used to at home. We were both exhausted and went back to the hotel to relax. I passed out almost as soon as we got back.
Thursday, November 11th we decided to go back down to the Pike’s Place Market and get Starbucks from the very first location. We had to wait in line a bit to get inside. I wouldn’t say that there was anything different about the coffee but it was neat to see where it all started. I am a big Starbuck fan. We also went to the pastry shop next door called Piroshky Piroshky. I got a chocolate hazelnut pastry. We walked around to look for a place to sit. While we were walking by Beecher’s they were making cheese so I took a quick photo. We found a place to sit and enjoyed our coffee’s and pastries. We then walked down to find Pike Street Press. I have a love of letterpress and this was such a great shop. They took custom orders but also had a bunch of cards and stationery for sale. Since it was a bit rainy we decided to go to the Museum of Pop. This museum was right next to the Space Needle. It was an interesting place to walk around and learn about different pop culture moments. First we stopped into one of the sound rooms and they were playing the old Nirvana Unplugged that played on MTV back when I was a teen. They had a whole section on Hip Hop, Jimi Hendrix, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. There was also sections about Fantasy, Horror and Video Games. While in the Pearl Jam section they had a poster from the Lollapalooza I ended up attending. Seeing all the artwork from the records and t-shirts really brought back memories. After the museum it was time for dinner, we went to a place called Serious Pie. It was a brick oven pizza place and the pizzas were a more artisan style. After we ate we walked around a bit an ended up at the Amazon Go store. This store is so neat, you pull up the Amazon App, and click in-store code, this allows you access to get in the store. Then you just pick up what you want and walk out, there are not any attendants or cashiers. Then whatever you picked up shows up as a charge on your Amazon account. It was really weird. Then we walked by the Amazon Spheres. Apparently, from what I heard about these is they were built for the Amazon employees as a place to lounge and get away from their desks for a bit. We also found the Amazon 4-star store, everything in this store is rated 4-stars or more. After this we called it a night and ended up back at the hotel, where again I pretty much passed right out.
Friday, November 12th we went to the Starbuck Reserve Roastery. We each got a croissant sandwich and I got the cold brew trio and he got the Whiskey Barrel Aged Cold Brew. The Whiskey Barrel Aged Roast was so good, this was not an alcoholic drink but you could definitely taste the whiskey in it. This place does small batch specialty roasting. It smelled so good in there. One of the things I was super excited to see was the Fremont Troll. He was super cool and bigger than I was expecting. He is actually holding a Volkswagen Beetle in his one hand. This was an art project for the city. We then walked down to a little brewery and had a flight of beers. I loved seeing all the colors on the trees, we don’t get to see this in Florida. Then the fiancé wanted to go check out Kurt Cobain’s old home. I was a little hesitant because I didn’t want to disturb the people that lived there now. He mentioned there was a little park next door to the house so the family is used to people coming by. So we drove out there, it was down a long windy road. When we got there it was a neat little neighborhood. There was a small little park with a couple of benches right next to the house. Of Course the house was all gated up and you couldn’t really see in with all the trees and bushes around it. I did feel a bit melancholy just being there. On the benches were a lot of graffiti and little trinkets left for Kurt. I left a little piece of moonstone that I had in my purse and he left a coke bottle cap that we had gotten earlier in the trip. If I had known about the Rainier beer ahead of time I would have gotten a couple of those and drank it for him. It ended up being a memorable experience and I am glad we went. For dinner, I had found a place that served traditional Chinese dumplings called Dough Zone Dumpling House. We got a few different things and shared them, we got the Green Onion Pancake, the pork soup dumplings, and pan fried chicken wonton with a spicy sauce. They were so delicious. This was down by the convention center so we walked around and found the Cheesecake factory, we got drinks and cheesecake to end the night.
Saturday, November 13th is our last day in town. I found a place called Biscuit Bitch that I wanted to try. We ended up waiting just about an hour to get our food but I think it was worth it. Look how big those balls of dough are for the biscuits. We both got biscuits and gravy, except I got mine with hot links and jalapeños. We then drove down near the Seattle Seahawks and Mariners stadiums. We found a little place to park and we ate our breakfast there. We saved the Seattle Needle for last. I was hoping we would get a clearer day before we went up in it, but it did rain the whole time we were there. It was really cool up there. The clouds peaked a bit above and we were able to see Mount Rainier. When you first go up you actually end up on the 2nd floor of the top. This is where the cafe is and where you can walk around outside. When you go down the stairs to the 1st floor, it has a glass floor and actually moves. We stayed up there for quite a bit. I had missed the statue of Chris Cornell when we went to the Museum of Pop earlier so we stopped by so I could get a picture. We went back to the hotel and started packing and organizing some of our stuff for the flight home. We then went down by the water and walked around. It was rainy and getting colder! We wanted to try a Seattle Hot Dog but the stand we went to was out of ingredients to make it, so we just got a plain hot dog. We found a Harley store and the fiancé was able to add to his poker chip collection. There was also a store called the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. This was a really neat store with all kinds of oddities and souvenirs. We then called it a night and went back to the hotel to get some good sleep before the long trip home.
Sunday, November 14 we got up super early for the airport. The whole time in Seattle I never adjusted to the time difference. I was up at 4am (7am Florida time) and I was in bed asleep by 8pm (11pm Florida time) every day. Another difference in Seattle from Florida is they are more strict with the Covid precautions. You had to wear a mask regardless if you had the vaccine. You also had to show your vaccine card to go into most of the public indoor spaces, including dining and museums. We don’t have that here in Florida! I really didn’t mind having to show that information. I felt a bit more comfortable eating, knowing that everybody that was there had the vaccine. It was definitely a long trip home. The plane took off in the morning just after sunrise and we landed in Florida just at sunset. We then had to make the 2-hour car trip south to go home. Overall it was a great trip, there were definitely some things we didn’t get to see on this trip. Some of it was because it was raining and some because we just ran out of time. I think I would go back.
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