Calling all Seattle experts!

[VibeGuy]

It's a reasonable walk distance but use a walk path that avoids the corner of 3rd and Pine, which remains the hub of sketchiness in downtown Seattle despite much effort.

[Blondie008]

It's a reasonable walk distance but use a walk path that avoids the corner of 3rd and Pine, which remains the hub of sketchiness in downtown Seattle despite much effort.

 

Thanks - Ive printed off a map and can see this corner

 

 

Maybe we should just call a cab - do cab drivers in Seattle mind short journeys?

Edited May 12, 2016 by Blondie008

[Blondie008]

Actually from my map it doesn't seem possible to avoid that corner..

Unless we go up Bell St and along 4th or 5th??

Edited May 12, 2016 by Blondie008

[Gardyloo]

It's a reasonable walk distance but use a walk path that avoids the corner of 3rd and Pine, which remains the hub of sketchiness in downtown Seattle despite much effort.

 

Actually from my map it doesn't seem possible to avoid that corner..

Unless we go up Bell St and along 4th or 5th??

Oh please. As long as it's not three in the morning, you have nothing to worry about walking to the Hard Rock from the Warwick. I'd be much more concerned about the quality of the meal, to be frank.

[VibeGuy]

I'm a big imposing-looking guy and I don't walk through Third and Pine after dark under any circumstance. I especially avoid the south side of Pine between 4th and 3rd and the east side of 3rd between Pine and Pike. Take or leave the advice, but "nothing to worry about" is simply not backed up by the statistics for that one particular corner where all of the issues of life in the big city come home to roost.

 

I would have zero hesitation whatsoever walking south along 4th from the hotel and turning west onto Pike. It's a lovely stroll in a busy pedestrian corridor.

 

In terms of similar chain dining, consider the nearby Yard House. The food is solid and they're good with large tables.

[Pierlesscruisers]

I'm by no means a Seattle expert so I've got no real advice to give you but I did want to say, Fàilte gu Seattle!

 

No, I don't speak Gaelic, bit I went to Google Translate and typed in Welcome to Seattle and that's what it gave me as the translation into Scots Gaelic, so I hope that's correct. And, since I'm on the subject of Gaelic, is "Tapadh leat" the correct way to say "Thank you." in Gaelic (and is that "tap-pad leet" phonetically?) I want to add that to my list of how to say thanks in other languages.

 

Tom

[Blondie008]

Thanks everyone - I am not very good with co-ordinates and 3rd,4th etc - in fact - get lost in a shopping mall :rolleyes:

Might be safer using taxis at night - will the come to pubs when we phone them? Don't have to stand out in the street and whistle? ;)

[Blondie008]

I'm by no means a Seattle expert so I've got no real advice to give you but I did want to say, Fàilte gu Seattle!

 

No, I don't speak Gaelic, bit I went to Google Translate and typed in Welcome to Seattle and that's what it gave me as the translation into Scots Gaelic, so I hope that's correct. And, since I'm on the subject of Gaelic, is "Tapadh leat" the correct way to say "Thank you." in Gaelic (and is that "tap-pad leet" phonetically?) I want to add that to my list of how to say thanks in other languages.

 

Tom

 

Sorry Tom I don't speak Gaelic - we all (in the tourism industry) use the words "cead mile failte" (A hundred thousand welcomes) and this is the pronunciation for that :

Other than that - nope - just raw Scots hah!

Actually very few sadly speak Gaelic now. The only lady I know is my environmental health officer (Food Standards) - she was brought up Gaelic and is fluent - Its very sad that its not part of the school curriculum except I think in some parts of "choochter" country up north. :)

[Gardyloo]

Thanks everyone - I am not very good with co-ordinates and 3rd,4th etc - in fact - get lost in a shopping mall :rolleyes:

Might be safer using taxis at night - will the come to pubs when we phone them? Don't have to stand out in the street and whistle? ;)

 

Seattle's streets are set out in a gridiron pattern, with numbered avenues (1st Avenue... 5th Avenue) running north-south, and named streets (Pike Street, Stewart Street etc.) running east-west.

 

We use an old memory device to remember the order of the streets in the core of downtown: "Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest," which refers to the south-to-north order of Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, Pine.

 

Sorry Tom I don't speak Gaelic - we all (in the tourism industry) use the words "cead mile failte" (A hundred thousand welcomes) and this is the pronunciation for that :

Other than that - nope - just raw Scots hah!

Actually very few sadly speak Gaelic now. The only lady I know is my environmental health officer (Food Standards) - she was brought up Gaelic and is fluent - Its very sad that its not part of the school curriculum except I think in some parts of "choochter" country up north. :)

 

Where they sing heedrum-hodrum songs.

