Tagged With "Seattle Center"
Reply
Re: Planning a Road Trip
That's an interesting tripod, TravelandNature, but you won't catch me on anything that potentially could launch me as a projectile at 60 mph. And, unless you're very macho, you'll not enjoy yourself in bad weather. So if you want to walk on the wild side, rent a convertible, or buy an older one, drive it for a month and sell it in Seattle (not exactly a city for convertibles, except on rare days). Regarding on where to go and how to plan the trip, I'd make a point of going by my local AAA...
Reply
Re: Planning a Road Trip
That is a very good suggestion to think in terms of planning your trip as a connection of national (and state !) parks. The parks tend to be, by definition, in the scenic places, which are along the scenic drives. What a coincidence ! How handy ! The champions of finding scenic drives off of the interstates and shunways are the RVers. Check the sites used by RVers for ideas. Here is a good one: http://drivecrosscountry.net/T...r/Trip_Planning.html
Reply
Re: Planning a Road Trip
Hey, guys...thanks for a bunch of good ideas! I think the 3-wheel bike is not for me, but the idea of buying an old ragtop and then selling it appeals to me. Not even sure I'll need a car living in Seattle, but don't know yet (job is near the waterfront, but don't know where I can afford to live!) National Parks idea sounds really good to me...I've loved the ones I've been to before. Shunpiking? I didn't make that up! This is from Merriam Webster:
Comment
Re: Rogers Center, Toronto, Canada. Where Gumbo was #56
As I travel, I pay a lot of attention to statuary (there's so much!), but it's always special when it manages not only to tell a story, but to give you a little lift, a little laugh. Your samples from the Rogers Center are great! PS...for anyone with a taste for more semi-comic statues, we had a piece here on Gumbo last October: Laughter Set in Stone: Fun With Statues ...
Comment
Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
My home city! Thanks for featuring this. I love going to the market. Besides all the food and stuff, there's a lot of people selling their handicrafts. Some beautiful things!
Comment
Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
My mouth is watering looking at all of this good stuff!!!! The produce and seafood at the market are the best anywhere! You pay for it, but the quality if definitely there! Thanks for the nice photoessay, PHeymont.
Comment
Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
Great article PH! Very interesting, especially the historical aspect of the location. Markets are fascinating places, no matter what city they are in. Lots of characters, different stalls and of course the mouth watering delights you can come across. Your pictures had me salivating and made my stomach rumble. I could almost smell the produce!
Comment
Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
I wish I had some good pictures of the crafts workers there—some are at a very high level! My wife is an addict of fascinating glass earrings made by one woman there...she has several pair (and the interesting thing is that each pair is two earrings that match in feel but are not identical!)
Comment
Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
Absolutely fascinating PHeymont !! I keep going back to the Amish Markets near Lancaster PA. As a Brit tourist I don't recognise half the food on sale there. So I enjoy the samples ! Amazing colours and smells of freshly produced local food ! I could do to a tour and just include markets !
Comment
Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
A few photos of some of the crafts for sale at Pike Place Market....
Comment
Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
GarryRF... I should have mentioned Lancaster...it is possibly the oldest continuous in the U.S. I'm glad you enjoy finding the exotic-to-you, routine-to-us items, because that's what I love to do when I travel (it's one of the blessings of renting apartments: you can cook as well as look!) Of course, occasionally reading gives me a clue in advance; Agatha Christie taught me ahead of time what a "vegetable marrow" is...
Comment
Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
I also like the Reading terminal Market in Philadelphia. It is about 1/3 the size of Pike and has a higher proportion of prepared food. But it is a great place for lunch if you are in downtown Philly.
Comment
Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
Originally Posted by Jonathan L: I also like the Reading terminal Market in Philadelphia. It is about 1/3 the size of Pike and has a higher proportion of prepared food. But it is a great place for lunch if you are in downtown Philly. Yes, that is a great market, Jonathan! An old market but with great food! I lunched there every day while attending a meeting in Philly.
Comment
Re: The Petite Ceinture, Paris: Where Gumbo Was (#71)
In an e-mail, Jonathan L provides an update—a happy one—on the Gare Ornano. It appears that about a year after I took my pictures, the station was sold, the KFC is gone, and a new cafe+recycling center has renovated the station; a picture below shows a view of the rear very different from the one below the KFC picture above. The site now also hosts food trucks! Thanks to Jonathan L for finding the followup, which can be found at http://www.larecyclerie.com/ It's in French, but if that's a...
