Welcome back to Seattle! Here are some highlights of Seattle and the surrounding areas that I’m sure you will want to take advantage of!

            There is a new light rail that leaves from the airport and will take you into Seattle. You can find time schedules and watch a video on how to buy a ticket on their website www.soundtransit.org.  At $5.00 roundtrip, this is a much easier and cheaper way to get to downtown, Pioneer Square, or the International District (Chinatown). The hotel provides free shuttle service to the airport to get on the train and buy tickets. It takes about 40 min to get downtown on the light rail. The hotel also has a shuttle service that is $14.00 round trip, and is a bit faster (about 25-30 minutes).

            ~In Chinatown there is a really big Asian specialty store called Uwajimaya and attached to it is an awesome Japanese bookstore called Kinokuniya.  They have a lot of fun gifts and a great food court with a lot of good choices. The bookstore has a large tattoo book area, so bring $ and room in your suitcase.

            ~Pioneer Square is the historic gold rush area of Seattle that has lots of fun history. You can take the Underground Tour (206) 682-4646 that tells you everything you ever wanted to know about how Seattle was built. There are also many fun shopping stores around this area and a ton of old taverns and jazz joints. You can walk to Pike Place Market from here, and to the waterfront. This historic market put Seattle on the map. Everything is covered here (in case of rain), they have tons of food, breathtaking vistas of the Puget Sound, the first original Starbucks (’71), fun stores on three different levels, and of course the famous flying fish! You can get to Vyvyn Lazonga’s tattoo shop (206) 622-1535 which is right across the street (towards the waterfront side).

            ~Also located in the Pike Place Market area is the Can Can Cabaret. Dinner shows featuring cabaret and burlesque. What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, they also have an Absinthe Bar! (206) 652-0832

            ~The waterfront area is fun and has good food and shopping. We recommend the Pirates Plunder (all pirate items) (206)-624-5673. Ye Old Curiosity Shop is located here too and this store is a MUST see! They have a little bit of everything, including two mummies, shrunken heads and tons of strange curios. While at the waterfront, stop by one of the many seafood restaurants for clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, or put on a bib and eat crab at the Crab Pot (206) 624-1890. You can also go to the Seattle Aquarium (206) 386-4300 which was renovated in 2007 and is pretty cool.

            ~Eating at the Space Needle is another great Seattle experience (we recommend eating there if you want to go to the top) they charge a lot just to ride the elevator up, so you should take advantage of the free ride up to the restaurant for lunch or dinner. Get reservations (206- 905-2100). Nearby is the Melting Pot for a delicious fondue experience. 

            ~Below the Space Needle lies the Experience Music Project (EMP), and the Science Fiction Museum (206) 724-3428. This is a fun out of the rain place to hang out; this place was built to look like a smashed guitar (you have to see it to believe it). They have tons of music memorabilia and the science fiction section is super cool. There is a monorail that links this place to the light rail at the Westlake Mall and upscale shopping center.

            ~Another MUST SEE is the Kubota Japanese Gardens, one of two spectacular Japanese Gardens in Seattle (206) 684-4081. It’s very close to the hotel. You will have to drive or get a taxi to get here.

Its 20 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and a great picture spot.

There are many art museums in Seattle. This is a list of some good ones:

            ~Seattle Art Museum (SAM) downtown (206) 654-3100 recently renovated and expanded; they are closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

            ~Asian Art Museum (206) 654-3100 closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

            ~Henry Art Gallery (206) 543-2280 closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

In the hip University area. There are lots of fun shops located on ‘the Ave’, especially the Gargoyle’s store, Shiga’s Imports, and the University Bookstore to name a few. These places are all a very short walk from the gallery. You can also cruise thru the UW campus. It’s beautiful.

            ~Frye Art Museum (free admission) (206) 622-9250 closed Mondays.

If you rent a car and have some time you can check out the Hoh National Rain Forest located in the Olympic National Park, its about 4.5 hours from Seattle (including a one hour auto ferry ride). Truly a beautiful sight to see – it’s like being in Costa Rica!

Also, be sure to stop by and see us at Slave to the Needle. We have 2 locations, and the original shop in the Ballard district boasts a very large art gallery, well worth checking out. Call us at (206) 789-2618.

Can’t wait to see everyone!!! Love Melissa and Aaron