Travel Diaries: Seattle & Bellingham, WA
For my 26th birthday, Patrick surprised me with a trip to Seattle!
I've never been before so I was stoked to go see this place I've heard so much about. Luckily, it hardly rained the few days we were there so we got to do a lot of exploring around the city on foot. On one of the days, we also visited some family members in Bellingham, which is about 2 hours north of Seattle (right under Canada.) The two cities felt completely different and I loved that we got to experience various scenery while we were up there.
Get ready for photo overload! If you prefer watching in VIDEO format, we recorded our very first vlog which you can see at the very end of the post :)
We stayed at an airbnb in downtown so everything was pretty close by. Although we had a rental car, we ended up taking Uber or just walking from place-to-place because parking was so expensive. We learned our lesson on the first day when we spent over $20 on parking before noon. I would definitely recommend using public transportation or taxi services if you plan on hitting up multiple areas in one day.
On our first day, we did all of the touristy things like go to the famous Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and Pike's Place. The Space Needle had a cool view from up top but I was more impressed by Chihuly Garden & Glass. I could not believe one guy (and his team) made all of those intricate, colorful glasswork and I absolutely loved the way they exhibited each piece. At the end, there was a garden area and the landscaping was just insanely beautiful. You can just tell that Seattle rain does wonders for their blooms!
We also visited the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and their "Seeing Nature" exhibit. Visiting museums while traveling is one of my personal favorite activities so it was really fun for me to see the different collections they had. Their permanent collection reminded of those in LACMA but their Seeing Nature exhibit was similar to the French Impressionist collection from the Getty Museum. All in all, I love them all.
Space Needle
Chihuly Glass Garden
Seattle Art Museum
Seattle Public Library
Afterwards, we hit up some local restaurants and cafes in Downtown Seattle. All of the coffee shops we stopped by were so dang good and I now understand why Seattle is so famous for their coffee. If you're coffee fans, check out Victrola Coffee Roasters, Anchorhead Coffee and Elm Coffee Roasters!
For food, we had some hits and a few misses. On our hits list, we loved Biscuit Bitch for breakfast, List for happy hour, and Staple & Fancy Mercantile for a fancy dinner. For drinks and late night bites, we loved Knee High Stocking Co., which is like a speakeasy styled cocktail bar. You even have to ring a doorbell in order to enter! If you're more of a beer person, check out Old Stove Brewing and order their beer flight + roasted nuts/olive platter!
In our miss list, we have Piroshky Piroshki, which is a Russian Bakery in Pike's Place. The long line was not worth the pastries, which were just okay, nor the stomachaches we had after consuming them. Another miss is a floral shop & brunch spot called London Plane. With high ceilings, beautiful interiors and blooms, I can say this was one of the most adorable cafe I've ever stepped into. Unfortunately, their food was overpriced and not very good. I mean, 2 eggs for $7.50? No thank you.
Pike's Place
Piroshky Piroshky
Elm Coffee Roasters
Biscuit Bitch
London Plane
Staple & Fancy Mercantile (must order their fried polenta + ricotta cheese balls! YUM)
Anchorhead Coffee
Old Stove Brewing
Knee High Stocking Co.
& finally, our visit to Bellingham was incredibly scenic.
Patrick's cousin Will and his family took us out to some of their local spots and I couldn't help but notice how different it felt from Seattle. At least in the downtown area, Seattle feels urban and very similar to DTLA. The restaurants, the people, the vibes all feel familiar. On the other hand, Bellingham felt more really unique and it was rich with beautiful greens. I especially loved this spot Will took us to that had a moss covered bridge overlooking a gorgeous waterfall. The whole place reminded me of something you would see in Lord of the Rings. See for yourself!
+ Willowby <3
& here is our very first vlog!
Thanks to everyone who sent recommendations! We didn't really have a planned out itinerary so it was nice to be check out some of these places on the fly. We didn't get to cross off even half of that list so we'll definitely have to return to explore some more. Til next time Seattle!