[VibeGuy]

I've drawn the map with the tiny no-go zone. Again, it's a lovely walk and I just want visitors to avoid the least pleasant corner in the urban center.

 

[Pierlesscruisers]

Sorry Tom I don't speak Gaelic - we all (in the tourism industry) use the words "cead mile failte" (A hundred thousand welcomes) and this is the pronunciation for that :

Other than that - nope - just raw Scots hah!

 

Thanks, blondie008 for the help! (Looks like you're a relative of James Bond-007! I knew a lady who was Scottish who, if you said she was scotch would promptly tell you "I'm not a drink, I'm Scottish, not scotch!" :)

 

Okay, so if I wanted to really surprise a cruiser from Scotland, I'd say " "cead mile failte" to welcome them. Got that. And how would I say thank you to that same person as I handed back their passport? (It's amazing the looks on people's faces when you thank them in their own language, especially if they're Chinese or Indian. Jaws drop and then a big smile appears-:) or even better :eek: !!

 

Tom

[Pierlesscruisers]

We use an old memory device to remember the order of the streets in the core of downtown: "Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest," which refers to the south-to-north order of Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, Pine.

 

I had never noticed that the street names "doubled" like that! I'll be darned!

 

Tom

[Blondie008]

I've drawn the map with the tiny no-go zone. Again, it's a lovely walk and I just want visitors to avoid the least pleasant corner in the urban center.

 

 

Oh wow - thank you!!! When I go into my office I will print this out in colour.

Thank you!!!

[Blondie008]

Seattle's streets are set out in a gridiron pattern, with numbered avenues (1st Avenue... 5th Avenue) running north-south, and named streets (Pike Street, Stewart Street etc.) running east-west.

 

Brilliant thank you - I have this!!! Thanks!!

 

We use an old memory device to remember the order of the streets in the core of downtown: "Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest," which refers to the south-to-north order of Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, Pine.

 

I will try and learn this lol!

 

 

 

Where they sing heedrum-hodrum songs.

 

Bwahahahahahahahahahaha - I can sing that tune!!!

[Blondie008]

BTW folks - the other day in my office I went through the post and copied and pasted all of your fantastic advice and suggestions into a word document - I have it printed out and already filed in my travel file (I am a total ocd organiser with documentation).

We for sure have established that we are going to MacLeods Scots Bar. My son in law is Canadian - and he and my daughter are meeting us in Seattle. He adores Tennants Lager - and believe it or not - MacLeods have Tennants on draught! As soon as I messaged him with that news the word came back "I'm there already!" :D

Thank you all - just around ten days to go now - cannot wait - I am so excited about Seattle I am nearly forgetting about Alaska!

Many thanks and I promise to come back and let you know how it goes!

[Blondie008]

Thanks, blondie008 for the help! (Looks like you're a relative of James Bond-007! I knew a lady who was Scottish who, if you said she was scotch would promptly tell you "I'm not a drink, I'm Scottish, not scotch!" :)

 

Tom

 

OOOh cringe cringe - "scotch" is a drink - our whisky has no "E" and we are Scots always - never Scotch.

Scotland for such a tiny country has so many different dialects and accents. Even where I live, the accent differs from village to village. East to West, North to South - our nation has some crazy lingo going on.

Being in the tourism industry my husband and I go on to auto speak as we need to slow our speech down immensely. Our visiting English friends would have no clue what we said otherwise. When we are ourselves we go into our "foreign tongue" - which is very slang, very fast - and if you stood next to us in an elevator and we were talking I doubt you would understand a word we say.

My husband has a totally different accent from me - although me being here now for nearly 25 years some of it has rubbed off. But still to this day - I look at him and think "what in Gods name did he just say??"... honestly I do...

I learned a whole new set of words when I moved here from Glasgow (hey weegies have their very own language hah!) - But - we both speak extremely politely as owning a business which attracts tourism we have to in our work - We slow everything down automatically.

Gaelic - no - perhaps you should study the different dialects and words such as "ken" - as in "Aye ah ken" meaning "Yes I know" - "ken" in my area is in just about every sentence possible - ye ken? ....

I to this day to NOT use the term "ken"! - I am hanging on to my west end Glasgow posh accent as long as I can! :D

Maybe you need to tune in to some Scottish TV - a fabulous show if you can get a hold of it is "Still Game" - hilarious series just too funny!! You would soon learn some Scottish lingo on there!!

Many thanks!!

