Travels with Tish Girlfriends’ Getaway Guide

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Seattle is a very walkable, enjoyable city — though a bit hilly in sections. But that along with the waterfront add a charm to the city’s downtown area. I was especially pleased to be introduced to Seattle by a fellow blogger, MaryJo of Fly Away Cafe. It was, in fact, the first time we had met except for e-mails. I’ve been enjoying her travel blog long before I got mine up and going. She was nice enough to meet me at the airport and we were off to a great start.

Pike Place Market was our first stop (after I checked into my hotel, just a few blocks from the market). It’s a farmer’s and fisher’s market — very different from inland city markets. Lots of fresh flowers, big — really BIG fish of all sorts, Washington cherry products and gift shops in between. Pike Market is located at the waterfront at the foot of Stewart Street (also at Pike and Pine Streets)

Shopping. You’ll find plenty of cafes, small boutiques and such along the streets near the market and in alleyways, as well. There’s even a shop that has its own cheese factory onsite for everyone to see. A few blocks away is the fashion center of the city with stores like Betsey Johnson, the original Nordstrom, Bebe, Coach, Diesel, Helly Hansen, Escada, Louis Vuitton, Urban Outfitters, Jessica McClintock and more. You also find about 5 high rise shopping malls in the same area, but I did more sightseeing than shopping on this trip, so I didn’t check them out.

Sightseeing. A monorail is available at Fifth & Pike to take visitors to the Seattle Center and Space Needle. Tremendous view of the city from the top. I’d recommend it. The rest of Seattle Center is more tuned to children’s activities. Historic Pioneer Square, south of downtown, is interesting and home to the original Seattle settlers. Even has an Underground Seattle tour there which was interesting but would not rank at the top of my tour recommendation list. Quest and Safeco Fields are just south of Pioneer Square.

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) reopens May 5 after renovations and expansion. Would love to visit it on my next trip.

Hotels. We stayed at the Hotel Max on Stewart at 6th. Great location for all the downtown sightseeing and shopping. Newly renovated, very nice and only $134/night on Quikbook.com. Very clean, nice linens. Coldstone Creamery is 1 block away. Some friends booked their hotel through Hotwire and got the same hotel for $117. But you don’t have a hotel choice on Hotwire and it can put you in a hotel that is well outside of the downtown area and still call it a downtown hotel. You really want to stay downtown, probably not further away from Pike Market than 6th or 7th Street. Nearby hotels I noticed include the Hyatt, Westin, Sheraton, Paramount and Roosevelt.

Dining. MaryJo and I dined at The Harvest Vine which specializes in tapas and Basque cuisine. Our timing was perfect as we didn’t have to wait for a table, but the restaurant filled up quickly after we arrived. It was an exquisite dinner with wonderful tapas choices. Discovered later that The Harvest Vine is a 2006 top Zagat-rated Seattle restaurant. Dinner for two with wine cost about $65.

Coffee. Most folks know that Seattle is home to Starbuck’s original shop and it’s still there near Pike Place Market. Seattle’s Best Coffee also has a major presence around town, so I tried that a couple of times and was unimpressed. Way too strong for my taste. But obviously it is a popular choice.

NEXT: New York City Recap

TIPS:
1) Rent a Car. Public transportation is not Seattle’s best thing. Park it at the hotel or a nearby public lot while you’re visiting downtown. But use it to drive out of town to wine country, the mountains or some of the other areas surrounding Seattle. If you’d rather cab it to the hotel and rent a car a day or two later, you’ll find a Dollar-A-Day car rental about 2 blocks up Stewart from the Hotel Max (about 6th or 7th Street)
2)Consider the Islands. There are plenty of islands just a ferry ride away from Seattle. Lots to explore for a day or longer. I’ll be checking that out on my next trip.

Even if you don’t like wine, you’ll love Columbia Winery in Woodinville, just outside Seattle. It has a gift store to die for. Wine glasses, bar ware, linens, serving pieces, decor items, some decor furniture and, oh by the way, wine. No kidding, the shop is very fun for your own home or for gifts — especially gifts for wine lovers. Out-of-the-ordinary and pretty well priced, I thought. In fact, I saw a terrific round rustic metal “tray” table that I loved and only $150. It’s one of those “shoulda, but didn’t” things you regret later.

The Wine’s The Thing.
I was truly distracted by the gift items, but the wine is really the heart and soul of the place. Columbia is a large winery with its vineyards in both the Columbia Valley and the Yakima Valley of Eastern Washington. It’s 45 years old and was started by a small group of U of Washington professors who believed that European vinifera vines could survive in Washington. These are not grafted vines as at many other American vineyards. The winery produces Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewurztraminer. We particularly liked the Riesling and the Gewurztraminer and bought some bottles to take home.

