Leave the car at home, plan for two nights away and kick the new spring season off with a fun, do-able getaway, focusing on the arts in Seattle, Wash.
Nothing puts a damper on the excitement of a weekend away quite like long border lineups. Skip them this trip, by hopping aboard the 6:40 a.m. Amtrak Cascades train from Vancouver to Seattle — it’s affordable, fast (about a four-hour journey), and you can use the time to grab a few extra zzz’s, or catch up on emails with free Wi-Fi. Customs officers hop on board at the U.S. border, check passports, collect customs forms — and you’re done! You’re chugging back along that fast track to fun-town.
Here are a few suggestions easily enjoyed in just two days.
The trip will put you at the Seattle train station around 11 a.m., just a few blocks away from the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Check in and leave your bags with the bell desk until your room is ready. Rather than wait in the lobby until that time, hit the city for some sightseeing.
Westlake Centre is few walkable blocks away. Hop on the iconic monorail to the Seattle Centre and Space Needle, especially if you’ve never done so before.
Right next-door is Chihuly Garden and Glass, opened in 2012, which is an absolute must-visit. Best deal is the Weekend Brunch Package, which includes admission to the gorgeous indoor and outdoor, spectacular blown-glass exhibits and a prix-fixe brunch menu in the Collections Café for $40, plus tax and gratuity. Enjoy the salmon benedict on rosti or get all-American and try the shrimp and grits. Collections Café is a mini-gallery in itself with Dale Chihuly’s personal collections of quirky collectables, including a wall of vintage Bakelite clocks and tables with window boxes filled with retro tin toys.
At the Seattle Art Museum, until May 18, check out Miró: The Experience of Seeing exhibit. Some 50 works from the 20th century surrealist are on display, created during the last 20 years of his life between 1963 and 1983.
The EMP Museum is featuring Block By Block: Inventing Amazing Architecture until April 20. The exhibit features 10 notable architectural feats from across the globe constructed entirely of Lego bricks by artist Dan Parker. Seattle’s Space Needle, London’s 30 St. Mary Axe, and the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, are just some of the replications, each between five to nine-feet tall.
Time to refuel? Definitely do dinner at Ballard Annex Oyster House, in the Ballard district, but get there in time to stroll the streets a bit first, since this hipster ‘hood is worth a peek.
Once seated in this funky eatery, be sure and sample the absolute freshest oysters and something from the steam bar. Old school classic dishes like the Crab Louise salad and Oysters Rockefeller show clearly that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Theatre buff? Book your tickets in advance for anything playing at the Fifth Avenue Theater — a Broadway-style Grande dame of a playhouse built in 1926. A Room With a View starts on April 15.
Next weekend, March 29 and 30, check out Taste Washington, the largest single-region wine and food event in America, giving you access to more than 225 Washington state wineries and 65 restaurants.
Now in its 17th year and partnering with more than a dozen Seattle hotels offering exclusive packages for the two-day event.
