Seattle - City by the Sound
This month, we take you to Seattle - explore this Pacific Northwest gem.
Click on any picture below for a larger view
We flew into Seattle for a short three night stay, and thoroughly enjoyed this other city-by-the-bay. Or by the sound – by any name, Seattle is surrounded by water. On the west is Puget Sound; bisecting the city is union lake, and to the east is Lake Washington.
The city has gorgeous views – from Territorial (mountains and cityscapes) to sweeping water views. We visited a number of areas while we were in Seattle, and found great things in each:
CAPITOL HILL/BROADWAY
We stayed at the Gaslight Inn (more about the Inn below) at the south end of Capitol Hill.
We dined here at Julia’s on Broadway – a great breakfast, lunch or dinner spot with great decor – like an old-time saloon, complete with several Madames… grinning dolls in great western costumes. The urban people watching is great too – ask for a window seat.
MADISON PARK
 Past Capitol Hill, verging on the edge of Lake Washington, is Madison Park. This cute little village has a bunch of walkable shops along Madison, a great place to spend a morning or an afternoon shopping.
At the end of the street, there’s a cute little pizza joint called Sorellas, with great lake views – the food’s not bad, either.
This was one of our favorite districts in the city - its tree-lined streets and lakeside location give it a special charm.
DOWNTOWN
 From Capitol Hill, Pine and Pike take traffic into and out of downtown. Downtown’s just five minutes from here, and we spent some time in the Convention Center area (though we here there’s also a lot to do and see farther down to the water, where the monorail and Space Needle are – next time!).
The convention center was recently expanded and remodeled, and the arch over the street is quite impressive.
 There are several multiplexes here, and an FAO Schwartz with a huge teddy bear in front – the first (but not the only) bear we ran across in the city!
There’s also a Cheesecake Factory, which regular readers of our travelogs will remember is one of our favorite restaurants.
The downtown had a safe, comfortable feel – not quite as nice as Chicago, but then the weather was a bit crisp when we were there.
There’s also a great restaurant called Tapas just a block up from downtown past the Convention Center, and a wonderful little italian place just around the corner from that called Machiavelli’s, both on corners with great people watching.
OTHER AREAS
 To the north, Green Lake has a breat around-the-lake walking/biking path, and the trees in the fall were in full foliage colors when we were there.
There’s not much retail here, but the north side of the lake does have a few small café’s and a yogurt shop, so stop there, grab a drink or something frozen (depending on the weather) and take a walk ‘round the lake.
 To the Northwest,up on Queen Anne Hill, there’s the magnificent Kerry Park. Though tiny (maybe 20 feet wide by 60 yards long), this park makes up for in view what it lacks in size. This is the only place in town where you can see the Space Needle, Downtown, and on a clear day Mt. Ranier, all in the same spot. There are always photographers here taking shots, and if you’ve ever seen a movie set in Seattle where someone pulls out of their driveway and across the street is a gorgeous view of Downtown, it was probably filmed here.
To the south, there’s Alki Beach – a long stretch of coastline partially facing downtown – follow the road around the sound here past the condos, and there are some cute restaurants with great water views, including Dukes, where we had lunch one afternoon.
And to the east, across Lake Washington, is Bellevue. Traditionally conservative, this town is attracting younger couples with its suburban housing and developing downtown. The metro center has a shopping mall, another Cheesecake Factory, a great restaurant called Taps (where we had dinner with Scott’s stepbrother and his wife) and generally a nice, walkable downtown feeling.
A LITTLE SLICE OF HAWAII:
Driving down 45th Street on our last day, we ran across the Hawaii General Store and Gallery (258 NE 45th St., 206 633-5233) – a great little piece of Hawaiiana in the middle of the Pacific Northwest. Stop by for some Guava Juice and check out all the cool Hawaiian stuff! And there’s a donut shop across the street, if you’re in a snacking mood.
 CHAMBERED NAUTILUS
Situated high on a bluff above street level, the Chambered Nautilus is actually two buildings – the main inn, with nightly room rentals, and a second building the innkeepers took over a few years ago, and now offer as both nightly and mid-term rentals. Many of their guests are families visiting the nearby University of Washington campus (two short blocks away) or visiting professors.
The main house has over 5,000 square feet – built in 1915 as a residence by a local professor, it’s now a very comfortable and elegant bed and breakfast. Some rooms in both the main house and the suites units have nice hill views, and there’s a teddy bear waiting to keep you company on every bed. Just 10-15 minutes from downtown by car, and the location, while close to the University bustle, is very quiet.
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