Day 1
After saying bye to my family I hopped on the Quick Bus to Seattle. It took just under 4 hours to reach Seattle with a stop at border control (where they ask like a thousand questions!). Once I arrived downtown, I checked into City Hostel, which was pretty close to everything major. I quickly teamed up with some others and we headed out for a first night beer in Pike place brewery. Seattle is BIG on craft which I love, coming from a beer company myself. We had dinner close to the market but then taxied up to the Capitol Hill area, which is the place to be for nightlife. We ended up at a karaoke bar and rocked the stage with Shakira and The Killers.
Day 2
My friend Travis and I had a big day ticking off all the touristy sites. These included: pike place market, the gum wall, the Seattle wheel, the first ever Starbucks, and visited TARGET! it was a sunny day for our sightseeing which made everything better. In the evening, I met up with my friend Phil who I first met whilst travelling Brazil. He moved to Seattle for an internship and agreed to babysit me over the weekend. My timing here was perfect as Phil took me to the food festival known as ‘Seattle Bytes’ which was truly epic. We sampled many cuisines AND drinks whilst enjoying the park. Once we were full (quite the task for me) we had a few rounds of pool and I won all of them 🙂
Day 3
Phil’s idea for the weekend was a good one – we went to Capitol Hill Block Party! Even though it cost $90 USD and I didn’t know a single band, I had the best time!! I particularly enjoyed Busty and the Blues, Metsa, Betty Who, and of course the headliner Brockhampton. The atmosphere was insane and the weather was good for us. I met a couple of people in the beer tent (because I wasn’t allowed to take beer out of the designated area -haha) and everyone was just lovely. Would live here. We arrived at 4pm and didn’t leave till after midnight.
Day 4
It was a Sunday and Phil suggested we go to the Ballard farmers market for lunch. I had a super tasty burger and he went for the burrito. The market had EVERYTHING and we absolutely could not resist the donuts we passed. I then said bye to Phil and headed back to City Hostel. Myself and the SeaTac Fam (Travis, Kyle, & Jacqui) embarked on a steep uphill climb to Kerry Park, where we got stunning views of the city at sunset.
Day 5
I spent a day at the Museum of Pop culture and I went alone because I knew I’d want to see absolutely everything. The museum had a bunch of exhibits, ranging from horror, sci-fi, gaming, music, and more. My favourite part was the top floor which was a sound lab where people could learn new instruments. I now know the chords for ‘Smells like a teen spirit’ and can play a basic drum beat. When I came outside, the film crew for Greys Anatomy were lurking around but unfortunately I haven’t seen the show so didn’t know what I was looking for. When I got back, Kyle (SeaTac bro) had finished his first day at work with success so we went out to celebrate at Pink Door on post alley. We indulged in octopus, rabbit, halibut, and wine. Kyle is a health freak and asked for carrots instead of fries – no words.
Day 6
Spent the morning doing life admin like posting Travis (SeaTac bro) all his stuff he left behind under the bed! In the afternoon Kyle and I tried out a renowned coffee place by pike market and I have to say it was pretty good! Nice presentation too. That evening I hung out with two lovely sisters from Boston, and we went out for Thai food on capital hill. On the way back we stopped by the Starbucks roastery which had the biggest merch collection EVER!
Day 7
I’d been in Seattle a little longer than planned because a) it’s a great place and b) I only had vague onward plan. Initially I had wanted to go to Colombia after hearing amazing things from my fellow travellers, however, Seattle airport isn’t great for onward backpacker destinations and all routes were expensive and complicated. I then decided that Costa Rica was a feasible route at a decent price, and a place I was fascinated by. To celebrate the fact I’d actually booked something after faffing around for so long, my friend Alan and I went for food! We had Chinese pork buns from pike market and walked along the seafront. There was a little ‘beach’ area where I could see jellyfish chilling out! After a little walk around the sculpture park we returned to the hostel to cool down (it had been 28 degrees nearly everyday). In the evening I went to see some friends that I met in Vietnam. Indeed, one of my favourite things about travelling is meeting people you adore and then meeting up again in cool places! With Katy and Marcel I’d been rock climbing in Halong Bay, lantern watching in Hoi An, and temple exploring in Siem Reap. It was a joy to be reunited and especially over Caribbean food at Bongos. After eating we strolled around the Green lake and Marcel went for a little swim. To round off my week in Seattle I joined Phil in Ballard for a gourmet ice cream.
