CSSI Day 7: Seattle Saturday!

Today was a much-anticipated break from our week of learning, as we took in the sights that downtown Seattle had to offer. Our main planned events for the day were a "Ride the Ducks" tour and a scavenger hunt, but after taking a shuttle downtown we first had some free time to explore the city on our own. 

Our group decided to check out Pike Place Market first, one of Seattle's most diverse and culturally interesting attractions. Although I'd already been to the market last year, it was really nice to re-visit the place and experience the lively atmosphere once more. Pike Place Market houses a mecca of locally-grown produce and homemade foods, in addition to a wide variety of Seattle's finest seafood. Of course, the first ever Starbucks restaurant may be the most widely visited attraction there, there are plenty of fantastic things to see and taste, including mini cheesecakes, French macarons, infused oils and balsamic vinegars, and fruit ciders. As we made our way around the market, we caught a fish-throwing performance and some music by local street performers. As Seafair (a festival to celebrate Seattle at the "boating capital of the world") was happening this weekend, we watched as military planes soared over the skies, a perfect addition to Seattle's sights.

Posing in front of Pike Place Market!

 Wide assortment of food at the market.

The first ever Starbucks! 

Fresh dungeness crab!

After a few hours, we all met up to take a "Ride the Ducks" tour on a boat-shaped vehicle that turned into a boat in the water. The Duck took us around Seattle neighbourhoods as the captain explained a little bit of the city's history (and pointed out a million other Starbucks coffee shops). The highlight of the tour was when we drove into Lake Union and got to drink in the sights of the lakefront; many houseboats and floating houses lined the edges of the lake, including a famous one that appeared in Sleepless in Seattle. The captain explained that the houses were some of the most expensive real estate, for the government limited the number of houses that can be built there to protect the waters from pollution. Because I'd been living in a landlocked for a few years, it was refreshing to be on the water again. Of course, we also passed by Seattle Centre (home of the Space Needle), and drove along the harbour to take in the sights of the piers.

View from inside the "Ride the Duck" tour.

Seattle skyline, as seen from Lake Union.

Space Needle!

Floating houses along the lakeside.

Houseboat driving along the lake!

After disembarking from the Duck tour, we dove straight into our second event of the day - the Seattle scavenger hunt! As an avid fan of the show The Amazing Race, I couldn't have been more excited. Our task was a photo hunt, where we had to decipher clues to places and then go there to take a picture. My team was full of other excited and competitive people, so we quickly worked on figuring out the places and then plotting out a route on a map. For two and a half hours, we ran around the downtown area to capture the places that the clues led to; because the hunt locations spanned a wide area, it was difficult to determine which places we had to sacrifice in order to make it back to the meeting spot in time. In the end, we were exhausted but also very content with our effort. The winners will be announced Monday or Tuesday... I think that our team has a great shot!

All in all, "Seattle Saturday" as I like to call it, was a fun day loaded with activities to better see the city. Throughout the day, I was constantly amazed by the beautiful architecture around the downtown core, as well as many art pieces that were scattered around the area. Whether re-living places where I'd visited a year earlier or taking in new sights, this experience was definitely different from my previous trip, in a very satisfying way. I had a lot of fun walking around the city with everyone; tomorrow we have a whole day to ourselves, so I'm looking forward to delving deeper into downtown Seattle!