Fish Market (Seattle, Puyallup, Snohomish: neighborhoods, buying, live)

[dpgtfc]

My wife and I will be flying out to Seattle next weekend. Saturday to be exact, and will be arriving at around Noon. On several shows on TV we have seen the Fish Market, where they throw the fish and such. However, my wife has an interview on Monday (maybe noonish in P-town (?)) and we are flying out on Tuesday.

So where is/are this/these market(s)? Do they operate on the weekends? What times are best to go?

I'd love to hear Anececdotes and stories of what stalls or whatever are best (I'm VERY ignorant of these things, from the Midwest, our fish stalls are in grocery stores and frozen).

[jenlion]

I think you want to go to the Pike Place Market. Google will get you directions there. It's the classic Seattle thing to see, and it's really neat. Monday to Sunday they're open 10-6, and on Sundays from 10-5. If you take the "normal" entrance (under the big Public Market sign) the fishthrowing people are right up front by a big pig. Tourists will stand there and take pictures while locals are buying fish and the workers are yelling, teasing, joking, and yelling some more. Right near that you can taste samples of jellies, chocolates, all kinds of things; it's a collection of food and "stuff" stores. If you're looking for a little souvenir of your trip, you'll find it here, or if you're looking to cook an awesome meal of fresh ingredients, you'll find those here too. Or you can buy anything lavender. I don't know why, but there's a ton of lavender stuff.

It's busier on weekends, but if it's just the two of you and you don't have any mobility issues, you should be fine. This time of year it isn't as crammed as in the summer, so the busy-ish weekends can be more fun! You can't easily drive and park RIGHT there, but there are nearby garages (at something like $10/pop) -- I'd rather walk if I was nearby, or take public transport.

It's also near some nice places to look at the Sound and at the mountains. We've been having some gorgeous weather lately, and it looks like it's supposed to be nice Saturday but not as nice on Sunday.

While you're here, catch a ferry someplace if you have time -- maybe to Bainbridge island to poke around for a little bit and have lunch -- the ferries are great.

I'm not sure what P-town is, but I hope you enjoy your long weekend!

[Ira500]

The "Fish Market" is in the Pike Place Market, just west of 1st and Pike in downtown Seattle. The market includes all kinds of vendors: fruit and vegetable, arts and crafts, restaurants, comic books, bagels,coffee, and fish. I believe that there's only one vendor that throws fish, and I think that's Pure Food Fish. There are at least four fish vendors in the market, Pike Place Fish, Pure Food Fish, City Fish, and Jack's Fish Spot. Jack's also has a few seats and sells chowders and an awesome seafood stew. I'm not sure that all of the fish folk are open on Sundays, but for sure yes on Saturdays.

[Heiwos]

Yep, it's a great time of year to see the flying fish! You can walk down the stairs next to there, across a skyway and down more stairs to get to the wharves, another tourist area. The nice Seattle Aquarium is there.

[dpgtfc]

Originally Posted by jenlion

I'm not sure what P-town is, but I hope you enjoy your long weekend!

Oh, it is what my wife has been calling it. She has been talking to the person on the phone that will be giving her an interview so I figured it was coming from there, but perhaps she can't pronounce it and that's her way of shortening it.

Puyallup.

[Ira500]

If they ask the name of the town during the interview, and mispronouncing it disqualifies, just say "
" Pyoo-wallup."

[allforcats]

Or if this is easier, same sound: Pew-AL-up. Accent on the AL. It's an ancient Native American word.
The only "P-town" in the U.S. I've ever heard of is Provincetown, Mass.

[azoria]

Originally Posted by Ira500

If they ask the name of the town during the interview, and mispronouncing it disqualifies, just say "
" Pyoo-wallup."

Gah! Pully-up, Pwee-yallup, Pyoo wallup.....I give up!

Snohomish, Smamamish, Saquamish, Sequimish, Sqim and others I can neither spell nor pronounce. I've lived in foreign countries where I didn't speak a word of the language and found it more comprehensible than names here in western Washington. I watch the western Washington weather forecast on the news and just listening to the meterorologist reel off these incomprehensible towns twists my tongue into knots and makes my head pound.

[Ira500]

The only "P-town" in the U.S. I've ever heard of is Provincetown, Mass.


Portland, Oregon is also sometimes known as P- Town...And one would think that some neighborhoods full of winos and that a certain "delightful" order would also have that moniker.

[flyingfishies]

Pyoo-allop.... rhymes with gallop.

Anyway, if you're going to check out Pike's place, you might also be interested in checking out the first starbucks ever. You'll be surprised how different the coffee tastes at the original location.