Category: Seattle

Posted on

Friday/ 🇺🇸 USA 2, Australia 0 🇦🇺

Happy Friday.
It was already weekend early this morning, since it is the Juneteenth holiday here in the United States.

Team USA secured a place in the round of 32 with today’s win.

I went down to the The Press Box sports bar at 10.30 am to watch the USA-Australia game with my amigos. There were lots and lots more people out and about by Pioneer Square and around the Stadium compared to the Belgium-Egypt game of Monday.

Andy Yamashita writes for the Seattle Times, about the game:
The Americans, propelled by a sold-out crowd that rattled Seattle Stadium’s press box with every shot, launched themselves into Friday’s game with intensity, deploying their high press almost immediately.
The Australians, in comparison, struggled to get out of first gear.

Australian fans pose for a picture on a ferry, with the Seattle skyline as backdrop. I assume that is a stuffed kangaroo and not a real one!
[Photo from the Seattle Times]
U.S. soccer fans march through Seattle to the match with Australia.
[Photo by Ruth Fremson/The New York Times]

Posted on

Monday/ fútbol fever ⚽

I had a little FOMO (fear of missing out) at home this morning, and took the train down to Pioneer Square and Seattle Stadium* nearby just to feel the excitement, and take a few pictures.

*Lumen Field’s name for the next few weeks, capacity for 69,391 spectators.

The Belgium vs. Egypt game had already started at noon by the time I got to Pioneer Square. Everyone with tickets was packed inside Seattle Stadium, of course. There was a screen and outdoor watch party in Pioneer Square, and insides ones at all the bars nearby.

From a vantage point outside the stadium, one could see the large jumbotron screen inside, as well as some of the cheering fans.

Posted on

Sunday/ toasty ☀️

It was warm outside today, with a high of 88°F (31°C) here in the city.

I went down to Myrtle Edwards Park on Elliott Bay for a few sunset photos.
The park has refreshed landscapes with new lawns, meadows, and trees that flourish in coastal conditions.
It also offers improved access to two beach coves and enhanced pedestrian and bike trails.

Posted on

Thursday/ 🇲🇽 Mexico 2, South Africa 0 🇿🇦

Two amigos and I went down to the Seattle waterfront at noon to check out the watch party for the first World Cup match— Mexico vs. South Africa.

Bafana Bafana* was up against it, playing in the home stadium of the Mexican team, and lost by two goals to nil.

*The South African team’s nickname, meaning ‘the boys, the boys’, from South Africa’s Nguni languages (Zulu and Xhosa).

A summary of the game by Luke Brown from The Athletic in the New York Times.
xG stands for Expected Goals. PPDA stands for Passes Per Defensive Action. It is a modern soccer analytics metric used to measure a team’s pressing intensity and aggressiveness.
The view from the steps next to Seattle Aquarium.
The screens could have been larger, we thought— but maybe the space on Pier 62 did not allow that. To the right of Pier 62 is a barge for more people ,with another screen.
Ferries and sailboats on the water in Elliott Bay.
Washington State’s ferry system celebrates its 75th anniversary this month. The ferry system began operation on June 1, 1951, after the state government acquired routes, vessels, and terminals from the Puget Sound Navigation Company, a private company that had a virtual monopoly on ferries in the region.
A view of the barge by Pier 62 that allowed for another screen and watch party viewing area.
The Cunard Line’s luxury cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth, is at Pier 66 today before setting sail for Ketchikan, Alaska. Launched in 2010 and refreshed in 2025, the ship accommodates up to 2,081 passengers and features a formal ambiance with elegant, Art Deco-inspired decor.
A closer look.
Posted on

Sunday/ let’s play ⚽

LET’S PLAY SEA ’26 is the campaign developed by Visit Seattle, to market and celebrate the FIFA World Cup 26™ games that will be played in Seattle.

Seattle Center (by the Space Needle) will be one of the anchor locations for Seattle’s fan celebrations.  There will be music, art, culture, and opportunities for fans to gather and engage around the tournament.

Closer to Seattle Stadium*, the street blocks in Pioneer Square will be transformed into a free pedestrian-only fan zone for the World Cup matches, with large screens, stages and beer gardens.

Here are a few pictures I took today around the Amazon spheres in downtown.

Posted on

Friday/ it’s almost time ⚽

Happy Friday.
It is almost time for the World Cup.
The June 11 opener game will be Mexico 🇲🇽 vs. South Africa 🇿🇦 in Mexico City.

