Friday, May 29, 2015

Seattle Layover

This is a continuation of our London & Paris trip. You can find the full trip itinerary here. 

We decided to fly to Seattle the night before our long haul flight to London. We didn't want to miss our connection and thought it was a good excuse to spend the day in Seattle.

We arrived at night and took the train from SEATAC to downtown Seattle. The train took around 45 minutes and cost $3 per person one way. If time is not an issue, this is a pretty cost effective option. The train was clean and we felt pretty safe. We got off at the Westlake station and walked 3 blocks to our hotel (Hyatt Olive 8), which was located at Olive & 8th Avenue.

The guest service at check in was Brittany, and she was very friendly. She asked us what brought us to Seattle and when I told her that it was to celebrate our 5 year anniversary, she insisted on sending complimentary mimosas for us in the morning.

The Hyatt Olive 8 hotel was relatively new and had a slight modern feel. The room was quite spacious and felt clean. The amenities were standard/typical for Hyatt, but it was more than adequate for our one night stay.

Activities & Where to Eat in Seattle

We didn't really plan much and ended up spending most of the morning around the Pike Place Market area. Afterwards, we did some shopping and then headed back to rest at the hotel.

The Crumpet Shop

I read about this place called the Crumpet Shop and we walked around the market for about 20
minutes and couldn't find it. It turned the place was on 1st Ave & Pike, and not inside the market itself.

I have had crumpets before (from Whole Foods), and thought they were okay. But I was intrigued by this shop preparing crumpets with different wonderful toppings. I read online that this place gets quite packed during peak hours. Since we came pretty early in the morning, there was no line.

Dan ordered the special which included green eggs, tomatoes, and cream cheese & smoked salmon.

Green egg & salmon crumpet

Mine was a sweet flavor (of course!), called the Vermont (ricotta cheese, maple butter, and walnut).

Yummy crumpet!

Both crumpets were delicious, I wished they were toasted warm a bit more, but overall they were really good. I love how creative the toppings were, instead of just the typical butter & jam.

The Original Starbucks

Dan wanted to visit the original Starbucks, which was located not too far from the Pike Place Market. There were several reserve coffee bean flavors only at this store, and were individually poured. Dan ordered the Pike Place Reserve. This store had a slight rustic feel although still felt like a Starbucks.

Piroshky & Piroshky

We were actually not 100% full from the Crumpet shop, so we stopped by this famous place and shared the Hazelnut Chocolate Piroshky. The hazelnut tasted more custard-y, but still good. Their most famous item is the smoked salmon piroshky.

Tilikum Place Cafe

I had a hard time deciding between trying this cafe or Toulouse Petit (which serves Cajun food). I ended up choosing this place, and it was definitely good. This place is famous for the Dutch Baby, which is like a very thick custardy pancake. Their version was definitely a really good one. The outside was crisp and the middle part was soft, doughy and custardy...very yummy.

Excellent Dutch Baby!

Dan ordered the breakfast place which came with egg, bacon, toast, and pork baked beans.

After lunch, we walked back to our hotel and then took Uber to the airport for our flight to London.

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