Tours, Tastings and More.
Tour days and times are defined. Once on weekdays and 5 times on weekends. Tastings are available any time. A $5 fee takes you through 5 wine samplings. It’s a great way to get to know their wines. Columbia Winery also offers private wine education programs, private tour/tastings, cooking classes and special wine country tours. Any of these would be fun to try.

Willows Lodge in Woodinville.
If you want to spend a couple of days in wine country, you will certainly enjoy the Willows Lodge, next to the Columbia Winery and across from Chateau Ste. Michelle. Very convenient. While we only took a day trip to Woodinville, I did ask for a tour at the Willows and was cordially received.

The Willows has a Pacific Northwest decor, but with high tech amenities. Deep soaking tubs in the rooms. Digital showers. Very luxurious and comfortable. Goose down pillows. Fireplaces. French press coffee, patios/balconies with garden views. Very elegant. The Willows also offers a nicely appointed onsite spa with a wide variety of services. The Barking Frog Restaurant is on the property (where we had lunch and found it excellent). The Herb Farm is a most unique restaurant on the property, using its own kitchen garden produce as it prepares 9-course dinners for its guests — with wine, of course. You’ll have to check out its Web site to really see what the Herb Farm is all about. Sounds decadent and wonderful. We’d like to try it the next time we’re up there. The Willows Lodge rooms and suites can accommodate up to 4 gals and they are willing to bring in a rollaway if necessary. I believe the room rate is around $200/night. That can really bring the cost down of staying in such a luxurious setting. By the way, Willows Lodge offers getaway packages for touring wine country, a spa package and one called the Desperate Diva package.

NEXT: Downtown Seattle

TIPS:
1) More Wineries. Do Some Research. Visit washingtonwine.org and request their booklet on “Touring Washington Wine Country.” There are many other wineries around Seattle, Tacoma and Bellingham. And don’t forget all the vineyards that are a 2-4 hour drive from Seattle. Also visit woodinvillewinecountry.com for info specifically about Woodinville wineries.
2) What Else To Do Near Woodinville? Lots. Golfing, shopping, biking, rafting, kayaking, hot air ballooning and of course, sampling wines and dining. The Willows can provide informtion on these activities.
3) Seattle or Woodinville? I’d recommend both. Fly into Seattle/Tacoma. Spend a day and night there. Then drive up to Woodinville for another 2 days. It’s an easy drive back to the airport. (Of course, there’s a whole lot more to the Seattle area that are also worth exploring, but we didn’t get to them on this first, brief trip. Whalewatching, ferrying to islands, going out to the mountains and so much more.
4) Cruise Ships. Nearly 200 cruise ships come through the Port of Seattle each year — mostly on the way to Alaska. If you’re planning a cruise, depart from Seattle and enjoy the area before you head to Alaska.
5) Airline Service to Seattle. Midwest Airlines flies out of Kansas City nonstop to Seattle, with easy connections through Milwaukee. (Departing from Milwaukee, we were in Seattle by 11:30 A.M.) But starting June 18, Midwest will fly nonstop to Seattle/Tacoma from Milwaukee, giving you more flight options. You can book those flights now.

When I first learned that we’d be heading to Seattle/Tacoma, I googled the Visitors Bureau to start planning our getaway.  I found plenty to see and do. One thing that particularly intrigued me was the abundance of vineyards and wineries in Washington state. So I planned a day trip to the closest area, Woodinville, just 25 minutes northeast of Seattle.

Nearly 20 Wineries
It was an easy drive up to Woodinville, a small community nestled in the Sammamish River Valley that is known as Woodinville Wine Country. The collective vision of the winemakers there is to create fine, world-class wines from Washington’s own grape harvests.

Chateau Ste. Michelle.
This beautiful estate and winery is the oldest winery in the state and owns some of the most mature vineyards in the Columbia Valley. It is considered a premium winery and operates two winemaking facilities — one for whites and one for reds. Chateau Ste. Michelle  and its vintages have been significantly recognized many times over by Wine Spectator, Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast and Restaurant Wine publications.

Chateau Ste. Michelle is now in its 40th year of winemaking. It is housed in a French-style chateau on the former estate of a lumber baron, whose residence has been maintained for the National Register of Historic Places. The grounds are spectacular and romantic, great for strolling or picnicking. In recent years, this winery has also partnered with a multi-generation Tuscan winemaker Marchesi Antinori, to create an internationally-styled red wine called Col Solare.  And they have also partnered with a famous German winemaker, Ernst Loosen, to produce a premium Riesling called Eroica and a dessert wine called Single Berry Select. So this winery offers a very broad selection of wines.

