Visit Seattle’s Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass and Sky View Observatory
Waking up in a big city is exciting when you live in a small-town community. Living-wise, I’d never have it any other way… but I will admit, the pull to get back outdoors to see the sights of a full day in Seattle was enough to get me out of bed quick!
Today I’m taking you back to my weekend Seattle trip with my friend Susan – Part 2.
This one covers a visit to Seattle’s Space Needle, Chihuly Glass and Garden and Sky View Observatory.
You can catch up in Part 1 HERE, which includes our train ride over from Vancouver, visiting Pike Place Market and more.
Day 2
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The only thing we had planned for our 2nd day in Seattle was to take in a show called the theatre show, Hip Hop Nutcracker. So fun!
So we had the rest of the day to ourselves.
Since our theatre show was at 2pm, we took it slow in the AM and wandered across the street from Motif Seattle Hotel to try a salad place we spotted…
Oh my goodnesssssss. We had no idea we landed THEE salad place called Specialtie’s, with Peets Coffee Bar under the same roof. Since I have food issues and have to eat healthy, this find was the BOMB. We ended up eating here twice.
But I didn’t expect to find all the antique decor on the walls…
Specialty’s – sandwich restaurant in Seattle
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What a feast for the ‘ol stomache AND eyes!
The entire back wall was a gallery of all kinds of vintage kitchenwares.
The antique kitchen gadgets were strategically hung in groups just so, inside shelf-styled frames.
Amazing right?! How gorgeous are these vintage rolling pins?
And those jello moulds?
Cookie cutters, wooden spoons, antique sifters, pie pans beside a reclaimed wood wall treatment…
Yep, I was pretty much running around taking pictures in my absolute glory while chewing on a Speciality’s salad. This wall art was just so beautifully done!
We didn’t take the time to enjoy this cozy little sofa around the fireplace spot but it was fun to look at! What a cool vibe Specialties has!
After our amazing salad and soup lunch, we decided to attempt to walk to the theatre.
SO glad we did!
We ended up browsing store after store all the way there! Girls’ shopping at its best!
Shopping the streets of Seattle
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Anthropology was of course insanely gorgeous. Check out that glass and metal chandelier….
We also went into this clothing store called All Saints right in downtown Seattle, which had antique sewing machines lining the windows. The entire store was filled with industrial hardware from floor to ceiling. Oh my goodness. The video shares more. It was so gorgeous, I didn’t want to leave!
We then found the Paramount Theatre where Hip Hop Nutcracker was playing, which was incredibly gorgeous! And the show? Well, it was amazing. Susan had repurchased our tickets having NO idea we were on the ground floor only a few rows from the front! BEST seat in the house! Sheesh were we getting spoiled.
After the show, it was raining again so we just desired to get back to our Motif Seattle hotel and have a nice hot dinner there in the restaurant on the 5th floor called Frolik Kitchen and Cocktails. But of course, we ended up shopping all the way back in different stores first! Couldn’t help ourselves.
Our dinner ended up being perfect. We ordered up a couple of burgers which hit the spot.
Then we returned to our room, were we enjoyed some peppermint tea I had picked up at Walgreens, while all cozy in our beds. A little idle chit chat later, we were both out.
Day 3
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Day 3 was about going back home to Vancouver, but being that our train left in the evening, we still had a full day to explore Seattle.
So Susan got on her phone and started scoping out Groupon deals, and came across the Space Needle. We were in!
So we called an Uber and head out.
The Space Needle
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And there it is! The Space Needle is quite an impressive sight.
We didn’t go for the dinner because the reviews we found online weren’t as great as we had hoped. But that’s ok, a quick peek around would be a nice day filler before we head home.
When you first enter the Space Needle main lobby, there was of course all kinds of souvenir shopping to be had.
There was even a virtual bungee jump that came with your ticket! What?!
Once I stood inside, should I admit I sat on the floor because I didn’t like the thought of jumping off a building?! I didn’t trust that those tube things wouldn’t drop me down some chute!
