CA to WA: August 2013

For those readers who may not know, I am a Yelp Elite member. That means I get to attend free events! Most of the time, the events focus around food because as a general rule, people love food. Since I've been to events in LA and Orange County, it was only fitting that I attend an event in Seattle...at an improve theatre...near the famous Pike Place Market!

Here I'm on a bridge that leads from the parking lot to Pike Place Market (which is to the left of this picture).

View from that same bridge, except this time I'm facing North. That means Pike Place Market is now to my right.

On 7/19/13 (I'm so far behind in my blogging that I have to remind myself which part of my trip I'm writing about!), after I found parking, which included a wrong turn into the pedestrian-filled Pike Place Market, I had some time to kill before my event started. I did what anyone in my position would do - walk to the Seattle Waterfront:

It's not official unless you have a picture.

...and look at the Great Wheel.

Some breathtaking views of the waterfront skyline (and the smog-free sky).

The usual: Polina's pointless panoramic attempts.

Alas, time for my event! The improv theatre was located by the famous Gum Wall (which I came back to revisit the following day) in an alley.

Here's an inside look at a Yelp event:

Free adult drinks, popcorn, and Yelp swag.

Late night event = night view of the Needle!

Next day, I was back in Seattle, this time set on actually visiting Pike Place Market, not just passing by it.

It's a very crowded place!!

The guys who throw the fish!

I took a picture of what I thought was the first Starbucks. It's not. I was a couple blocks off. Oh well! Seeing the first Starbucks isn't going to change my life. I'll try again next time.

Didn't I tell you I was going to come back to the Gum Wall?!?!

All that gum!

That's my bright blue gum in the center!

Leaving his gum mark.

According to his argument, I didn't actually leave my gum on the wall, since I stuck it on an existing layer of gum.

Fascinated yet?

The Gum Wall is one of the top 5 germiest tourist attractions.

Some facts on the Gum Wall:

parts of the wall are covered several inches thick
the tradition began in 1993 when visitors of Unexpected Productions (the improv theatre that I visited during my Yelp Event) stuck gum to the wall.
Market officials deemed the Gum Wall a tourist attraction around 1999.
it is a popular site with wedding photographers
A scene for the 2009 Jennifer Aniston film Love Happens was shot at the wall in 2008.

Random pig near the market.

All the walking made me hungry. I already tried Russian food from Kaleenka, which I discovered at the Taste of Tacoma. It was only fitting that I try Piroshky, Piroshky. The verdict? Kaleenka wins!

With a Beef and cheese piroshky, Moscow roll, Marionberry Vartrushka, Bavarian Sausage and Smoked Salmon Pate in hand, it was only right that I take advantage of the weather and location in the form of a brief Picnic overlooking the water.