The Pike Place Market

Are you guys ready?! To go...

??

I know, I'm so clever. Pretty sure that exact same joke has been made with this exact same picture at least 421534 times in Internet history. Whomp.

But seriously, Pike Place Market is one of the most famous Seattle landmarks, and one of my favorites, because every time you go there you find something new! It's a collection of buildings built into a hill with a view of Puget Sound, and there are many vendors, seasonal stands, and permanent shops and restaurants packed into the nine acres of the market. The top level or two is usually really crowded with tourists, but once you go down further it clears out and you start to find some of the really weird shops. The only way I can think of to describe the lower levels of the Pike Place Market is as a rabbit warren...cramped, slightly dark, and totally confusing. But I'm going to start up top.

The famous flying fish stand

If you've ever heard of the Pike Place Market, you've probably heard about the flying fish stand. There are many fish and seafood stands in the market, but the one right by the main entrance is the one where the employees toss the fish around. On a nice day it's impossible to walk through here because there are so many tourists standing around hoping they will throw the fish. I gave up on getting a picture of that after about two minutes and moved on to check out some of the other things on the first level.

Like the flowers! Pike Place always has GORGEOUS bouquets for cheap. Yep, those are $5 and $10 bouquets you're looking at right there. And then there are many vendors selling variously tacky or awesome Pacific Northwest art, jewelery, tshirts, stuffed animals, etc...here are some highly tacky but colorful Native American designs!

In addition to all the daily vendors, there are permanent restaurants, like the Pike Brewery and its accompanying pub (on the floor underneath all this brewing equipment).

Mmm...beer...

And my personal favorite, the amazing crepe shop.

And oh yeah, some of the restaurants have views like this:

View from Place Pigalle, an uber-French restaurant (hope you like rare food)

When you go down to the lower levels, where you find dusty old treasures that have entertained many generations of kids, myself included. The Magic Shop was always a necessary stop when I was younger, as was the store that sold caricature portraits and cardboard cutouts (seriously, there is a whole store that does just that), and the House of Jade, aka the Room Full of Every Little Glass or China Figurine Ever Made. There's also an anarchist bookstore somewhere down there (yeah folks, this is Seattle) and some cool murals by local artists.

Need indelible ink that's been sitting on the shelf for ten years? They've got it

Now I like to look at the antiques stores, the used bookstores, and the Polish Pottery Place. And, true to form, I found something this time that I'd never seen before...

I don't really know what to say about this one. Get some seasonal produce and your teeth pulled, all in one convenient location? Hmm...

Here's one of the buildings across the street from the main market building. I didn't get the chance to run over there, but it's home to the Crumpet Shop and a great used bookstore, among other things.

And right next door is a store that I think you'll recognize...

It's the first Starbucks store! Complete with original signage, two unique individuals playing an accordion/saw duet, and a bajillion tourists. Good luck getting a drink there because you cannot even get in (check out all those peeps waiting in line). Luckily there is another Starbucks just around the corner!

Goodbye, market...I'll be back soon!