Pacific Northwest Aug 2019 - Day 14 Seattle: Mpop,Space Needle and Queen Anne

[katiebaz]

We woke up to the great news that Daniel had got a 6 in his GCSE Citizenship. We all celebrated with breakfast waffles and cake - what better way is there? Steve also indulged in the bizarre eggs and gravy but Dan and I decided not to join him.

We then packed up, said goodbye to the friendly owner and hit the road, headed for Seattle which was our destination for the next couple of days. The drive was easy and we arrived at our Air B&B in the Queen Anne area by 10am. Our plan was to leave the car and head into Seattle and I contacted the owners to check that would be okay. They replied straight away that we were welcome to check in as nobody had stayed the previous night and gave us the code to the door. A great result, and we were impressed with our small but well equipped 2 bedroom apartment. We got unpacked, had a cup of tea and then headed to the bus stop right outside to get the bus into downtown Seattle. The bus system is extensive and easy to use so it was nice to leave the car for a couple of days and not have to find parking in a busy city etc.

The bus soon arrived and it took about 15 mins to get to the Space Needle. We took some pictures of the famous landmark but had already decided before that we weren’t bothered about going up to the top. Instead, our interest was in the Museum of Popular Culture aka MPop. We all love our music and Daniel is a keen guitarist and studying music so this was somewhere we were all looking forward to. It is huge and we really enjoyed wondering the exhibitions on Jimi Hendrix, Prince etc as well as admiring the guitars of various musicians such as Eric Clapton and Dave Grohl. The centre piece of the museum is a giant guitar and musical instrument sculpture which we marvelled at from several angles. Being a big grunge fan back in the 90s, I really loved the Nirvana exhibition, especially tour schedule which mentioned a little known venue, Edwards Number 8 in Birmingham, which was a gig I was at.

One of the highlights of the museum are the sound labs where you can play various instruments. These were busy but we managed to snag a studio where Daniel impressed with his playing whilst Steve and I attempted to make our bass and drum accompaniments sound like music and not just a random collection of notes.

We then realised we were starving so headed across the road to McDonalds. After filling up on burgers and fries we headed back to the museum and this time checked out the horror exhibition before heading back to the sound lab for Daniel to play more music – he was really missing his guitar back home.

After a walk around the plaza surrounding the Space Needle we caught the bus back to our apartment and had a wonder around the local area we were staying in. Queen Anne is really laid back and a bit hipster with a very friendly vibe. We called in a shop selling healthy ready meals and were ambushed by a lovely if over enthusiastic owner who made us try some of the dishes which were indeed very tasty. We ended up buying some of the curries for dinner.

We chilled out for a while at the apartment before walking the 15 minutes to Kerry Park which gives a superb view of the city. On the way back we called in Molly Moos, an ice cream shop recommended by our Air B&B hosts and it didn’t disappoint and we especially liked the sign which said there was no need to tip staff as they paid them a living wage.

This area had a really friendly hippy vibe and everyone we saw on our walk back seemed very happy and smiley - although as weed is legal in Washington State, perhaps this could be the reason why?

That night we enjoyed our delicious curries and sat on our porch with a beer as the sun went down, reflecting on a very enjoyable day.

[CrispyA]

Ahh, the memories of Edwards No 8 . . . The museum sounds fun and you all must have been in your element with the guitars and the chance to play. Your apartment sounds good as well and a nice neighbourhood- it’s a good way to experience a city

[katiebaz]

Originally Posted by CrispyA

Ahh, the memories of Edwards No 8 . . . The museum sounds fun and you all must have been in your element with the guitars and the chance to play. Your apartment sounds good as well and a nice neighbourhood- it’s a good way to experience a city

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The museum was really worth a visit and our first Air B&B was a great way to see Seattle and we will definitely use them again.

[smithlane]

What a great day. The museum sounds really interesting and your apartment perfect with great views of the city nearby

[katiebaz]

Originally Posted by smithlane

What a great day. The museum sounds really interesting and your apartment perfect with great views of the city nearby

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The museum was fabulous and we were really pleased with our apartment especially as it wa our first Air B&B experience.

[Sparksy72]

What a fab museum, even better that you managed to get your own sound lab and were able to make your own music. It makes me happy to hear that there are businesses that pay their staff appropriately - must have made that ice cream even sweeter! Fab views from your Air B and B too.

[katiebaz]

Originally Posted by Sparksy72

What a fab museum, even better that you managed to get your own sound lab and were able to make your own music. It makes me happy to hear that there are businesses that pay their staff appropriately - must have made that ice cream even sweeter! Fab views from your Air B and B too.

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It was lovely to see such a sign and do wish that more business in the US would do the same.