Seattle is one of those places in the world that I fell in love with without even stepping foot in. Honestly, it’s probably because a few of my favorite movies & shows are set in this city. (I’m looking at you, Grey’s Anatomy.) But also, one of my dream jobs is based in Seattle. I’ve stalked this city madly in hopes of moving there in the near future. I’ve gone as far as looking at real estate and rental apartments. It’s pretty embarrassing, but I have been known to move my whole life in a brand new place without thinking of consequences or repercussions. It has been pretty okay so far, but that mindset has sort of prepared me into understanding how nothing stays the same forever. I could just now easily let go of places, material things, or even people. But before delving deeper into my psyche and how it works, lets go back to the topic at hand: Seattle.
Oh Seattle; the skyscrapers, the sea, the markets and the art. Everything about this city, just had a way of drawing me in. I went there to meet up with three of my favorite people in the world; Ryan, Anna & Pierre (my Vegas siblings) because we haven’t seen each other in a long time, and we’ve always wanted to travel together, but it’s never panned out. I’m so glad it finally did, and in this hip city of all places!
I didn’t quite get enough of Seattle as I’d hoped, but the few short days we were there was enough to convince me that it’s definitely a place I’d consider a future in. Granted, we were there on probably three out of the only few days of the year that it didn’t rain. We got pretty lucky that it was all sunny days during our trip, which somehow kind of tells me something, because I have this memory of an old lady telling me about this belief that if it rains the first time you visit a certain place, it means you are coming back.
Traditional customs aside, I definitely feel like I will be coming back to this colorful city!
In the first stop of our “Top Places to Visit in Seattle” tour. We went to a breakfast place highly recommended by locals. We had to wait in line a little bit before the place opened, but it was definitely worth the wait! Pike Place Chowder deserved all their “#1 Awards” plastered all over their restaurant. Their Seafood Bisque & Seared Scallop Chowder we’re both really top notch. There’s a reason why they’re the #1 Chowder in the US. I really can’t describe it any better! Also, I could probably only count the times I’ve had chowder in my life in my two hands, so I don’t really have a lot to compare it with, but out of those few times, I’d agree that this was the best!
One of my favorite places we went to was the Pike Place Market. We had a conversation about how much the fish stink was very nostalgic. It felt like home somehow, because you could smell the ocean, and it just reminded me so much of the wet markets in the Philippines that I remember I never really enjoyed going to. It was funny, I never appreciated the fishy smell back home, but being away from it for such a long time and experiencing it again in the US is definitely something that felt almost bizarrely exciting. Aside from the fish that gets thrown around and caught by fishermen/vendors, Pike Place also sold a variety of fresh things around the wet market, like flowers, vegetables, and organic jams.
Underground was where they had the dry area where all these really eccentric, amazing shops were located. It was very colorful and fun just going in and out of shops, boutiques, pharmacies and libraries. Each place had it’s own personality, and it was just very amusing to see everything.
We spent a lot of time in the stores just wandering aimlessly feeling like there was no concept of time whatsoever, and that we were almost in a different world. As we went up and out, that’s when we realized that we were back in gloomy old Seattle, back in the real world, and our adventure resumes.
The next stop, in an alley just outside the market, was where we discovered the Seattle Gum Wall. Not as exciting as everyone makes it out to be, but it was very entertaining to be there.
It was literally the most disgusting yet colorful display I’ve ever seen in my life. Imagine being around thousands of people’s combined spit, and you’re standing a feet away from it. It does feel as gross as it sounds, but it was such an awkwardly hilarious experience. I will not go further into the depths of what we each did to get a great picture, so I’ll have you just enjoy them.
Most of the day we spent just walking around, eating and shopping and just generally enjoying each other’s company. We decided to rest up a little bit so we could meet Ryan’s friend for dinner, and see the city at night.
As beautiful as Seattle was in the day, nothing compares to what it looks like at night. We went to a place called Kerry Park where we had a full view of the city lights and the iconic Space Needle in between all of it.
Also, the Escape Room virgin in me did my very first escape room experience and had so much fun. I was literally halfway out the door because I thought it was one of those interactive scary kidnapping experiences. I still don’t understand why people pay for stuff like that, but, that’s them. Anyway, we did a witch themed escape and managed to solve the puzzle just 3 minutes before the timer! Pretty proud for my first time. Thank you to The Escape Artist for such a great experience, and the free winner’s pin!
We went to a carnival themed bar called Unicorn on Capitol Hill, and had this really fun drink. I already forgot what it was called, but that’s one way of saying that I definitely enjoyed it! The bar was very whimsical, and the people in Seattle were very interesting in a fun, eccentric way. This definitely explains why everything in this city is very colorful and almost magical. (at this point, I’m running out of adjectives to describe this city.) At the end of the night, there’s no one else I’d eat grimy sidewalk hotdogs with, other than these three.
On the last day of our trip, we squeezed in a couple of food places and a bunch of city walking and people watching before our collective flights in the airport. Every street or building has such a character that it was fun just walking around despite the cold.
Myself and Anna sneaked a little donut date(breakfast) from Mighty-O Donuts, because the sign has been calling to us and we’ve been talking about it non-stop ever since we arrived, and we just never really got the chance to come in the first few days. They had really great organic donuts and coffee, and we had a great view of hot men falling from the sky (No, I will not explain this sentence.)
Then, just before heading to the airport, we had a quick lunch at Pier 57 in a place called The Fisherman’s Restaurant & Bar, where we had great fish & chips and even greater service.
The flight back home made me very sad because I was saying goodbye to a city that I really loved spending time in, and three people I really love spending time with.
See you again soon, Seattle! And to my three siblings: I wish we go on another trip soon!
xx Gizzy
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