Seattle will host 6 games in total, and the first two are—
June 15: Belgium 🇧🇪 vs. Egypt 🇪🇬 (12:00 p.m. PT)
June 19: USA 🇺🇸 vs. Australia 🇦🇺 (12:00 p.m. PT)

The dome of the Space Needle has been painted in the white and black hexagons of a soccer ball. Fun fact:  A standard, classic soccer ball has 20 hexagons.

Pictures from the Seattle Times, courtesy of the Space Needle.

Posted on

Tuesday 🌆

The daylight hours are still stretching longer, and we have reached the first 9:00 p.m. sunset of the year here in Seattle.
There were soft pastel colors in the sky tonight, as the daylight dwindled.
I am standing on the corner of East Thomas St and 13th Avenue East and using a 4x telephoto lens.
Posted on

Sunday/ on the way to Lake Union ⛵

I took the No 8 bus to Westlake Avenue and walked up along Lake Union, hoping to still catch Mark Zuckerberg’s megayacht there.
Alas, she was gone.
Someone there told me she was out in the open waters of Elliott Bay.

Checking out the Boeing 747 fuselage ‘public art’ installed between the apartment towers of 1200 Stewart Street. (I’m still on the No 8 bus).
A new eight-story banner installation designed by Seattle artist Ernesto Ybarra on the east façade of the 9th & Thomas building in South Lake Union. It is called ‘The Hostess’, and celebrates Seattle’s role as a host city for the World Cup soccer matches this summer.
Once upon a time many years ago, I brought my 1996 Toyota Camry to this building at 400 Westlake Ave for new tires.
The Firestone Auto Supply & Service Store building was constructed in 1929 with concrete and terra cotta details in the art deco style.
The façade was kept when a new 15-story commercial tower was built on the property.
Nearby is the 2021 artwork by Patti Warashina called ‘Dreamer’.
It was sculpted with aluminum and painted in geometric patterns.
This corner of South Lake Union’s waters is for rowers and kayakers. That’s the MOHAI building in the background (Museum of History and Industry).
The Marina Mart building is still there. Constructed in the early 1940s, it has deep ties to Seattle’s maritime heritage. It has transitioned from an industrial maritime site into a major dining and recreation hub.
With Memorial Day behind us, sailing season is now officially open.
There was a light breeze around and lots of sunshine🌞.
Posted on

Thursday/ sunset 🌇

Sunset is now at 8.55 pm here in the city.
It was summery today, with the high at 81°F (27°F ).

Clouds are moving in for a cooldown and a little rain tomorrow, though.
One can see Mark Zuckerberg’s megayacht on south Lake Union from the Melrose Avenue & East Harrison St overlook at Interstate 5, where I was.

Built in the Netherlands by Dutch luxury shipbuilder Feadship, the yacht is 387 ft (118 m) long and goes by the decidedly unromantic name (in my opinion) of Launchpad.

Looking out towards Queen Anne Hill.
Look for Climate Pledge Arena in the center, and the twin peaks in the Olympic Mountains called The Brothers (they are not the tallest peaks; the peak of Mt Olympus is).
Low at the right is Saint Spiridon Orthodox Cathedral, a Russian cathedral.
There she is: the megayacht called ‘Launchpad’.
Posted on

Thurday/ the Olympics, noir 🌄

Here is an hour before sunset (now 8.47 pm), with the sun behind the clouds at the top right.
I am looking out towards the Olympic mountains from 13th Avenue E and East Mercer St.

iPhone 16 Pro telephoto lens with Noir filter applied.
Posted on

Sunday ☀️

It was mostly sunny today here in the city, with a high of 63°F (17°C).

The flower du jour here from Seattle’s Capitol Hill is a rock rose (the shrub’s genus is Cistus), with its crinkled ’tissue paper’ petals and bright yellow stamens in the center.
Rock rose flowers are short-lived, and once out of the bud, most last only a day or two!

Posted on

Thursday/ blustery winds 🍃

No! It’s cold! Go back and put your thicker jacket on, I thought, as I headed out the door tonight for a quick walk.
The high today was 61 °F (16 °C), and it was only 53 °F (12 °C) in the early evening hours.

Looking west from E Thomas Street and 14th Avenue E at 7.41 pm tonight.
Shot with iPhone 16 Pro 5x telefoto lens, with ‘Dramatic’ filter added.
Posted on

Monday/ books galore 📚

Barnes & Noble is back in downtown Seattle with a new two-level, 18,000-square-foot store at 520 Pike Street. (The store in Pacific Place closed down during the pandemic in Jan. 2020).
I like their selection of books.

From there, I walked to the Seattle Public Library, taking a few pictures on the way. I usually don’t have to wait too long for a Tesla to appear in view, and then I take the picture 😁.

