Happy review, sad review. Our cruise had pulled into Seattle as our second stop (after a couple of days in Victoria). So EVERYONE and their cousin's dog has got to go visit Pike Place Market (and BTW, if you didn't know why there's a SBUX roast called Pike Place, it's on account of Pike Place being the birthplace of Howard's famous chain - this is where you'll find the original store with the original brown, not green, logo). The day we were there saw half the city of Denver and Broncos fans in town as well for the great Russell Wilson 'homecoming' - so, very lively for a Monday. We went to or went by pretty much three-quarters of the shops that are in this expansive (expensive too), charming market. Just to the right of where you see fish being tossed are a couple of flower merchants with some gorgeous fresh bouquets on display, and Thai Tao Farm was one of them (further away from fish-toss). When I saw the prices of these beauteous bunches, it almost made me cry. As I alluded, merchandise in the market in general - fish, produce, crafts - are generally frightfully expensive, but the flowers here are unbelievable bargains. When I looked at some of the gargantuan bouquets at $30, I had to shake my head (hence the 'sad' part of the tale). You see, I had just spent well over $100 for an arrangement for my wife's birthday the day before in Victoria, and here's something at less than half the price which is two or three times more voluminous, fresh, and beautiful (taking the currency difference into consideration). I was almost tempted to get a bunch anyway and just throw away that day-old bouquet! Even though they'd been doing this for over 21 years, there's no Yelp entry, a circumstance I had to change. They are also a women-owned business. So, if you're in the area, be sure to save some vase space for these fabulous products. The Pike Place Market website has more information, and they have a FB page.
https://www.pikeplacemarket.org/vendor/thai-tao-farm/ read more