Saturday, July 2, 2011

Parades...and Pike Place...

Do you love parades?
We have a few  parades where we live, one is large, the others are small.
Our family attended parades every year when I was young and then we took our children.
Since our offspring have grown and flown the nest we do not attend....

We found ourselves in the middle of a parade in Seattle.


we could watch from our hotel window
which we did for awhile





we were hoping to go to Pike Place Market for another visit
(where there's a will there's a way)
we did manage to cross the parade route 
through the barricades
running quickly across the street 
dodging floats and marching bands




Seafood stall


I didn't know that halibut had cheeks! 


the seafood looks delicious...


flower bouquets 
are plentiful
and their prices are so reasonable
Customs does not allow these to cross the border
so I lingered a little longer and took photos of my favourites.



"stuck on you!"


many people gathered...


cameras flashed


people chewed big wads of gum and then...
you might find this hard to believe but they stuck it on the brick wall!

The Gum Wall
 is very popular
and has made the "to do list" on some travel advisor sites!


as the light grows dim
we dine...

We are at Cutter's 
which is a large restaurant with a fabulous view of Seattle's waterfront


Mr. HB has crab


The Hostess has salmon
and
after some more walking...


this wee balloon flower lay abandoned on the street until I rescued it 
and gave it to the next child we saw
she was thrilled!

weary by all the fresh air and walking 
we leisurely strolled back to our Hotel 
for a night of restful slumber.

I do love weekends away.



9 comments:

Anonymous said...

That gum wall is the oddest thing I have ever seen. Ugh!
I don't like parades at all but they aren't that big here, I remember The Orange Walk from when I was a child and it was very threatening - we have so much trouble with sectarianism here and it just fuels violence between Catholics and Protestants.

Suburban Princess said...

You could enter pink&green Thursday with your balloon flower!

B&P - I've heard about the Orange walks...not cool. Way back when my grandfather was an Orangeman. It was just the thing one did back then. My dad's side is all Catholic so I walk a fine like sometimes.

Sue/the view from great island said...

I'm not a fan of parades, I agree with Tabitha, they reek of militarism and sectarianism...and I wouldn't want to live behind that gum wall, but the seafood looks yummy.

materfamilias said...

Vancouver's Gay Pride Parade is great fun and we like to watch that if we're in town. And I think I'd like to see the Caribana parade in Toronto someday and perhaps New Orleans Mardi Gras . . . although I'm not thrilled being in a big crowd so perhaps not.
Hmmmm, gum on a wall doesn't quite have the romance of those locks lovers clip to the bridge in Paris, does it?!
Sounds as if you've had a very satisfying getaway in Seattle.

Pondside said...

It sounds like you had every last ingredient for a perfect weekend getaway.....even the parade vantage point. I've always wished to watch the Pride Parade in Toronto, which looks like such a lot of fun. Mostly I avoid parades, though, because I'm short and it's just too darn hard to see anythign!

sparrowsandsparkles said...

So glad you enjoyed the market! Your dinner looks amazing - I must remember to put some lemon halves on next time we grill. :) xo

mette said...

I think there was a Gay Pride Parade over here today too. Well, for a number of reasons, I was not in town.
The gum wall, yak!
But you two experienced new things and enjoyed your visit, which is what really counts : )

La Vie Quotidienne said...

When we were in France last week we experienced their Gay Rights parade it was exciting and fun...everyone was in a happy mood.

I love going to Pikes Market...the seafood is spectacular along with everything else. What a wonderful time you had!

Duchesse said...

I have mixed feelings about Pride parades. On one hand, I do not believe in celebrating something you 'are'. That is not an achievement, it's a characteristic. On the other hand, when people are told they are not accepted or respected, and they find their power and renounce being shamed, that's a good thing. So I have mixed feelings about any "Pride Parade", whether for sexual or ethnic orientation.