But it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. Good thing the lobby was nearly empty…
Then we learned we didn’t have tickets for the Space Needle after all… it was for an Observatory elsewhere! Uh oh.
Glancing at the time, we decided we had enough time to do both. If we hustled.
This is the observation deck from the top level of the Space Needle. It was an overcast rainy day which is pretty much the norm this time of year in Seattle.
But I’d trade that for the low volume of people! I can see how off-season has its major perks!
The newer unobstructed floor to ceiling glass windows made for impressive viewing!
Viewing was iffy though because of the rain running down the glass. Ah well.
You could also see a lot from inside the Space Needle as well. There was a bar in this section so if you desired you could really spend some time here.
But it wasn’t until I walked one flight down that I new I hit the money train.
This is the revolving glass floor on the 2nd level which was completely amazing!
It was cool seeing people sit down on the glass and just allow the floor to carry them around in one big circle while watching down below. Freaky! But cool.
Not sure why I don’t have pictures of the floor, but there are shots in the video at the bottom of this post.
The viewing from the glass floor deck was so much better though because of no rain on the glass. And you were a little closer to the ground as well so it was as if things came into focus moreso.
Yup… pretty city for sure!
And then it was time to take in the next attraction, Chihuly Garden and Glass.
Chihuly Garden and Glass
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Chihuly Garden and Glass is a blown glass art museum by artist Dale Chihuly, located right next door to the Space Needle.
The location was pretty handy, and no doubt the reason you see all these discount tickets if you take on both attractions.
I’ve seen his work before while in Vegas HERE in one of the hotel ceilings.
But this was different… this was an entire museum and garden filled with it! Outstanding! You just wait…
Dale has a few museums throughout the world, and Seattle’s permanent location opened in 2012. Lucky for us!
You can read about Dale Chihuly HERE
Can you even?!
The showrooms had black floors, ceilings and walls, with illumination on all the vibrant glass features. It was absolutely breathtaking!
This scale is tricky to make out, but that is a full sized boat! So imagine how large those glass pieces are.
If I came back here, I’d take my time to the point of sitting down and staring at everything a good long time. I didn’t want it to end.
I mean…
This piece was hanging from the ceiling and nearly touched the floor.
The ceilings were high btw.
I’m afraid the pictures don’t do this magnificent blown glass work justice.
This is something you just need to see with your own eyes to fully appreciate.
There’s also a glass room so you can take in this spectacular feature.
These blown glass flowers were so vibrant!
Then the pathway led to the outside garden.
Yes, an outdoor garden also filled with glass features.
The paved garden walkway wound through plantings that were perfectly married to the glass sculptures, which in itself was yet another work of art.
I know. How does this tall green feature not even break from the wind?! Amazing.
This glass garden was gorgeous. The black growth against the silver glass features really pulled you in.
Absolutely outstanding stop.
But there was still time to take in the Observatory before we head back home.
So we called another Uber to see where in the world we had booked! LOL
Sky View Observatory
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Well, hello there Columbia Centre Sky View Observatory! How nice to learn about you!
Honestly, I had just read about it in our room while we were planning our day. The writings said while this isn’t visited as much as the Space Needle, the views cannot be compared. This place offers a very different view which is not to be missed.
I was excited to see it for myself!
Best mistake EVER!
And the writings were right. I thought the views from the Sky View Observatory were even more beautiful than at the Space Needle!
Once again, an off-season trek to Seattle treated us well to no crowds whatsoever!
I’m doing this more often.
You could enjoy views around the entire building which was so cool! It was huge with places to eat upstairs and downstairs as well. This place was very well equipped.
But alas… our adventure was nearing to the end. Or so we thought…
From the Observatory, we could sorda locate where our hotel was, and it wasn’t that far… So we decided to walk back. Ok, well, I decided.
Well… it was a tiny bit further than we anticipated. Especially uphill and in pouring rain!
But I’m tellin’ ya, things like that make your trip… there were were walking up some steep slippery hill with rain pelting in our faces, and I glance up at Susan to find her sporting a bag over her head.. she forgot her umbrella in the Uber. I had to nearly sit down on the ground I was laughing so hard! We were a mess. And having the BEST time!
