Pike Place Market

Our 1986 visit to Seattle did not include the Pike Place Market, so we were looking forward to the market experience when we arrived shortly after 9 AM. We were reminded of Atwater Market in Montreal, but this place is bigger, louder, altogether bolder. The smells were a little too powerful for me: late summer flowers, ripe fruit, soaps and "essences", cheeses, spices, cured meats and poultry and, of course, fish and shellfish of every kind. Alaskan King Salmon is everywhere. At one famous fishmonger's shop, the fish is tossed after purchase to a butcher, who then fillets it for the crowd. Lots of action for many cameras.

It was fairly chilly so close to the water, so we stopped for coffee and a danish pastry while we looked at our map. We were tempted to buy the peaches we tasted (best ever) but the prospect of trotting around with the extra weight deterred us, and we moved on. We descended several flights of stairs and an elevator to Alaskan Way, crossed the street and explored one of the many piers along Puget sound.