We had an extended layover in Seattle on our way up to Fairbanks, Alaska and decided to take full advantage of it. We rented a car and headed out to see some sights. We couldn’t have picked a more beautiful day – sunny and warm at 85 degrees!

We stopped first at a park on Angle Lake to see the surrouding mountains.

We drove downtown to find a spot for lunch. Sushi sounded good to us and Japonessa turned out to be a great choice. We loved our rolls and the service was excellent.

The restaurant was ver close to Pike Place Market. The market was different than I had expected – I was envisioning more of a large, open-air feel but it had winding hallways on multiple levels filled with stalls and shops selling everything from dried lavender to magic props.

I picked up a bag of locally made tea and Sean purchased a special deck of cards for one of his magic tricks. 

We watched the guys throw fish at the Pike Place Fish Co. After seeing it many times on TV and in the movies, it was very cool to see it in real life. 

What you can’t see happpening in the picture is the guy behind the counter pulling the string attached to the monkfish to make it move. Sean was a little freaked out and it was hilarious.

We strolled along the water and then sat on a park bench and people-watched for quite awhile. Lots and lots of interesting people wandered by. 

We walked about 30 minutes over to the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit. I’ve been a fan of Dale Chihuly since the first time I saw his work, which was a stunning glass sculpture suspended from the ceiling of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. His work is everywhere, but often in small pieces. There are a few at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, for example. I knew this exhibit existed and put it on my bucket list – I wanted to see as much of his stunning blown-glass art in one place as I could!

Sean wasn’t familiar with his work at all, but you don’t need to be in order to be awed, amazed and inspired by the beauty, skill, talent, vision, difficulty and creativity of his work. It is truly one-of-a-kind. 

All of this beautilful glass was in the ceiling – it was like walking in a tropical rainforest infused with rainbows. 

Chihuly got the inspiration for this display in boats from his exhibition in Finland, where he tossed piece after piece of his work into a river to see how the light and water movement reflected off of the glass. Kids were coming by in rowboats and picking up the art pieces. 

I’m going to borrow this description for the glasshouse from the site:

The centerpiece of Chihuly Garden and Glass is the Glasshouse. A 40-foot tall, glass and steel structure covering 4,500 square feet of light-filled space, the Glasshouse is the result of Chihuly’s lifelong appreciation for conservatories. The installation in the Glasshouse is an expansive 100-foot long sculpture in a color palette of reds, oranges, yellows and amber. Made of many individual elements, it is one of Chihuly’s largest suspended sculptures. The perception of the artwork varies greatly with natural light and as the day fades into night.

It was so beautiful to see and as lovely as the pictures are, they simply do not do it justice. I would have loved to have seen it at night, as well. Maybe next time!

The garden display was more like the usual way I experience Chihuly’s work – beautiful blown-glass pieces woven into natural beauty, open to the viewers interpretation.

We spent a long time at the exhibit and really took our time, even staying to watch some short documentaries in the theater room. Each room, each display was more magical than the next. I am so, so glad I was able to do this! (You can see more photos from the exhibit in the gallery at the bottom of the post.)

Our next stop was the Space Needle, since it was right next door to the exhibit and since it was a beautiful, clear day to experience the views from the top.

The juxtaposition of the city on the bay, with the mountains all around was stunning. What a lovely city. 

We took an Uber over to Elysian Bar to sample some awesome craft beer and grab a snack before heading back to the airport for our night flight to Fairbanks. Hands down, this was the best layover ever! 🙂

And Fairbanks did not disappoint. Check out Part 1 here.