SUNNY Seattle!

 

Yep, the mountain was STILL out when we docked back in Seattle after our fabulous cruise!

 

 

 

Before we "leave" the ship, I just want share a little bit about it, as well as pics I grabbed from one of my new friends, Debbie. (Because I never thought to take a pic of the ship once we were on it.)

 

So I showed you a pic of how enormous it was compared to shorty, Todd standing by it. 😉

 

But just to let you know more about it–Explorer of the Seas.

It holds over 4,000 passengers!

PLUS there's a crew of over 1,000 people.

 

And you know what else?

Stampin' Up! was over 1,000 strong on the ship, too!

 

Next year's ship for the Greek Isles will be different; it only holds over 2,000 passengers.

 

It's crazy the difference!

 

So here are ship pics:

 

 

We had an early breakfast Friday, said our goodbyes to a few of our friends and were off the ship by 7:15am!

 

I think this was actually a 1st day pic–outside customs before long but fast-moving lines before getting our Sea Cards for boarding.

 

 

Leaving the ship was simple–especially since we didn't have our huge suitcases with us!

 

 

Since our flight didn't leave until 2:30pm, we decided to forego the free shuttle to the airport (provided by Stampin' Up!) and check out a bit of Seattle.

 

 

We were both really interested in Pike Place Market!

 

It was somewhat like the Fulton Street Farmers Market–open air, but in an even more established/permanent building.

 

Plus there were other shops, bakeries, etc covering a few blocks and 6 levvels.

 

Side note: did you realize Seattle is a lot like the streets of San Francisco in that there are steep hills everywhere???

 

I did not AT ALL like that–up OR down.

 

 

Here's Todd's pic from ground level:

 

Here's my pic from where we started/were dropped off in the cab:

 

A lot of the shops were still closed that early in the morning, but it was perfect timing to watch the fish mongers setting up for their day.

 

Look at this monster seafood!!

king salmon in the forefront

 

halibut

 

Dad Flath said we were no kids of his if we didn't have one of these!

It was still 7:30am.

 

 

We didn't get pics of this, but later in the morning we got to enjoy the "fish monger show".

 

Have you heard of the fish throwers??

It was fun to watch!

 

One of the guys in the front of the ice-packed cases grabbed a huge king salmon and threw it to one of the guys behind the counter of filleted fish behind the iced case!

 

 

Another thing we enjoyed was this ugly guy:

As I said, we watched them set up.

It meant nothing to us at the time, but this monk fish was hooked up to a chain.

 

I thought that's how they sold it.

 

When we got back here after looking around at other vendors, there was a lot more ice and fish in the case.  And the chain was covered.

 

 

Well, the fish guys would wait for a little kid to walk up to check it out, and they'd start pulling the chain to make the fish move!

 

Of course the kid would jump! Haha!

 

One lady said to me, that fish is still alive!!

I told her the secret and she felt a little better. 

 

So we had to check out one of the decks facing the water:

 

And the bakeries:

 Have you seen these donuts?

They're GINORMOUS!!!

 

And these cookies!!

That's a full size plate!

 

It all smelled SO GOOD!!!

So we were both very wise–and very foolish.

But honestly, we just weren't thinking….

 

I mentioned we ate breakfast right before we got off the ship and were stuffed!

 

Helloooo!!!!

Here's breakfast!!!

 

So…foolish?

So much good food to try!!

What were we thinking?

 

Or…wise?

Oh–the money I wanted to spend on it all!!

 

 

We were just peeking in the windows of one of the bakeries.

 

It had a LONG LINE–honestly unlike any other place we saw!

 

One of the locals standing there said, "the line is worth it!"

 

 

Seriously–it smelled so good!

For some reason, Todd thought THESE looked amazing.

 

For some reason, I didn't.

Hmmm. Strange.

I love blueberry.

And cream cheese frosting.

Not sure what my deal was.

 

But I think we saved a lot of money! 😉

 

So here's pic we had to get:

 

Haha. Love it!

Even one of his softball team mates calls him that.

 

 

Oh–another thing NOT pictured here….

 

You would have thought we had enough flowers the day before!

 

We DID, IN FACT, SAY, "we're done with flowers!!"

 

 

But oh my goodness, there were amazing flower vendors in the market!

 

I saw at least one sign that said people weren't allowed to take pics of the flowers.

 

They wanted to sell them–not have them featured in selfies.

 

 

The vendors were making the bouquets–from flowers from their own farms–while we walked through. 

 

 

These bouquets were spectacular!!

And marked $10 or $15 or $20.

They EASILY would have been double to triple that in the store!!

 

A lot of the ones that attracted my attention had lilies like I had in my post yesterday.

 

(Reminder):

 

There were so many gorgeous arrangements!

 

But it was kinda funny–one in particular stood out to both Todd and I.

 

We both thought it looked like a bride's bouquet.

Mostly whites with just a hint of some pale lavender in it.

 

It was absolutely stunning!!

 

We really wanted to bring one home!

It was an amazing deal!

But we wouldn't be home for many hours yet.

It would have been annoying to carry around.

AND we probably would have broken them by the time we got home.

 

Having said that–I saw 2 people on the flight to Chicago with a bouquet.

 

And I saw one that made it all the way to Grand Rapids!

 

 

 

So we only spent a few hours in Seattle before we were just ready to be done.

 

I had done my homework and found out a cab ride to the airport could have cost us around $50.

 

But Seattle had a railway that goes there, too.

 

We walked a few blocks (after finding one that was more on street level/more gradual of an incline, rather than the steep horrible San Francisco like roads.)

 

And we got on the railway to the airport for $6 total.

 

Yay me!!

 

 

Our flights were delayed here and there, but it didn't cause problems with connections.

 

 

So I'm sorry to say, there were no pillow gifts that night! 🙁

 

But I DID get to sleep on my OWN pillow!

Ah!

 

One last pic, which I can't honestly tell you if it's sunrise or sunset, but our friend Jim took this a few days after we were all back home.

 

 

Amazing.

Breathtaking.

 

 

Thank you for letting me share my travels with you.

 

 

Enjoy your day!

And stay cool!