Pike's Place, continued

Pike's Place was fun. I bought this tiny lemon white-chocolate cheesecake that was delish and a really funny gift for Hubs. As I browsed, I was always searching for a certain store.

The original Starbucks. At first I thought this was it:

It was on Pike Street and it was the first one I saw. So, I went inside and got a drink. I decided not to buy any gifts there since I had just arrived. I thought I would just stop by later. It wasn't much different than a normal Starbucks, just a little different atmosphere.

Half a block later, I stumbled across the REAL first Starbucks.

It was smaller, older, and if that wasn't enough, the inside SHOUTED that it was the first Starbucks.

No tables and chairs. No normal Starbucks merchandise. No pastries. Two tall counters against two of the walls. The other wall was shelves containing merchandise and coffee beans ONLY sold at this store. And the other wall was the front door.

It was tiny, compared to most, and it was busy with tourists. I'm pretty sure everyday Seattle dwellers go to the many other Starbucks store in town. I browsed and bought some unique gifts. The lady at the counter told me they sold waaaaay more merchandise than coffee, she compared this store to a Target. It wasn't surprising. They had the coffee mugs all boxed and ready to go for the tourists.

This Starbucks store only uses the original brown logo. If you haven't seen it, it is the one with the naked girl in detail. So, I was very careful with my selection of mugs. Call me crazy, but I felt a little odd buying someone a mug with a large Starbucks logo, "aka large naked breasts."

Being such a big fan of coffee and of Starbucks, this was a definite highlight. What I didn't think about was that I would now need to lug all my purchases uphill to my bus stop. I verified my bus choice with a local and hopped on. It was nice to sit after walking for a solid 3+ hours wearing cute flats - the tennies just didn't go with the skinny jeans.

But, then I got off the bus and had a mile and a half walk back to the hotel. This walk was quicker, now that I knew where I was going. But this time I was also carrying a large back of purchases. Our hotel wasn't very fun to hang out at, and I still had seven hours until Hubs was done.

Off I went for another 4 hours of shopping, in my flats. When my feet couldn't stand it anymore, I got a yogurt parfait from Red Mango and cozied up in a chair at Barnes and Noble and read. A great way to end a fun day in Seattle.