Friday, January 9, 2015

Getting a Taste of Christmas Spirit in Seattle

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season, because I sure did. After a very hectic finals week,  I got to get away from Tacoma for a little more than a week. The first few days of Christmas break was a bit hectic because I got sick and had to go to the ER, but I got to enjoy a relaxing Christmas after I got better! I got to explore Seattle a bit and enjoy the Christmas spirit along with other cool and amazing things, and here are some activities that you all might be able to try if you are in the area next year during Christmas.

1. The Sheraton Seattle Gingerbread Village
When I was first told that I was going to see a gingerbread village, I imagined a group of small gingerbread houses. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the displays. These were very well-made works of art made from gingerbread and other yummy goodies. There was one which had famous buildings in Seattle and another which was Hawaiian themed. Even though the line to see the gingerbread village was really long, I highly recommend seeing this!

 
2. The Fairmont Teddy Bear Suite
There were teddy bears, teddy bears everywhere. This is also another Christmas event in Seattle, and it's absolutely adorable. The teddy bear suite is free admission (though you can donate to the Children's Hospital), and you get to walk around rooms with many teddy bears of different shapes and sizes. Taking pictures is highly recommended, especially with the giant teddy bears! You can find more information through their website: http://www.fairmont.com/seattle/special-offers/other-offers/teddy-bear-suite/

3. Seattle Art Museum
If you go to the Seattle Art Museum, make sure you set aside a few hours, because there is a lot to see here. The Seattle Art Museum has different kinds of art: from Ancient Greek and Egyptian art to contemporary art. There are also many different art from different cultures. Right now, there is a special exhibition on American Pop Art, and I really enjoyed it. If you are familiar with Pop Art artists, the exhibition had some pieces by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, along with many other works of art. It's actually ending really soon, so if you haven't seen it, I recommend you go there right now!

 
4. REI
This store is for those outdoorsy people out there. REI has a lot of cool equipment if you're into camping, skiing, snowboarding, biking, etc. If you haven't done any outdoors activities in the Pacific Northwest, go to this store to get some ideas on what is out there! I've been to a few around Tacoma, but the one in Seattle is definitely bigger and more extravagant. There are some really cool sculptures and displays including the iron throne (for those Games of Thrones fans out there) made out of skies.