Posted on

Friday/ sunglass weather 😎

Happy Friday.
It was a beautiful and mild spring day here in the city (63°F/ 17°C) with sunshine this afternoon.

I wore my sunglasses as I walked over to Chuck’s Hop Shop in Central District to join my amigos for a beer.

Check out the cute stamp booklet below, with stamps featuring an illustration by the Japanese artist Jyunichi Komi.

These stamps are prefecture stamps, issued for Fukui Prefecture, Japan*.
Sabae City in Fukui Prefecture is famous for being the eyewear capital of Japan. It produces 90% of the nation’s eyeglass frames.

*Japan has 47 prefectures (political subdivisions).
Starting in 1989, the national postal ministry has issued stamps to promote  each of the prefectures.
These stamps are valid throughout Japan.
Prefecture stamps can be recognized by the different font that is used for the Japan Post 日本郵便 inscription on it.

Unfolded cover of stamp booklet with lettering that says ‘Prefecture Issue — Megane (Glasses), Fukui Prefecture’.
1991 Prefecture Issues, Japan
Issued Oct. 1, 1991
Perf. 13 | Issued in sheets and booklets | Photolithography | No watermark
Z112 ZA112 62y Multicolored | Stylized girl wearing large orange glasses
[Sources: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Vol. 4A, Google Gemini AI]
Posted on

Thursday/ sea lions, bailing 🦭

Here’s a sea lion ‘action picture’ from photographer Ken Lambert, taken for the Seattle Times.

There are sea lions as well as seals in Puget Sound.
Sea lions and seals differ primarily in that sea lions have visible ear flaps, large flippers for “walking” on land, and bark loudly, while true seals have ear holes, short flippers, and move by belly-sliding. Sea lions are generally larger, more social, and agile on land; seals are more solitary and streamlined for swimming. – Google AI Overview
Posted on

Monday/ irises 🪻

I found these beautiful bearded irises on Martin Luther King Way in Seattle’s Central District.

From Google AI Overview:
Bearded irises, native to the Mediterranean, have a rich history spanning over 3,000 years, from being cherished by Egyptian pharaohs and Greek mythology to becoming a cornerstone of modern gardening.
Posted on

Sunday/ three departures 🚢

The newly built Star Princess made its maiden port of call in Seattle this weekend.  She was constructed in 2025 by Fincantieri in Monfalcone, Italy, with a capacity for 4,300 passengers and a gross tonnage of 175,500. The Star Princess is the second Sphere-class vessel for Princess Cruises, a sister ship to the Sun Princess.

The Star Princess was at Pier 91 with MS Noordam on the opposite side of the pier, and was scheduled to depart this afternoon at 3 pm.
Instead, it was MS Noordam that sounded her horn three times, and departed shortly after 3 pm.

I waited until after 4 pm for Star Princess to depart, and then gave up.
(I saw later online that she had departed at 5.25 pm).
I walked up to the Magnolia Bridge to take another picture or two, and right then the Norwegian Encore came by in the distance.
She had been at Pier 66.

Port of Seattle’s Pier 91 this afternoon at 3 pm.
From left to right: the Star Princess, the Arctic Fjord (a state-of-the-art, 325.8-foot/ 99-meter U.S.-built factory trawler designed for harvesting and processing Alaska pollock in the Bering Sea) and the MS Noordam.
A closer look at the Star Princess. The dome at the top is a multi-level, glass-enclosed top-deck venue. The structure directly in front of the dome is a relaxing, forward-facing outdoor area known as the Sea View. The bridge is located at the very front of the ship, situated on Deck 15 (the Sun Deck).
The MS Noordam, bound for Juneau, Alaska.
The MS Noordam had sounded her horn three times, backed away from the pier, and turned north. In the foreground in Elliot Bay Marina.
So now all of Star Princess is visible from my vantage point at Elliott Bay Marina.
I am not 100% sure, but I believe this tugboat is using its water cannon to produce a ‘water salute’ to the Star Princess prior to her departure.
Look at the Mountain looming in the distance, magnified by my telefoto lens.
By about 4.20 pm at Elliott Bay Marina, I gave up to see Star Princess depart. Her mooring lines were still in place. I walked up the Magnolia Bridge to get this view of Pier 91 for a final picture or two.  
The vessel to the left of Star Princess is Seaspan Baker, a bunkering tanker. These are specialized vessels designed to supply fuel (bunker) directly to other ships for propulsion and energy.
While I was on the Magnolia Bridge, the Norwegian Encore came by.
She had been at Pier 66 and had a scheduled 4 pm departure. She was a little late departing as well (this picture taken at 4.35 pm).