Sunday, September 15, 2019 - Seattle

We were docked by morning in Seattle.  Keep in mind that there are 4,000 people to get off the ship.  There are a few options: have your luggage sent to the airport and placed on your flight for free; have your luggage transported to your hotel if you booked your hotel through Norwegian; have it brought to the curb for you to pick it up or exit with your own luggage during the earliest of the exit windows.

We made plans with our fellow Oboes to disembark at 7:30 am with our luggage.  We were in long lines but they moved quickly weaving through the ship until you arrived at the customs station.  They hastily checked our passports and we all gathered on the sidewalk.  Dawn and Rick made arrangements for us to take a GMC/Yukon type van to the hotel.  The operator was able to get our entire luggage and all six of us in one trip. 

We dropped off our luggage for storage since rooms aren’t ready at 8:30 am.

Sue had done some research and was pretty sure we would be able to find a bar where we would be able to watch the Patriot’s game that would air at 10 am Pacific Time.  We waited in the lobby for a bit and then headed off to walk to the bar.  It was about a ½ mile away.  We arrived shortly after it opened.  We were able to get seats with a view of the Pat’s game.  Most of the TV’s had the Seahawk’s game playing.  The place was packed by 10 am.

We had some breakfast and the others had some appetizers.  Some wasted no time and had a couple of beers.

Dawn and Rick, as well as Dave and Sue had tickets to a Mariner’s baseball game and caught an Uber to the game at about half-time of the Patriot’s game.  We stayed a bit longer and concluded that they had the game well in hand so we headed back to the hotel.   We were still too early to get in the room so we spent more time in the lobby.

Our room was upgraded to a harbor view as a nice gesture since we had waited so long.  We got to the room in time to see the Bliss headed out on its next cruise.

 

We also had a clear view of the Ferris wheel and Public Market.

We noticed that there was intriguing wallpaper.  It turns out that there are three different types in the hotel.

In this wallpaper the artist's designs reference Pike Place’s basement.  They include a violin and open violin case to reference the street performers, and sea birds.

Pike Place Markets was the inspiration for this paper.  It includes many items found there: produce, seafood, and flowers.

Seattle is known for its street performers, immigrant culture, Native American history, the World’s Fair and more.  Here the artist depicts these forms that are found throughout the city.

               

We had a quiet afternoon in our room until the other’s returned.  Then we walked just down the hill and toured some of the market.  I was most taken with the flowers.  These beautiful bouquets were only $10 each.  If I lived in the area I would have some of these to adorn my apartment often.

We strolled by several restaurants and finally selected an Irish Pub.  I had corned beef and cabbage. It was a nice treat.  I usually only cook this once or twice a year.