Seattle - Walks, breakfast, some familiar places, and Icelandair

So you might be wondering; what's up with Seattle again? I mean the last over night visit was an involuntary overnight stay.

Well, here's the abridged version. One of my projects....a really huge project, was delayed. All trips had been put on hold. As soon as I got official word of the dates being pushed back, I pinged the Missus and went to work, first requesting time off, then doing the logistics. It came together in an instant. You see, a few months earlier, one of the folks I occasionally work with mentioned the Icelandair free stopover program. Basically, you fly out of one of the airlines hub and you get up to a 7 night stopover in Iceland at no extra charge (there's even a "Stopover Buddy" program that's offered on occasion). I started quickly checking prices and found that Business Class from SEA to ORY was really affordable and we could easily fit in a 3 night stopover on the way back.

Sold!

This meant we'd have 1 night in Seattle on our way to and from Paris.

We've been here so many times, way back to pre-blogging days, and I used to visit regularly while living in HNL....in fact, before I met the Missus, I was considering a move here.

But that's ancient history now and here we were....staring at this!

I had just been mentioning what a clear night it was when we came upon Fernando Botero's "Adam". (Click the link - It's a great article). So perhaps the night was a bit too clear for us?

We had a perfect night of rest and since breakfast was included in our room rate, we ended up having a satisfying breakfast at the Renaissance.

Pretty standard stuff. What made this for us was the awesome service. Friendly, efficient, just really perfect. Before we left one of the Servers brought us more coffee....in take out cups....a "little something for the morning". The Missus whispered to me, "increase your tip". Now that's a new one! I know it doesn't cost the Servers anything to do these little things, but they make all the difference to us; the customers.

So while we hadn't stayed at the Renaissance in ages, I think this is where we'll be when we return.

Renaissance Seattle Hotel
515 Madison St
Seattle, WA 98104

Plus, check out time isn't until noon, so we took another nice little walk.

It had drizzled in the morning, but things had cleared up......but not everyone was enjoying their walk.....

Though by the time we headed down the Waterfront Steps, things were under control.

We headed up Post Alley to another "landmark", the Seattle Gum Wall, which is kinda neat or pretty gross, depending on your point of view.

Regardless, it seems to be here to stay. You can watch video of a ton of gum being washed off the wall in 2015....and a year later...well...IT'S baaaack!

I've done posts on Pike Place Market a couple of times over the years and honestly, I still love the place. There's always something new....like what part of Rachel, the Pike Place Pig are these kids checking out?

Much of it is so familiar....which is part of the charm.

The Missus loves watching the tanks at Beecher's......

Stopped and had some refreshment at Pear Delicatessen.

Pear Delicatessen & Shoppe
1926 Pike Pl
Seattle, WA 98101 

And were shocked at the line at Piroshky Piroshky

Which was once a favorite of ours, but during our last visit things seemed to have gone downhill a bit. Still, it seems more popular than ever.

Still, there's always something interesting to see or experience at Pike Place.

Our flight wasn't until almost 5 pm; as I mentioned earlier check-out time at the Renaissance is at noon, I'm sure I could have requested a late check-out, but we decided to just catch the Link out to Sea-Tac. Icelandair flies out of the 'S' terminal at Sea-Tac, which is our least favorite, but since we were flying Business we got to use the "Club at SEA".......even though there wasn't anything special in terms of food or drink, the comfort and low stress vibe is a welcome change from the usual cattle call.

Flying Business Class on Icelandair was a mixed bag. The seating is like domestic first, which means nothing lies flat....the movie selection is dated.....however, the service is fantastic, and in all honesty, the food was not bad.

All of which made our flight that much easier....

Thanks for reading!

Comments

[kat]

wow! what great plan!

[Soo @ hungryones]

Great story about the gum wall. I liked watching the video on the gum removal. Been a long time since I visited Pike's Market. Always liked the cool neon sign.

[Kirk]

Somehow things just fell into place Kat!

Pretty neat, huh Soo?