The Space Needle in Seattle...

I found it amazing that this building/structure was opened in 1962...it seems so modern.

DH does not like heights but he hoped that he could overcome this fear and travel up to the top of the Space Needle...and he did. Mind you, when he saw that the lift (elevator) goes on the outside of the building he hesitated a bit...

 The place seemed to be jammed packed with other visitiors when we got up to the top and DH took these photos staying well away from the outside area...

But not for long...we both went outside and enjoyed the view...

I took a photo of DH taking photos to prove to DsD3 that her dad had indeed overcome his fear. 

So here are some of the photos that we took that afternoon...

The spider sculpture in the above collage was on the roof of the building adjacent to the tower...a real spider that size would be a bit of a worry!!!

The downtown area...

 The big ferris wheel...

 I had noticed a building on the side of a hill in the distance; using the zoom, we got a good view. Still don't know that the building is though.

 Great 360 degree views...

But maybe you've noticed the haze in some of the photos? The smoke was from the wildfires/bushfires burning in the east of Washington state while we were there (and afterwards too I believe). We couldn't see very far into the distance as a result and missed seeing Mt Rainier. (which I read later is a volcano!) 

   

Now just before we entered the lift that takes you up to the top of the Space Needle, everyone had to stop for a photo. I wasn't impressed as so many tourist places have these almost obligatory photo shoots and then charge $25 or so for the pics...we usually don't buy these. But here at the Space Needle, if you go to one of the computer terminals and type in the number they give you, then an email address they promise to email this photo to you...gratis!!! And they did...cynical Mrs Next Stage was proven wrong! Lol. And look! There's Mt Rainier to the right of us in the background :-)

 As well we had another photo emailed to us. We stood on a 'spot' outside the observation deck and a photo was automatically taken. 

Love it! We'd had a lovely afternoon and instead of catching the monorail, we walked back towards our hotel, stopping for a coffee on the way. It's a beautiful city to stroll around enjoying the lovely gardens, public art and the range of interesting looking buildings. 

A bit more exploring in Seattle...

Although I was only there for a few days (Sat-Mon), I found Seattle to be a charming city with lots to explore. We stayed at a hotel that was close to so many attractions as well as the centre of the city, and walking around was very pleasant. 

In the side street near our hotel, a festival was in full swing on the Sunday to say goodbye to Summer. 

In a previous post I mentioned the cafe next door to the hotel...

The tree lined streets and the gardens added to the charm...

The view, looking the other way from the hotel...towards the centre of the city.

 Similar buses to what we had seen in LA.

We didn't ride in any Seattle buses but we did catch the monorail...here's the sign letting us know that the monorail station is in the building adjacent.

We rode the monorail to the Space Needle, which is a well known landmark (icon really) in Seattle. Being the weekend, there was a bit of a wait to travel up to the observation level of the Space Needle, so we walked around the large parklands that surround it. 

The gardens were beautiful...

 A lovely quote...

Also in these parklands were the Chihuly Gardens; these are filled with fantastic looking glass sculptures of plants...we didn't go into this area but here is a link to visitors' photos of those who did pay to go in and marvel...
DH and I checked out the Sonic Bloom Installation which was also made of glass...these huge glass flowers light up at night due to the stored energy from the solar cells that are incorporated into the sculpture.

After walking around for a while, we found a seat and 'watched the world go by'...(I was also checking the photos I took with my iPad)...but I had this feeling that someone was watching me!

 Someone else was having a 'sit down ' too! lol

Love the 'dog'!
The nearby playground was very busy!

 Looking from an Australian educator aspect I was amazed by a couple of thing...

How high that climbing net went...and not a bit of 'impact absorbing' materials beneath these activity areas in sight. I guess Aussie regulations are a bit different to those in Washington State.
I reckon those adults were having as much fun as the children...maybe more?
Eventually it was finally time to line up, to go up to the Observation deck of the SkyNeedle ...but I'll save all that for another post!