[Casagordita]

Here's one more club with good live music to add to your list: Highway 99 Blues Club. I can't believe I forgot them before--I've seen some great shows there! They're a little challenging to find--they're underneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct, across the street from the Aquarium--but they're not so very far from your hotel.

 

Have a safe trip, and enjoy your visit!

[DrKoob]

Oh please. As long as it's not three in the morning, you have nothing to worry about walking to the Hard Rock from the Warwick. I'd be much more concerned about the quality of the meal, to be frank.

 

AMEN TO THAT! All these folks on this thread make me not want to go into Seattle or to worry about my wife who works in SLU. Come on. Aggressive panhandlers? Are these cruisers who are calling them aggressive? Have they never cruised to Mexico? Or half of the Caribbean? I got off a ship in Acapulco once and had a group of panhandlers follow just my wife and I all the way to the cliff divers (which is a long walk) and back again, aggressively begging all the way. I have never been approached by a panhandler in Seattle that I couldn't just ignore and walk on by.

 

Do NOT take a cab from the Warwick to the Hard Rock. What a waste of time and money but like Gardyloo, I would be more worried about the quality of the meal. I never understand why people come from thousands of miles away and go to chain restaurants that you can eat exactly the same menu in more than 100 other cities around the world. Yes, they may have some local takes on their menu items, but it's not the same as eating someplace you will only be able to eat at in that particular city. Please, skip the Hard Rock. There are so many better restaurants nearby.

 

For restaurant suggestions from my point of view (and only mine) check out my Seattle website that I set up for all our cruising friends who come to visit every summer. You can see it by clicking here. No ads, just me loving my favorite city.

[OfficerKrupke]

My family refuses to use taxis when they're downtown. They swear by Uber. They tell it's more reliable, cheaper and the cars are nicer. You'll see your driver's face and what type of car before you ever get in the car. You an also track where they are in relation to where you are at any time. Plus the ride is paid for automatically because your payment information is stored by Uber. Tipping is up to you if you want to.

 

We used it in SFO and it was awesome.

 

As a side note, I've walked through the 3rd and Pine area numerous times at night, but I'm not local so I didn't know to be worried.

Edited May 15, 2016 by OfficerKrupke

[KAE27]

My family refuses to use taxis when they're downtown. They swear by Uber. They tell it's more reliable, cheaper and the cars are nicer. You'll see your driver's face and what type of car before you ever get in the car. You an also track where they are in relation to where you are at any time. Plus the ride is paid for automatically because your payment information is stored by Uber. Tipping is up to you if you want to.

 

We used it in SFO and it was awesome.

 

As a side note, I've walked through the 3rd and Pine area numerous times at night, but I'm not local so I didn't know to be worried.

 

Locals actually know not to be worried, too. ;) There's nothing wrong with that area.

[Casagordita]

like Gardyloo, I would be more worried about the quality of the meal. I never understand why people come from thousands of miles away and go to chain restaurants that you can eat exactly the same menu in more than 100 other cities around the world. Yes, they may have some local takes on their menu items, but it's not the same as eating someplace you will only be able to eat at in that particular city. Please, skip the Hard Rock. There are so many better restaurants nearby.

 

The original Hard Rock Cafe was in London. It was started in the 1970's by a couple of American guys who wanted a place to get a really good hamburger. It was meant to look like a classic American coffee shop--lots of Formica, red leatherette booths, waitresses in starched white uniforms. The menu was basic American diner food. They had squeeze bottles of French's Mustard on the tables, and the soup came with real saltine crackers. That might not sound so special...but if you're a homesick American college student doing a junior year abroad, and spending your first holiday season thousands of miles from your family, it was a little piece of heaven. My friends and I went there for our Thanksgiving dinner, because it was the most American place we could think of. It was one of the best meals of my life because it tasted like home.

 

All the other locations, the glitz, the rock-and-roll memorabilia, the overblown, overpriced menu...that all came later. I've been to a couple of Hard Rock Cafes in the US and they are NOTHING like the original. And that Thanksgiving was forty years ago--the London one is probably nothing like it was back then, either!

 

But being from over there, the the OP might actually have reason to think that the Hard Rock Cafe is a beloved American classic. Just so you know, it's not. DrKoob is right--there are many, many better restaurants in Seattle, with good food and a genuine local feel, rather than prefab, hyped-up decor and mediocre, mass-produced food. You really can do better.

