Chihuly Garden and Glass

Visitors flock to Seattle Center to see Seattle's number one attraction: The Space Needle. Upon arrival most people also notice the beautiful glass sculptures right next door. We want to let you know that this attraction is not to be missed! Dale Chihuly is one of the Pacific Northwest's most famous artists and there is an obvious reason. Simply put, his glassblowing sculptures will stun the pants off of you.

The Garden and Glass exhibition in the Seattle Center is a beautiful combination of new and old and a clear testament to the Pacific Northwest's culture of art and innovation. 

Chihuly, born south of Seattle in Tacoma, WA, creates an amazing variety of large glass sculptures. Many of his creations are hundreds of small pieces placed together to create one large piece. These pieces have to be taken apart to clean one at a time (no bulls are allowed to work in this china shop). He purposefully does not give any sort of map on how to put it back together so that each time the gallery cleans a piece it then takes on a new shape depending on how they piece it back together.

The exhibition is separated into three parts:  the indoor galleries, the Glasshouse, and the Garden. The indoor galleries are incredible. Each room is filled with awe-inspiring exhibits and knowledgeable staff to give you background about each piece. The Glasshouse, our personal favorite, is a large glass building toward the end of the exhibit with a giant statement piece that dwarfs you as you walk in and it hangs over your head. Last, you are released into the Garden to explore the glass sculptures mixed in with the plants and flowers (with the Space Needle looming overhead). 

On a bright day, Chihuly's work adds a spectacular pop of color to Seattle Center and on a rainy day it will brighten even the darkest clouds. It is a don't miss in the city and since it is a stone's throw away from a place everyone usually visits it is an easy addition to the sightseeing tour! The gift shop is also a fantastic place to get great Seattle gifts that are a bit better than your average Sleepless in Seattle t-shirt or Space Needle Snow Globe.

Check out additional details here to learn more about the artist, exhibit hours, and how to buy tickets.

Haunted Coke Machine

On an unassuming corner in the Seattle neighborhood of Capitol Hill is a worn down, 1970s Coke Machine. This thing does not encourage you to give it money. You take one look and think it probably fell off the back of a truck accidentally. But for those who look a little closer you will see the buttons read "Mystery" and for just 75 cents it will throw a random soda product out at you. 

Who owns this coke machine? Where does it pull its power from? And who is refilling it? All mysteries that add to the joy of walking to the corner of John St. and 10th to get an ice cold, refreshing mystery beverage. 

The Gum Wall: Second Dirtiest Attraction in the World.

Pike Place Market has a lot of places to visit. It really is a village you could spend weeks exploring and not see everything, but there are several can’t miss places. One of those places is The Gum Wall. The Gum Wall isn’t hard to find and it is a wonderfully gross thing to take in. In fact, it is the second dirtiest attraction in the world.*

Let’s start the journey. You walk down an alley and are confronted first with the intense smell of bubble gum. Not any of that double mint crap, but the big, juicy Bubblicious of your youth. The kind that would rot your teeth but you didn’t care, because the satisfaction you got from stuffing three pieces in your mouth and then blowing a bubble so big that when it popped it got stuck in your eyebrows was worth the trip to the dentist.

After the smell you will notice the crowds of people. Warning: There will be selfie sticks, accept it and move on, you are going to want a photo of this too.

Finally, you get to stand in front of the wall of gum. Not just a few pieces. It is literally a WALL of gum. If you could somehow dismantle the wall behind the gum, the gum would still stand up as a wall (this is in no way based in fact, it is just fun to imagine). People create art with gum. You can find business cards. You can even find a geocache hidden in there.

Don’t come without a stick of gum; you cannot come to the gum wall and not contribute, it is an unspoken rule. If you need gum, a number of places in the market can hook you up. Orange Dracula is our favorite. Depending on your level of germaphobia you might also want to come manned with anti-bacterial gel and/or rubber gloves.

Now, let’s get down to business (Mulan song? Anyone?). The Gum Wall is in an alley and if you don’t know your way around it can be tricky to find. Here is the best way to find it. Go to the corner of First Ave. and Pike St. (the main intersection in front of the entrance to Pike Place Market) and face the large, neon sign that says “Public Market Center.”  You will see a road that goes down to the alley to the left of the main road. Take this road down and when you see Ghost Alley Coffee- turn left. From there you can’t miss it-follow the smell and the crowds!

Recently and tragically, the market said the brick was becoming unstable under the weight of the gum, so they power washed every last piece of gum off the wall. People have been adding to this gooey masterpiece since the early 1990s when the theater next door placed a sign stating “No Gum Allowed” outside the entrance. Visitors started sticking gum outside and it snowballed (or should I say GUMBALLED) from there. Fortunately for us, tourists and locals alike refused to let this institution in the city fade away after one cleaning. Just a few months after the power washers were rolled away the gum wall has come back in all its glory. So go check it out and add to the sticky, colorful mess!

*The Blarney Stone in Ireland wins the #1 most unsanitary tourist attraction. If people start kissing the Gum Wall we think we have a shot at taking the crown.