Ed. Note: This is the final post in our six-part series of “Trip Reports” from our recent trip to Seattle, British Columbia and Alaska aboard the Celebrity Solstice. You may also enjoy parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Once we’d disembarked and said goodbye to the Celebrity Solstice, it was a quick cab over to the Hyatt at Olive 8 hotel in downtown Seattle to check in for our post-cruise stay. We had booked the trip with the two free nights available through the Chase Hyatt Visa card, meaning our room (which ordinarily would have run for around $350 or higher) was totally free.
Even better, because I’m a Hyatt Diamond member, we also received a free breakfast credit each morning that covered our coffees and scones at the onsite coffee bar. So all, told, between our flights, pre-cruise hotel, post-cruise hotel, and onboard MLife benefits, we saved roughly $2,200 on the total cost of this vacation through travel hacking.
After dropping off our luggage, we decided to take advantage of the sunny day and headed over to the Washington Park Arboretum. The arboretum was pretty, but many parts were actually under construction, so we tired out after about an hour or so.
The next stop on our agenda was famed food-trailer-turned-greasy-spoon, Skillet. I think I first heard of Skillet years ago on the tv show Eat Street, and with mention of their homemade “bacon jam”, I knew it was my destiny to visit this restaurant. And we were not disappointed. I ordered the “Ultimate Grilled Cheese” with bacon jam, which was tasty, though a little overly-sweet for my tastebuds. The hubby ordered the fried chicken sammy with added bacon, and poutine in place of fries.
The winner of the meal? The poutine. It was totally delicious. Some of the best I’ve ever had.
After lunch, we headed over to the Experience Music Project (EMP) to take a look at some music history. After exploring the history of the guitar, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix exhibits, we headed up to the special traveling exhibit on Star Trek. And man, was the hubby in nerd heaven!
Once we’d finished at the EMP, we headed down to waterfront for happy hour — oyster happy hour, that is. At Elliot’s Oysters, we sampled a dozen local oysters from their impressive selection for only $1.50 an oyster. Not wanting to spoil our dinner, we managed somehow to stop after the first dozen.
And it was good that we did. That night, we dined at Eden Hill Restaurant, and this would immediately become BY FAR the best meal we had this trip. We did a sampling of small plates that were all fantastic.
My favorite was the “crispy pig head candy bar” which was succulent, unctious shredded pig meat stuffed inside some sort of sweet-ish fried dough.
The hubby’s favorite was dessert, a dish called “Lick the Bowl,” came with a sweet and buttery pound cake with a foie gras/cake batter “frosting” that you could spread onto the pound cake. It was then topped with a strawberry syrup and rainbow sprinkles. It was so good, he can’t stop talking about it ever since we got back.
Finally, we ended Friday night with a trip to the Can Can Cabaret in the Pike Place Market. it was a great show, but sadly, pictures weren’t allowed 🙂
The next morning, we awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed for a trip down to Everett, Washington for a tour of the Boeing factory. My aviation-loving hubby thought it was really cool to see where all the big jets were made, and we were able to see 747, 777, and 787 production areas.
After the tour, we headed to the Pike Place market to try to find some lunch, but what we found was a zoo instead. Whether because it was a weekend, or because the sun was out, the market was totally packed and we eventually retreated to a lackluster tourist trap for lunch, before heading back to the hotel to rest a bit.
That afternoon, we decided to check out the Capitol Hill neighborhood and take in the lovely weather at a bar called the Lookout, which indeed offered a great view of downtown Seattle below.
For our final meal of the trip, we met up with some friends at Altura, a small Italian restaurant with a focus on local ingredients. It was also very good, though no particularly standout dishes like at Eden Hill.
Finally, to close out the evening and our trip as a whole, we headed over to the Pacific Science Theater where they were doing a special edition Prince Laser Light Show. It was a fun way to end what had been an incredible trip, and we were very sad to climb on a plane the next morning to head home.
So, that’s it! I hope you enjoyed my series of trip reports from our 2016 Alaska trip, and I look forward to sharing about some of our other upcoming trips soon!
