Photo-of-the-Week #64 – Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington June 14, 2012

Here it is, the famous Pike Place Public Market at the intersection of Pike Street and Pike Place in Seattle. The Market is an exciting place. You will find all kinds of interesting items here ranging from the expected - fresh seafood, meats, poultry, vegetables and cut flowers to art galleries and studios, gift shops of all kinds, eateries ranging from diner style to fresh seafood and various cuisines, sundry shops, puzzle and magic shops, tee shirts, well, you get the idea. Also located on Pike Place on the opposite side of the street is the very first, numero uno, Starbucks Coffee Shop. It’s always busy. I guess there’s a certain cache about saying you’ve had coffee (or tea or a smoothie) from the first Starbuck shop. I didn’t do it this trip, but I did it on my last trip here. I didn’t want to wait in line.

Also, you’ll find street musicians playing throughout the Market and on the streets and the variety of music is pretty broad. Of course, it’s a huge tourist trap. There are people from all over the U.S. and the world who you’ll rub elbows with as you make your way through the Market. And, it’s not just the street level seen in this photo, there are two more levels below the street level. By the way, it took some time to capture this photo. Both the foot traffic and the vehicular traffic are very heavy at this intersection. I had to take several photos rapidly when I had this break. 

 One of the favorite attractions in the Market is the fresh seafood stall with the “fish throwers” I managed to capture a short piece of video for your amusement.

I was most fortunate to happen upon two women working on a new art studio on the bottom level of the Market. They were preparing it for the grand opening on July 1^st. I had a wonderful conversation with them, got a card from the artist opening the studio and left my card with them. That resulted in me receiving an invitation to the grand opening party the evening of June 30^th. I most certainly attended and you’ll meet Cairn and Brooke in an upcoming post where I’ll feature my evening at a Seattle art gallery opening party. A fun evening and, certainly, a unique experience for the “Professional Nomad.”