The video shares that special moment in time…
But we made it back! Then we head downstairs to yet another hotel restaurant called the Elephant and the Castle, which was outstanding! We enjoyed a hot dinner, then called the last Uber of the night to take us back to the King Street Seattle Train Station.
One last shot of the city before we hopped in the Uber… and away we went.
And a suggestion? If you go early to the train station, bring some food and a beverage. There’s nothing in the station itself except a candy machine. That part could be improved upon.
But that’s ok! Once on the Amtrak train heading to Vancouver, we got another great seat with a table, ordered up a hot night cap, and enjoyed a leisurely 4 hour ride back home while we saturated in everything we had just experienced in the vibrant, wonderful city of Seattle.
This was one of the most amazing trips I’ve ever been on. But it wasn’t just about what we did. It was about who I went with…
A girlfriend’s trip is a wonderful gift, And I can’t wait to see where we end up next!
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Click above to take in our personal video captures of our Day 2 and 3… so SO fun!
I hope you enjoyed reading about this adventure!
And of course… you can eventually expect more…
Visit Part 1 of our Seattle adventure HERE
Visit all my Seattle posts HERE
Have you been to downtown Seattle? What were your favorite attractions?
Other city adventures you may enjoy:
The opulence of Vegas in the city
Looks like a great trip! I went to Seattle a few years ago and one of my favorite things was a food tour. We learned a lot of history about the city while tasting a lot of different yummy (& weird) things.
I strained to see my childhood home from the Space Needle. When I was a kid we could see the very top from our porch, well maybe more but I was shorter then. They used to have pavilions left over from the Worlds Fair at the base and countries still sold goods there. The item that stands out most in my mind was in the China shop they had candies wrapped in paper where you ate the paper and all. The little brother of my BFF lives in Seattle and her oldest son lives in Spokane, I think she and I should do a girls weekend there, you know so she can kiss the ground I was born on!
This was the best tour I have ever experienced! Wonderful sites and scenes that I would never have seen before from a real visitors view. Love the views from high above. But I’m not sure I could go so high or stand while on that moving see-thru floor! Great job giving us a tour of the beautiful city of Seattle.
Donna – one of my favorite things to do is visit the Chihuly Museum. I think I have seen it in all seasons and it is always spectacular. We have a couple of salvage shops we like to check out (Ballard Reuse and Second Use) Twice now we have headed down to visit Seattle for the Northwest Flower & Garden Show which is outstanding. So many things to do and explore – makes me want to take another trip down there.
I want sooo much to go to Seattle and tops on my list to see is Chihuly Museum and Gardens! I loved the photos! They have a Seattle City pass that Includes
1 Space Needle
2 Seattle Aquarium
3 Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour
4 Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) OR Woodland Park Zoo
5 Chihuly Garden and Glass OR Pacific Science Center
for $99. I have been in the Space Needle during Seattle Worlds fair in (I think) 1974. I believe it was just built then.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures. I live about 40 minutes south of Seattle but have never been to the Chihuly Museum and Gardens. I’m putting this on my list for an adventure with my husband. I have been to Tacoma’s Glass Museum and Chihuly Bridge of Glass several times, but those gardens just look so cool!
We had one day to peruse Seattle before our cruise. We chose to head to the monorail several blocks from our hotel, taking my scooter through the city streets looking at all the shops and businesses. The monorail was fun and took us to the Space Needle. Imagine our distress when we found an hour wait outside just to get in and several hours winding around the various levels just to get to the elevator! Not for us, certainly. We toured the grounds and then took a taxi to another destination. We may try again when we’re back in town. Nice to know about the observatory!
Ugh! Now I’m even more convinced to always travel off-season! We walked right in!
The scooter and monorail sounds fun too!
Visited a few years ago and loved the Chihuly Museum. Amazing creations. Enjoyed the usual sights and attractions along with a Seattle underground tour – in places, there is a whole, older Seattle under the current streets.
I really want to visit Seattle and the Chihuly exhibits. Great post to bookmark for my visit…