Seattle on the Last Day of 2012
Marc and I woke up very early Dec. 31st in Vancouver, British Columbia to catch our bus headed for Seattle, Washington in the US. Just like our trip going to Canada, we had to take the bus once again since the mudslides that prevented the trains from traveling to Canada a week earlier had yet to be cleared.
It had been 18 long years since I went through the US-Canadian border in the West Coast and from what I remember, the US Customs and Immigration officers here were some of the nastiest people I have ever encountered in all my travels. It was a good thing the staff there now were better than my first experience.
We had a whole day to spend before our flight back to San Francisco on Dec. 31, 2012. We had just spent an entire week in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for our Christmas 2012 vacation prior to this day in Seattle. Although Christmas Day had already passed, the decorations were still up and they where going to stay up at least until after the first week of January of the following year. Marc and I had visited the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle's downtown a few times before and we were eager to see how the hotel was dolled up for the holidays. I must say, I loved how it looked.
A gigantic flower pot sculpture on the street corner right in front of the Sheraton Hotel in Seattle
For me, this flower pot is more a Spring decoration. Anyway, it was a nice sight to behold in very cold Seattle right in the middle of the city's freezing winter.
Fairmont Olympic Hotel Seattle
A miniature chocolate Ferris Wheel enclosed in a glass case inside the lobby of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel Seattle
This is how the lobby of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel looked during the holidays. Aint' it grand?
The decor seemed minimal but very elegant. It had the feel of Old England.
Marc and I walked around the hotel and up the different floors looking for the best angles from which to take pictures.
A giant nutcracker inside the Pacific Plaza Mall in downtown Seattle
From the prestigious Fairmont Olympic Hotel, we proceeded to the Pacific Plaza Mall with the idea of having clam chowder for lunch at one of the mall's restaurants on the third floor. Although San Francisco is famous for its clam chowder, I say the very best chowder I have ever tasted is in Rhode Island and Seattle.
Pacific Plaza Mall, Christmas, Seattle, 2012
I just loved the way the escalators criss cross each other. Very geometric, don't you think?
Nutcrackers seemed to be the favorite decor of the mall decorators this year. I am not sure if they are simply recycled year after year but they sure are cute. Here's another Christmas Nutcracker inside the Pacific Plaza Mall
Another view of the Pacific Plaza Mall at Christmas
Pike Place Market, our favorite chowder place in Seattle inside the Pacific Plaza Mall
I have two favorite restaurants for eating clam chowder in Seattle. The Pike Place Market on the third floor of the Pacific Plaza Mall and the other one is Ivar's. Should you run out of time and not get to visit the latter in downtown Seattle, there is one in the airport as well.