Seattle's Gingerbread Village

Gingerbread Village has been a tradition in Seattle for 30 years.  Located in the lobby of the Sheraton Grand Seattle, the village is designed by local architects and created by the Sheraton culinary staff.  This year the displays depict famous four famous worldwide locations:  India, London, Sydney, and Paris.  Visiting the display is free, but donations are requested to benefit type 1 diabetes research.  Here are this year's displays, some as large as 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall.

At the entrance, the Gingerbread Village Airlines flight information shows the destinations.

Destinations on Gingerbread Village Airlines

We enter and visit this year's locations.

India

London

Sydney

Paris

What fun!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Seattle Christmas Market

Many European towns host Christmas Markets in December and each one is unique, featuring local artisans and regional refreshments.  The Seattle Christmas Market, inspired by the Vancouver Christmas Market, is bringing this old-world tradition of festive delight to Washington.

We head to Seattle, stopping first at Pike Place Market for lunch.  Founded in 1907, the market is one of the oldest and largest continuously-operating public markets in the United States and is brought to life by hundreds of farmers, crafters, small businesses, and residents.

Pike Place Market

We wander the market and stop at the Market Grill for fresh-grilled fish sandwiches (blackened salmon and rockfish).

Market Grill

View of Puget Sound from the market

Santa at the market

In the late afternoon, we walk through Seattle to the Space Needle, location of the Christmas Market.  The Space Needle appears through the buildings as we approach.

Approaching the Space Needle

Entering the market, we start with Christmas fantasies and an Enchanted Forest.

Entering the market

Starting  to explore

Enchanted forest

We pass through Lover's Lane and enter the land of craft, with 80 artisan huts featuring a wide variety of merchandise.  After a little shopping, we reach the double-decker carousel (and ride on a horse and a reindeer) and the large Christmas Pyramid (with a Gluhwein stand in the bottom).

Lover's Lane

Shopping

Carousel

Pyramid and tree

Holiday thoughts

We approach the food stands and find a great assortment, settling on bratwurst and paella with roast duck and truffles (and, of course, German beer), after a German pretzel and a tornado potato (cut in a spiral, skewered, and deep fried).

Food stalls

As the sun sets, the lights become more festive and the crowd grows as people come in for dinner and the evening.

Evening arrives

Leaving the Christmas Market, we admire the lights of Seattle as we walk back to our hotel near the Convention Center.

Lights of the city

Now we have to plan to visit the European markets in the coming years!

Gig Harbor Christmas

We interrupt the blogging on our recent trip to [warm] Saint Martin for a few timely local holiday sights.  We head into Gig Harbor, Washington (near Tacoma) for dinner on the harbor and, after dinner, walk down Harborview Drive along the water, observing the holiday decorations on the way.  Our first stop is Skansie Brothers Park, named after four Croatian Skansie brothers, all of whom were fisherman in Gig Harbor at the beginning of the 20th century and also created the Skansie Boat Building Company at the location of the park in 1908.  We start at the tree, alongside the memorial to local fishermen lost at sea (inscribed:  "In memory of the fishermen of Gig Harbor who have gone to sea at great risk with passion and hard work, this statue is a tribute to an industry upon whose labor our community was founded").

Holiday tree

Tribute to those lost at sea

We walk over to the edge of the harbor, observing the boats decorated for the holiday.

Decorated boats

Returning to the  tree we visit a shed filled with Santa's sled and and reindeer, open for all to climb on and enjoy.

Holiday display

Down the street, a tree of lights is located near Austin Park, dedicated to the Puyallup Tribe of Indians who established a village in the the bay and lived in three connected communities centuries before Croatian fishermen discovered the harbor in 1841.  The park and tree are alongside many of the commercial fishing vessels moored in the harbor.

Light tree view from Austin Park

Nearby baby Christmas Market (with Santa)

Along Harborview Drive, the houses and businesses are also decorated for the holiday.

Along Harborview Drive

Lights on Rosedale, intersecting Harborview

Leaving Gig Harbor and returning home, we find our neighbors have also gotten into the holiday decorating spirit.

Neighborhood sights

We're home for the holidays and enjoying the sights.