We Took the Winery Tour. A very knowledgeable Frenchman, whose name escapes me, conducted our winery tour. We saw the casks of wine being stored and learned why certain wines are casked longer than others. We looked down on the bottling operation from a great vantage point. And we learned a bit about the history of winemaking in Washington as well as why they decided to partner with European winemasters to create new wine blends.

And then the Wine Tasting. At the conclusion of the tour, guests are invited to sample four of their famous wines. An essential part of the wine tasting is learning what grapes were used, what food it might be paired with, how long the wine must age before it is ideal for decanting, etc. We bought several bottles of wine, including one of the dessert wines which we loved.

NEXT: The Columbia Winery in Woodinville

TIPS:
1) Plan an Impromptu Picnic. The wineries we visited had assortments of cheeses, sausages, crackers and more that are ideal size for a picnic, as well as corks, openers, glasses, etc. Even lovely picnic sets. How fun would it be to purchase a wine you like and some snacks to enjoy a picnic on the grounds of this lovely Pacific Northwest estate.

2) Shippers Are Available. If you want bring back a case or two, or even fewer bottles, the wineries have “shippers” and packing material available. They tell me wine would easily make the trip in these shipping boxes with other luggage under the airplane — as you cannot take any liquids past Security into the cabin.
3) Not All States Allow Wine to be Shipped In. The wineries have a list of states that do not permit shipments of wine into their state. But you can take the wine with you if you use a shipper or pack it in your suitcase. (They also have bubble wrap to help with that.)
4) Tours Available Daily. Chateau Ste. Michelle offers tours every day between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Free, of course. If you want to just stop in for a wine tasting without a tour, you will be charged a small fee for the wines you sample.
5) Winery Staff Very Helpful. Everyone we spoke with at Chateau Ste. Michelle was pleasant and most helpful. They are used to a wide range of wine connoisseurs (and those like me who are not such a connoisseur) coming in to sample, ask questions and request recommendations. You can feel comfortable there, even if you don’t have a clue about wine varieties. You’ll easily pick up a few tips and some wines you can really enjoy.

I’m sitting at Tully’s Coffee shop, opposite Gate A9, in Seattle/Tacoma airport (SEATAC), using Tully’s complimentary Internet access. My Midwest flight leaves at noon — I’m heading home. Arrived on the inaugural Midwest Airlines flight to Seattle on Sunday — the first time we are serving this area. And it’s a terrific destination. People in Seattle are quite responsive to our service. Chatted with a couple of customers at the ticket counter who had never flown on Midwest, but were recommended to do so by family or friends.

What’s in Seattle? Let’s just ask “What’s NOT in Seattle?” I’ve been here 4 days, saw a lot and still have so much more to see. Downtown Seattle is very nice, walkable, clean and filled with great shopping which I’ll go into in another post.

The hotels are plentiful and we stayed in a very nice one, close to everything we wanted in the downtown area at a very reasonable price — $134/night.

Dining runs the gamut — as in any good city, but its Puget Sound location makes dining on fish quite reasonable. LOTS of fresh fish everywhere.

We drove up to the Woodinville wine country, an easy 25 miles NE of the city. Dozens of wineries to choose from. We visited two and both were great — larger wineries on expansive grounds, nice ambiance. I’ll tell you more in a separate post.

What We Didn’t Do — YET!
We didn’t get to explore the entire number of Woodinville wineries. Will do that. There are other wineries and the vineyards a bit further out of Seattle — 2-4 hours. Would be fun to explore one of those areas. We didn’t take a ferry to any of the islands surrounding Seattle — lots of islands, including the San Juan Islands. The islands offer a lot of sightseeing and most likely great places to stay. We didn’t head down toward Tacoma, either. 

A Taste of Seattle
What we got was a taste of Seattle and it was very good. I was really excited to be on our inaugural flight here and to finally get out to the Pacific Northwest. And I wasn’t disappointed. You won’t be either. And guess what? It’s didn’t rain a drop in 4 days here — sunny and reasonably warm — about 60 or a bit more.

Stay Tuned.
Over the next week, I’ll be filling you in on Seattle with new posts on what we saw, where we stayed, and where we went. If you want to fly out on Midwest, you can get flight information and fares here. Right now we fly nonstop out of Kansas City to Seattle. It’s an easy connect from the East Coast and from Milwaukee. But come June, Midwest will also fly nonstop to Seattle from Milwaukee.