Taking a Ferry Ride from Downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

After our lunch at the Seattle waterfront,  we took a ferry ride from downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island.

We could see the two stadiums of Seattle from the ferry

Bainbridge Island is a small pretty suburban of Seattle. It is a unique neighbourhood as people can only get there by water taxis or ferries.

The ferry ride from Seattle's waterfront takes only about 35 minutes.

It runs frequently about every 50 minutes throughout the day. 

The Great Wheel, Seattle Waterfront, USA

It costs US$8.00 going to the island, but costs nothing coming back so that visitors can always come back to Seattle without paying a fare.

Space Needle and Seattle's skyline as seen from the ferry ride to Bainbridge Island

We had an amazing view of Seattle's famous landmarks such as the Great Wheel and Space needle  from the ferry.

The ferry ride was a comfortable  one.

The ferry was clean, spacious with a lot of seating on board.

The ferry has a cafeteria providing passengers with the option to purchase food and beverages.

Passengers can even purchase ice cold beer on the ferry!

I thought about my sister, Rosie, when I saw this. She would have liked a beer from here if she was on this ferry.

For tourists like us visiting Seattle, the ferry ride is a ride of excellent value as it provides passengers an incredible view of  Seattle's skyline and waterfront.







As we were travelling with friends, it seemed like we barely sat down, talked for a bit and there we were arriving at our destination, Bainbridge Island!

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Ferry from Seattle to
Bainbridge Island
Washington State
USA

Enjoying Local Seafood at Seattle's Waterfront

Seattle is a seaside port city with much to see on its waterfront.


















We took a guided walking tour at 11 a.m which lasted for about two hours.

The tour ended by the waterfront.

 We saw an interesting sculpture in front of a restaurant.

It was titled Ivars Feeding the Gulls.

A Seattle folk singer, Ivar opened the first Seattle Aquarium and then a seafood restaurant nearby to feed the visitors to the Waterfront.

He was know for his marketing stunts for his restaurants at the time.

It was lunch time and we were determined that during this trip, we would try as much local seafood as possible.

Located right by the water,  Ivars Fish Bar has been around for a long time, since 1938!

So we gave it a try.


















There was outside seating as well as an indoor eating area at this restaurant.





















Desiring to keep ourseleves dry and warm, we ate inside.

Salmon fish is famous in the area. Instead of the traditional white chowder, we tried the Salmon Chowder,  crab seafood sandwich., fried clams and chips.

It was a delicious lunch!

We were hardly eating by ourselves as there was plenty of company around us!


















Inside the seating area, there were posters about Ivar and his creative marketing methods when the restaurant first opened.

 I liked this little riddle posted on the wall.

We  enjoyed our fast seafood lunch with our friends in a restaurant with a great view of Seattle's Elliot Bay !


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Seattle's Waterfront
Washington State
USA

Waterfall Garden at Pioneer Square, Seattle,Wa. USA

Smith Tower as seen from Pioneer Square

Week of Jan. 15, 2018





During our walking tour in downtown Seattle, we walked by many historic buildings and sites.

We learned a lot about the past history of the city .

An oasis in downtown Seattle

Our tour guide made a special stop with our group at this urban garden with a waterfall.

A tranquil place for people to sit and relax

An oasis in the middle of the downtown area, this Waterfall Garden has a story of its own.

Waterfall Garden, Seattle, Washington, USA

Though this urban garden is small in size, it has a stunning 22 foot high waterfall cascading over natural granites from the nearby mountains.

I could picture how wonderful it would feel in the middle of a hot summer day when one could seek shelter from the heat and the business of the day, taking a seat in this garden with the sound of falling water soothing one's soul.

The Waterfall Park is situated at the birthplace of UPS ( United Parcel Service) - this was where 19 year old Jim Casey, born in Nevada, began his messenger service in 1907.

Jim Casey transformed his tiny messenger service into the world's largest shipper with a current work force of 370,000 employees!

In 2007, UPS celebrated its 100 years of service.

Its "employees gathered here at the company's birthplace to celebrate and reaffirm its commitment to servicing communities around the globe."

Our tour guide gave us information about historic downtown Seattle

Waterfall Garden was created by the Casey's Foundations for the residents of Seattle in honour of the men and women of UPS in 1977.

Visiting Seattle with friends from Vancouver

Though a short visit to the garden, it was interesting for us to learn about and see the birthplace of UPS in the U.S.



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Waterfall Garden
Pioneer Park
Seattle, Washington State
USA

A Guided Walking Tour Around the Historic Pioneer Square Area, Seattle

Seattle HistoricTour

Walking to the Seattle waterfront to join a walking tour of downtown

With a population of about 750,000 people, Seattle is a seaport city on the west coast of USA.

Since watching the movie "Sleepless in Seattle", I always wanted to visit this city.

As it is only about 2.5 hour car ride from Vancouver, we took advantage of the opportunity and drove there with our friends.

We are here! We want  to learn as much as possible about the history, culture and people of this city. 

We booked a guided walking tour of the historic neighbourhood for the first day of our visit in Seattle.

An octopus sculpture near the Seattle Aquarium

Walking to meet our tour group, we went past the Seattle Aquarium located at Pier 59 on the Seattle Waterfront.

Meeting our tour group at the Waterfront of Seattle

We met our tour guide at Pier 55 at 11:00 am at the Waterfront.






















A local historian, Chris, our tour guide gave us much information about Seattle.





















We learned a lot about the settlers who landed in Pioneer Square in 1852 and how they set up mills to process the timber in the area.












But in 1889,  the Great Seattle Fire  burned down 33 city blocks including the Pioneer Square. Fortunately, there was no fatality at this great fire.




Seattle's 31,000 residents rebuilt after the great fire and elevated the downtown by a full story.

They replaced the burned down buildings with bricks and stone structures to prevent such great tragedy from happening again.

As a result, most of the buildings in Pioneer Square are of a certain style. 

Pioneer Building, Pioneer Square, Seattle

Pioneer Square was where we saw many magnificent Victorian Romanesque buildings.
The Pioneer Building above is supposed to be the most beautiful building of its kind on the west coast of the U.S.







In Pioneer Square, we saw the local tribal leader Chief Sealh's statue. Seattle was named after him

We also learned about how land was taken from the indigenous people by the American government at the time.

Iron Pergola, Pioneer Square

We were shocked to learn that the  city named after Chief Sealth did not allow him to set foot there.

One of the many trendy shops in Pioneer Square

There were many things to see in Pioneer Square.

Pioneer Park, Seattle, USA

The streets are lined with interesting shops, restaurants and parks with chairs and tables for visitors.

Smith Tower, the tallest building outside New York City in the 1960's is also located around Pioneer Square.

Smith Tower, Seattle, USA

Our historian tour guide gave us some interesting information about the Smith Tower:

The top three floors ( the triangular part ) of the Smith Tower are private residences owned by the 7th Microsoft employee who made the top floor of the building ( the first triangular window on the top of the building),  the playroom for her children.

What child would not want a playroom with such an amazing view!

Seattle is an interesting city with a rich history.

Downtown Seattle, USA

Some of the world's biggest companies are located in and around the city of Seattle, such as Amazon,  UPS, Microsoft, and Boeing.

Waterfront area, Seattle, USA

We look forward to visiting other famous places in Seattle in the next few days! 

S. & A. standing on the skylights for the Underground shops in Seattle

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Pioneer Square

Seattle, Washington

USA