Comment
Re: Visiting John Steinbeck country. 2) Salinas: the National Steinbeck Center
DrFumblefinger- A wonderful presentation on the the National Steinbeck Center.I felt like I went along! It really seems that the Center does a excellent job of informing us on the life of John Steinbeck!
Comment
Re: Finding Reiner #3: Inside Old Shadows
Mac-TG Guru--Fascinating story, yours. Your parents' romance reminds me of such fictional stories in the British series Foyle's War . Have you seen that? The show highlights romance between German POWs and English farm girls. I would love to know more of your father's history. I also wish I could interview your father or find other elderly residents who remember life here during the war. So much better when it comes from a resident than from a historian who was not here then. How long were...
Comment
Re: Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, August 29, 2014: Postcards from Greece - The Portara on Naxos
I stayed once for a week on Naxos and the window of my room on the hill in the center of this picture had exactly the opposite view, this structure from a distance. I remember the guesthouse and the island fondly and could happily stay there for some time. An unpretentious and friendly place.
Comment
Re: Where Gumbo Was #15. Seattle's Space Needle, enjoying the view of Puget Sound
Sure fooled me! I've been in parks bordered by high-rises where you'd never guess you weren't way out in the woods...but this is astounding!
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 14, 2014: Passing by America, 1969
DrF...Pennsylvania is well worth exploring, with its tremendous variation between the coastal plain, the Alleghenies stretching in bands across much of the center, lush rural areas to the south, hardscrabble mining and forests in the northeast...and more. An interesting thought: rural locations are sometimes hard to place, because although what is common in one area may still exist, even if less usual, in another. Absent something like the lavender of Provence in bloom...sometimes it's...
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 30, 2014: The Hotel Pool, Cambodia
The near-symmetry of the image and the lush color tempt me to jump in...but only exactly at the center!
Blog Post
A tropical oasis: Wahiawa Botanical Garden, Oahu
I'm fond of exploring parks and libraries in the cities I visit, for different reasons. Libraries are fun because I love and collect books, and because the quality of a city's libraries tells me a lot about that city's priorities. ...
Blog Post
Visiting historic Skagway, Alaska
Skagway, Alaska owes its existence to the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1800s. There were three main routes to the Klondike. One route was across Alaska. A second was the all-Canadian route starting at Edmonton and...
Blog Post
Charleston's Grand Mansions: Drayton Hall
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
Blog Post
Charleston's Grand Mansions: Joseph Manigault House
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
Blog Post
Charleston's Grand Mansions: Middleton Place
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
Blog Post
A Day in Chartres
If you’re looking for a nice escape from the crowds and chaos of Paris, consider heading to the small city of Chartres for a day or two. Situated 60 miles (96 km) southwest of Paris, just an hour’s train ride from the...
Blog Post
Devils Tower National Monument
Devils Tower is an igneous intrusion or laccolith in the Bear Lodge Mountains (part of the Black Hills) in northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises dramatically 1,267 feet (386 m) above the surrounding terrain and...
Blog Post
Memphis, Tennessee 3) The rest of the city
There’s a lot more to Memphis than Graceland, although Graceland is by far the city’s most popular attraction (which I’ve previously discussed here ). A city of about 650,000, Memphis has a...
Blog Post
Tupelo, Mississippi. Birthplace of the King of Rock 'n Roll
This is the first post in a short series on visiting Elvis Presley related sites. I've been a huge Elvis fan all my life and my love for the man's wonderful music has not abated in the 35+ years since he died. My brother (Ottoman) and I...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 13, 2014: Gödöllő
The Royal Palace of Gödöllő sits on the outskirts of Budapest and it was there I was taken one day by streetcar from the center of the city by dear friend, Zoli. A serious photographer with a wonderful eye, he and I walked all...
Blog Post
Charleston's Grand Mansions: Aiken-Rhett House
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
Blog Post
Charleston and its Single Houses: Where Gumbo Was #79
TravelGumbo member Club2013, by e-mail, was the only one to correctly place Gumbo’s secret destination: Charleston, SC. He found the special characteristics in an almost generic “old town” streetscape, and hit the nail on the head....
Blog Post
Visiting Versailles
Among the many wonderful palaces of Europe, Versailles is said to be the greatest and grandest of them all. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and is on almost every traveler’s list of “must see”...
