It’s easy to get swept up in your routine, walking your dog to the same park, frequenting the same coffee shops or neighborhood restaurants. With the freshness of the new year - get out of your rut and explore as if you were a tourist. It’s enlightening, good for your brain and more importantly, reinvigorates the reason you live where you live!
Start your day with a visit to MoPOP (@mopopseattle). Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture houses 3-4 new exhibitions each year and is a great way to further explore your city from a cultural perspective – be that music and alternative art. Before you venture inside, be sure to walk around this Frank Gehry designed masterpiece. The metal curves and shimmering light define the exterior walls. Truly magical architecture. (We have a penchant for Gehry’s work with the inclusion of MIT’s Stata Center in Colorful Boston.) Before you jump on the Monorail don’t forget to look up, as the Space Needle is just next door to MoPOP.
Most Seattleites think Pike Place Market is too touristy to bother. We agree, fish throwing is quite gimmicky. However, we completely disagree when you consider the wide assortment of quality food shopping. Three favorite must stops: Pure Food Fish Market – best, freshest halibut and seasonal salmon selections. Squid too. DeLaurenti, the Italian grocer, with the best assortment of canned anchovies and sardines plus fresh pasta by the pound behind the deli counter (you have to know to ask for it). Across the street (1st and Pike) is Pike Place Flowers with their gorgeous assortment, decent prices, and convenient location. These three are only the tip of the possible food shopping explorations!
The Great Wheel on Seattle’s waterfront, is another treat that offers a fresh set of eyes on our home port and regional islands and is less than a 5-minute walk from Pike Place. A spin on the West Coast’s tallest Ferris wheel – regardless of the weather or time of day - makes for an awe-inspiring moment to be present in Seattle.
Happy Exploring!