Edited May 15, 2016 by Casagordita

[Blondie008]

AMEN TO THAT! All these folks on this thread make me not want to go into Seattle or to worry about my wife who works in SLU. Come on. Aggressive panhandlers? Are these cruisers who are calling them aggressive? Have they never cruised to Mexico? Or half of the Caribbean? I got off a ship in Acapulco once and had a group of panhandlers follow just my wife and I all the way to the cliff divers (which is a long walk) and back again, aggressively begging all the way. I have never been approached by a panhandler in Seattle that I couldn't just ignore and walk on by.

 

Do NOT take a cab from the Warwick to the Hard Rock. What a waste of time and money but like Gardyloo, I would be more worried about the quality of the meal. I never understand why people come from thousands of miles away and go to chain restaurants that you can eat exactly the same menu in more than 100 other cities around the world. Yes, they may have some local takes on their menu items, but it's not the same as eating someplace you will only be able to eat at in that particular city. Please, skip the Hard Rock. There are so many better restaurants nearby.

 

For restaurant suggestions from my point of view (and only mine) check out my Seattle website that I set up for all our cruising friends who come to visit every summer. You can see it by clicking here. No ads, just me loving my favorite city.

 

 

Actually for me - no - I don't get to eat in Hard Rock Cafes - not ever (nearest one over 100 miles away and I seldom get days out) - and we like the music - its not about the food - just kind of know we are on vacation when we hit a hard rock. We will not be doing fine dining in Seattle - who knows - might not do HRC but would like to add it to the list of those I have visited around the world - I don't ever ever get to do one at home but I do get to dine in the worlds finest Michelin at home - so perhaps for lunch or just a drop in but I would like to include the HRC if I can :)

[Blondie008]

AMEN TO THAT! All these folks on this thread make me not want to go into Seattle or to worry about my wife who works in SLU. Come on. Aggressive panhandlers? Are these cruisers who are calling them aggressive? Have they never cruised to Mexico? Or half of the Caribbean? I got off a ship in Acapulco once and had a group of panhandlers follow just my wife and I all the way to the cliff divers (which is a long walk) and back again, aggressively begging all the way. I have never been approached by a panhandler in Seattle that I couldn't just ignore and walk on by.

 

Do NOT take a cab from the Warwick to the Hard Rock. What a waste of time and money but like Gardyloo, I would be more worried about the quality of the meal. I never understand why people come from thousands of miles away and go to chain restaurants that you can eat exactly the same menu in more than 100 other cities around the world. Yes, they may have some local takes on their menu items, but it's not the same as eating someplace you will only be able to eat at in that particular city. Please, skip the Hard Rock. There are so many better restaurants nearby.

 

For restaurant suggestions from my point of view (and only mine) check out my Seattle website that I set up for all our cruising friends who come to visit every summer. You can see it by clicking here. No ads, just me loving my favorite city.

 

 

wow - thanks for the link!!!!

[Blondie008]

I wont use UBER either - not even used to taxis let alone Uber.

Hopefully we will find a local car company the hotel can recommend. Not fussed if its pricier as long as it gets us from A to B and is safe and reliable.

I looked up Eastside ? Heard of it? Is it good? I read reviews on it.

[DrKoob]

I wont use UBER either - not even used to taxis let alone Uber.

Hopefully we will find a local car company the hotel can recommend. Not fussed if its pricier as long as it gets us from A to B and is safe and reliable.

I looked up Eastside ? Heard of it? Is it good? I read reviews on it.

 

OK, first off...do NOT be scared of Uber. Do you have a smart phone? If so, just download the Uber app. Anytime you need a ride, you click the app and you see how far away the nearest car is, who the driver is, exactly how much they are going to charge you and how long until they will pull up in front of you. If you don't like what you see, cancel it on your phone and request another one. Totally safe and since you have already put your credit card in, you don't need to have any cash.

 

Now, let's talk Eastside. Seattle is part of the Puget Sound area. The entire area is split right down the middle by a HUGE lake. I mean a really big lake. Check a map. It's called Lake Washington and it stretches the entire east side of Seattle. On the other side of the lake are the suburbs known as the Eastside. Communities like Bellevue (the Seattle area's shopping mecca), Redmond (home of Microsoft), Kirkland (Seattle's answer to Sausalito), Woodinville (Washington's wine capital and a MUST-SEE if you love wine) and many other communities. You would get there across the world's longest (and newest) floating bridge (it's toll so know that if you drive it) that my wife drives every day to work.

 

I would not bother with the Eastside unless you have a rental car. You could easily rent a car for a day but when we have friends here from out of town, we only include the Eastside if they are here for three days. One other great place to see on the Eastside is Snoqualamie Falls, an amazing waterfall in Snoqualamie (another Eastside community).

Edited May 15, 2016 by DrKoob