Blog Post
The Medieval Fortress and Town of Chinon
There are few places in France of greater historic importance than Chinon. You wouldn’t know that by what you see when you drive thru it today as it seems a small sleepy rural town. You’ll see little evidence of...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 25, 2014: Macy's Christmas Tree, Union Square, San Francisco
A few years ago I had the pleasure of visiting San Francisco. I had visited this city a few times before, but this was the first time I was there at Christmas time. San Francisco is a beautiful city throughout the year, but...
Blog Post
The Bear Blog
I had a hunch when Shelly and I were planning our 59 National Park in 59 weeks tour that wildlife would be center stage. I knew that the buffalo would roam in Yellowstone, that the tropical fish would dance...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 3, 2013: Brandenburg Gate
Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate is surely one of the world’s most-recognized landmarks, and symbolizes Berlin in the way the Eiffel Tower means Paris and the Parthenon means Athens. It’s been the ceremonial center for marches and...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 27: Paris's Stravinsky Fountain
The Stravinsky Fountain, its figures inspired by Stravinsky’s music (and especially the Rites of Spring), is one of my favorite places in Paris to sit and watch people, especially children. It’s sandwiched into a plaza between the Pompidou...
Blog Post
Ottawa – NOT the coldest Capital in the world!
Ottawa is a vibrant and charming small city — so pleasant that it’s hard to believe it’s home to soooo many politicians. Of the national capitals I've visited, Ottawa seems the most livable to me (ie. if...
Blog Post
Newgrange; Ireland’s ancient Passage Tomb
Newgrange is the oldest structure I've ever visited. It was built over 5,000 years ago (about 3,200 B.C.) during the Neolithic era, before even Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid of Giza. It’s obvious that Newgrange was...
Blog Post
The Valley Island of Maui: 3) Central, Upcountry and South Maui
The largest stretch of (relatively) flat land on Maui is the valley between the two volcanoes, Haleakala and the West Maui Mountains. This area is commonly called “Central Maui” and it’s here most locals live....
Blog Post
Montreal: Je Me Souviens
There are many great cities to visit in Canada, two of my favorites (for different reasons) being Vancouver and Montreal. Vancouver has one of the most breath-takingly beautiful settings of any city in the world, and I’ll be discussing it...
Blog Post
Quebec — A Walled European Fortress In America
Quebec, like New York, is both a city and a state (or rather, a province). It’s an island of French heritage and culture within our Anglo-North American continent. We combined this visit with stops in Montreal and...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov 6, 2013: The Brooklyn Museum...and Neighbors
Here’s the Brooklyn Museum, in a night view that has the dramatic lighting of a linen-era postcard. The museum is a world-class collection that doesn't get noticed as much as it should because it lives in the shadow of Manhattan’s...
Blog Post
Walla, Walla: “So nice they named it twice!”
What’s a Walla Walla? It’s a Indian name meaning “many waters”. It’s also the name of a charming city in southeastern Washington; nestled close to the Columbia and Snake River valleys, and with a river of its...
Blog Post
Verona: More than Romeo & Juliet
Verona from the hills, looking toward St. Anastasia and the Ponte Pietra My visit to Verona last summer was almost an accident—but a lucky one. It wasn’t on the original plan for our three weeks in Northern Italy, but online...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 13, 2013: Jeronimos Monastery
Sunlight and shade highlight the complex carving of this stonework at the Monastery of Jeronimos at Belem, in Lisbon. This late-Gothic style is called Manueline, after King Manuel I. It’s marked by ornate stonework, often including maritime...
Blog Post
Dry Falls – Home of The World’s Largest Waterfall!
Imagine a waterfall with a precipice over three and a half miles (5.5 km) long and a drop of over 400 feet (120 m)! By comparison, Niagara Falls is about 1/10th as wide. Think of the millions of gallons of water pouring over it each...
Blog Post
Washington State’s Long Beach Peninsula
For most travelers, the southwestern corner of Washington state is easy to bypass. It lies well over an hour’s drive from the busy I-5 Interstate Freeway. The broad mouth of the Columbia River limits access from the Oregon...
Blog Post
Chicago — City of Skyscrapers & Cloud Gate
Like the monolith in Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke’s monumental film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, “Cloud Gate” looks like an alien object dropped onto a terrestrial landscape (not the African Savannah, but rather into...