Butterfly tours on a sunny Tuesday

This week my friend Prinz came up from San Diego to Seattle for a few days. We really don’t get to see each other outside of cons, so it was a treat being able to show him around! Luck was on our side, as it was a gorgeous Tuesday ALL DAY! I made the mistake of suggesting a restaurant that opened at 5PM for our 1PM meetup (I’m so sorry ><!!), so we had to think quick on where to grab some food.

One of the go-to touristy things to eat especially is our Pike Place Chowder, so we decided on that! We met up at Pike Place Market but the line was so long!! Most people pick the Pike Place market location, but there is a second Pike Place Chowder in the Pacific Place Center. No lines, no wait, no hot sun beating down our necks! It was amazing.
I got a little excited and ordered french fries, new england clam chowder, and the seafood bisque LOL!
Prinz got the dungeness crab roll, which was so goodd!!!

After lunch, we took the monorail to the Space Needle, and walked over to the Pacific Science Center. 
I accidentally had us start from the back entrance (woops!) but it turned out for the better because this pavilion is very beautiful.
I don’t often get to go here on a sunny day, so it was like a brand new experience!

We walked around (for a few hours!) exploring every inch of PacSci, finally ending at the Butterfly Exhibit. This room is hands down my favorite part of the center, as seen from my birthday post half a year ago haha. I love that the staff are very enthusiastic about learning and educating visitors. I always learn something new! 🙂
Right at the front entrance, butterflies zip and zoom all around you, and it’s a really magical experience. Prinz and I both went to town on photo-taking and stayed there so long lol!!
I loved that this one always gravitated and blended with flowers similar in color to it.
The room itself is not very large, so if you loop around the entire area without stopping, I feel that you miss the wonder of it. 

 After having our fill of the butterfly room (read: dying from the humidity), we left right as they were closing. We went back to the pavilion for a few last shots, and also to check out the interactive water installations.

At the bottom of this shot is the high rail bicycle exhibit – you can ride around a 1″ rail on a bicycle! I’ve never tried it because of the height, but Bill Nye previously did a segment on this very exhibit. PacSci is riddled with fun and educational interactive exhibits, just like this one. 🙂
these iconic arches are the works of architect Yamasaki Minoru back in 1962, although he’s best known for designing the original World Trade Center.
 We stopped by the armory for coffee!
 I’m still not sure about these bananas LOL!
After resting and chatting for a while, we took the monorail back to Westlake Center and walked down to Pike Place Market for dinner.
 I have a lot of fond memories of Pike Place during my school days. Most notably, I’ve always loved the look of Inn At The Market — string lights, greenery, tucked away, bricks.. ahh ♥ ♥ ♥
The wait for Chan, a korean gastropub, wasn’t very long at all so we were seated fairly quickly. This restaurant is best eaten family-style, as their dishes are (relatively) small plates and are brought out as they are done being cooked.
I apologize in advance for the low quality of my night photos ;__; I really need to practice shooting at night more.
 Ssam! The waitress pointed out the sauce on the edge, and me, not thinking, mixed up every last bit of it into our dish. Omg, it was so spicy hahaha!
 Our second dish was pork belly kimchi with tofu, which was also spicy lmao!!! Usually I can handle kimchi, but two spicy dishes made it difficult.
 We were dying for a little while, so we ordered their skillet bibimbap and shoveled the rice into our mouths. I’m not sure if it was the spiciness of the previous dishes or the quality of the bibimbap, but it was the best thing I ever tasted that night. LOL
For dessert we wrapped up with ginger ice cream!! I’ve never had candied ginger, but I wouldn’t mind eating more after trying this *o* after dinner we said our goodbyes and headed home for the night.

All in all it was a super relaxing, beautiful, and full day. 😀 I hope you had fun and enjoyed these little pieces of Seattle, Prinz!