SpeedNoodles 1,073 Report post Posted June 23 Ok, finally finding a little time to hook up the keyboard to the iPad and update! Days 1 and 2 - pre cruise: We flew out of Terminal 2 at the Mpls/St Paul area on Wednesday afternoon - my husband is terrified of flying, but we had a very smooth flight and his drugs lasted almost long enough. We’ll have to get another dose into him before landing next time - landing is not his favorite part of the flight! We grabbed an Uber from SeaTac and scored a very entertaining Uber driver for the drive to our hotel. We stayed at The Inn at El Gaucho in Belltown on 1st Avenue. I’ll add some photos in a bit (they are on my phone, I have to add them separately). It was nothing short of wonderful. It’s a small, 17-room, boutique hotel with a very laid-back, friendly atmosphere. The only drawback that I could see is that if you cannot navigate two flights of stairs it’s not for you, as there is no elevator (there is a luggage elevator but it can hold no passengers. Even the staff just loads the luggage on and walks down the stairs to meet the elevator). The evening front desk maven is Lee (fondly known by those who stay frequently/live there as Mama Lee). She is a wealth of information, and extremely welcoming. Each night in the beautiful lobby they have complimentary wine, which we took full advantage of. We will likely not consider staying anywhere else when we visit Seattle again in the future. It was a reasonably close walk to Pike Place (4-5 blocks, but who’s counting after wine?) On Wednesday night (after some wine, of course) we walked 2 blocks away and had dinner at Kaarage Satsuma - Mr SpeedNoodles had Kaarage Chcken and Setsuna fries - I had ramen. Everything was pretty amazing, at a good price, and filling. We then walked down to The Crocodile (home of grunge) where we had tickets to see Har Mar Superstar. As a side note, Har Mar Superstar originated in the Twin Cities and performed in his home town of Owatonna a week before we sailed, which is very close to our house, but we decided to just see him in Seattle. Prom Queen opened for him, and she was fabulous. On Thursday we got up and walked down to Pike Place Market, had some breakfast, then walked down and jumped on an Argosy Locks Tour cruise. It leaves out of the area next to the big Ferris wheel, goes north and takes you through the locks and Lake Union. I highly recommend this tour as well - it was the second time we’ve done it and it’s always enjoyable and informative. We had some drinks and appetizers at Pike Brewery, did a little shopping (Metzger’s Maps, The Purple Store, and Robot Sloth were of particular interest to me), went back for happy hour and then just had dinner in the El Gaucho restaurant below the hotel, then turned in for the night. The Inn at El Gaucho : "Wine" lobby Kaarage Satsuma: Karaage Chicken: Ramen: Plate that I wanted to steal, but didn't. 8 3 Skigoofy, Lovetocruise2002, WAAAYTOOO and 8 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WAAAYTOOO 4,645 Report post Posted June 23 I love the kitty plate !! 2 mom2mybugs and SpeedNoodles reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaymac Radio 440 Report post Posted June 23 Great Blog So Far!! 1 SpeedNoodles reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLMoran 3,647 Report post Posted June 23 OK, I have to know -- what kind of ramen?!? Tonkotsu? 😋 Starting to finally have some decent ramen options in NJ, but only decent... 1 SpeedNoodles reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedNoodles 1,073 Report post Posted June 23 1 hour ago, JLMoran said: OK, I have to know -- what kind of ramen?!? Tonkotsu? 😋 Starting to finally have some decent ramen options in NJ, but only decent... They didn't specify, and I'm more into pho than Ramen, so I'm not sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,611 Report post Posted June 23 So excited to read your blog! The hotel sounds wonderful! Congrats on the wedding anniversary and bday!!!! Jane 1 SpeedNoodles reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eliza 0 Report post Posted June 30 Following along - appreciate the suggestions of things to do in Seattle. Doing an Ovation Alaska cruise in September and eagerly enjoying all the early reviews. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sweety 1,125 Report post Posted June 30 Following. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sweety 1,125 Report post Posted July 18 How did you like the cruise? I am taking my parents. My parents love Anthem so this was an easy choice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
