Oregon was a great state to visit (click on the hyperlink for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 for those entries) with fresh air and the slightly off the wall quirky culture, but I was ready to explore a new territory. I met up with a native Californian who recently moved here to explore this part of Seattle and suffice to say there’s a ton to do and see!
Welcome to my #SleeplessinSeattle series! where I’ll be hunting for my frugal finds and visiting some of the cities best hot spots. First destination is the Pike Place Market- home to a bazaar, the first Starbucks, and the Gum Wall!
The Pike Place Market is similar to many bazaars. There were various stalls selling food and souvenirs, but it was a nice covered area to take a nice stroll. It rains often in Seattle and while I wasn’t use to random sprinkles, I noticed that virtually no one brought umbrellas or seemed to care that it was misting. I guess I’m a fish out of water 😛
The offerings in this market showcased many local vendors and I appreciated the spirit of the entrepreneurs here. After walking through the area my stomach started to growl. Looks like it’s time to eat!
I saw a crowd of people in front of what looked like a bakery. It was called Piroshky Piroshky, hmm. What’s a piroshky? I figured with a long line that it was worth checking out. While perusing through my phone I found out that that this Russian bakery specializes in savory pastries. My friend and I decided to split a Beef and Cheese piroshky and you know it sorta tastes like a Chinese beef bao but with an American bread. Ha! I enjoyed it but was eager to try some other items.
Next we waited in line for the first Starbucks. I think the line spanned across 2 stores, but it moved relatively quickly. With the popularity of Starbucks there’s actually another nearby with zero line, but as a tourist it was obvious that a visit to Seattle is incomplete without a visit to THE Starbucks. Now I can cross it off my bucket list 🙂
With bellies relatively full we decided to further explore the area and found the gum wall, which you guessed it is a wall chalked full of gum.
Some tourists and locals would be completely grossed out by this site and as a teacher I should probably discourage what could be conceived as vandalism on the property, but I’m off duty and *gasp* I even bought a package of gum to add to the artwork. I’m such a rebel, lol
The tradition of sticking gum on the wall started around 1993 – I’m actually shocked that it’s a relatively new attraction. Personally, I think it’s a pretty cool place to leave your mark and take selfies, but each his own.
After enjoying the novel attraction my friend and I decided to try a local restaurant for Happy Hour. I did a quick search and found Chan Seattle – a local Korean and American fusion bar only a few streets up Pike’s Market Place.
Happy Hour is from 5:00pm-6:30pm and we just made it to enjoy their offerings. We sat at the bar and sampled four dishes: Fried Rice Cakes ($3), Bulgogi Beef Sliders ($6), Chicken Wings ($6), Fried Pacific Oysters ($6) to tantalize our taste buds. Flavor wise it was on the more salty and spicy side, but with a glass of beer I can imagine many patrons enjoying these tapas.
Have you visited Pike’s Market Place? What’s your favorite attraction there? Comment below.
XOXO,
Rockstar
We then drove back to Downtown Portland to check out a punk-rock theme restaurant called Killer Burger, a local Oregon franchise that serves up a mean burger. Made famous by their Peanut Butter Pickle Bacon burger we bit the bullet and ordered one – mind you we ate at two restaurants 2 hours ago, so we were not prepared for another full blown meal lol
Even though I visited in the summer time, the roses were in full bloom and it smelled amazing there. I wish they developed smell-o-vision so you can experience it too.
I found the rare-book-room where limited edition and hard to find books are located. Guests need to check in their items and attain a pass from the info desk, but it was quick and simple process. They have a $12,500 book for sale (obviously behind glass for good reason!) The De Bello Judaico translated as The Jewish War is a book bounded by parchment sheet from 1480. Considering how old it is it’s actually in pretty good shape!
Insider Irene 