Seattle has a reputation for damp and grey weather, so I wasn't surprised to land in the midst of a downpour several weeks ago. I was surprised when, by the following morning, the skies had cleared, and remained so for our entire stay. With gold and red leaves glowing in the sunshine, it was a perfect fall weekend for exploring the city and taking in the sights.
I had a leisurely morning run along the waterfront, enjoying fresh air and sculptures as I ran. Most prominent among the sculptures is the 46 foot high "Echo" by Juame Plensa, which has strange qualities of dimensionality. Flattened in one direction, from some angles the light playing on it makes it appear to have much more relief than it actually does.
In the afternoon we took an hour-long harbor cruise, a great way to get an overall picture of the city. The tower on the left is the Space Needle, originally built for the 1962 World's Fair.
After our cruise we hopped on the monorail to the Space Needle.
I found the monorail ride a lot more fun than going up to the observation deck of the Space Needle, which was crowded and reeked of carmelized popcorn. If you are looking for an observation deck, I recommend the Smith Tower instead. Located off of Pioneer Square on the southern end of town, it is much less crowded
and on clear days offers views of Mt. Rainier.
Still, the area around the Space Needle is worth visiting, most notably for Chihuly Garden and Glass. I was a bit skeptical about seeing a glass exhibit as I've never been a big fan of glasswork. But I quickly became intrigued with pieces that were inspired by fabric and baskets. In some, Chihuly laid down strings of glass like threads woven into fabric.
He is also clearly inspired by bright colors found in native American trade blankets.
This picture is looking up at a small section of the Persian Ceiling, which takes up one entire room.
This real wooden rowboat filled with glass balls gives you a sense of the scale and playfulness of his pieces.
Chihuly has always admired glass houses and here combines a modern, asymmetric glass house with a single 100 foot long glass sculpture. I am guessing that it looks quite different depending on the weather and time of day. No doubt, it is always dramatic!
It also makes for a smooth transition from the indoor displays to those in the garden,
and under the shadow of the Space Needle. Even if you don't particularly like glass, this exhibit is worth a stop for its sheer exuberance.
No visit to Seattle is complete without a wander around Pike Place Market, a farmers market that has been operating since 1907.
It has expanded well beyond produce and it seems you can find just about anything, from meat to matchbox cars. It really is fun to wander around and take it all in.
I had a leisurely morning run along the waterfront, enjoying fresh air and sculptures as I ran. Most prominent among the sculptures is the 46 foot high "Echo" by Juame Plensa, which has strange qualities of dimensionality. Flattened in one direction, from some angles the light playing on it makes it appear to have much more relief than it actually does.
In the afternoon we took an hour-long harbor cruise, a great way to get an overall picture of the city. The tower on the left is the Space Needle, originally built for the 1962 World's Fair.
After our cruise we hopped on the monorail to the Space Needle.
I found the monorail ride a lot more fun than going up to the observation deck of the Space Needle, which was crowded and reeked of carmelized popcorn. If you are looking for an observation deck, I recommend the Smith Tower instead. Located off of Pioneer Square on the southern end of town, it is much less crowded
and on clear days offers views of Mt. Rainier.
Still, the area around the Space Needle is worth visiting, most notably for Chihuly Garden and Glass. I was a bit skeptical about seeing a glass exhibit as I've never been a big fan of glasswork. But I quickly became intrigued with pieces that were inspired by fabric and baskets. In some, Chihuly laid down strings of glass like threads woven into fabric.
In others, he let the glass take on the gentle folds of old woven baskets
He is also clearly inspired by bright colors found in native American trade blankets.
This picture is looking up at a small section of the Persian Ceiling, which takes up one entire room.
This real wooden rowboat filled with glass balls gives you a sense of the scale and playfulness of his pieces.
Chihuly has always admired glass houses and here combines a modern, asymmetric glass house with a single 100 foot long glass sculpture. I am guessing that it looks quite different depending on the weather and time of day. No doubt, it is always dramatic!
It also makes for a smooth transition from the indoor displays to those in the garden,
and under the shadow of the Space Needle. Even if you don't particularly like glass, this exhibit is worth a stop for its sheer exuberance.
No visit to Seattle is complete without a wander around Pike Place Market, a farmers market that has been operating since 1907.
It has expanded well beyond produce and it seems you can find just about anything, from meat to matchbox cars. It really is fun to wander around and take it all in.
Naturally I had to stop in at Undercover Quilts, a lovely little quilt shop adjacent to the market. I picked up this Japanese indigo fabric to use in the indigo quilt I've been working on this fall.
No telling when I will actually finish this quilt, but I've got several other projects in the works and before the year is out I hope to find a few minutes here and there to share some photos of how they are progressing.
