SEATTLE

Once upon a time I went to Seattle. 

I think I mentioned in my Tacoma post, I'm ashamed to say Seattle didn't rank too high on my "must see" list until fairly recently, and I regret that immensely. It was such a beautiful city, and reminded me at times of MN. The waterfront felt like Duluth, Bainbridge Island felt like the north shore, with all the pine trees. I felt like we really squeezed a lot in to our roughly 30 hours there, but would love to go back and explore more like a local. 

We started off the morning heading to the iconic Pike Place Market. 

My only regret here, and it's difficult to do with a group as large as we had, is that we didn't wander around more and just take it in. There was a slight mentality of "okay, this is the market, now what?" and I felt silly saying, "well, that's it. and I just want to wander around like I'm at home at a farmer's market." We actually ended up eating breakfast in the market at Lowell's- highly recommended if for no other reason than the spectacular waterfront views! Go to the 2nd floor, where you can actually sit at a table. The other 2 floors are more cafeteria style and you can only stay for 15 minutes once you get your food. 

After breakfast we wandered down to the waterfront.

I still wanted to see the gum wall but rather than hiking all the way back up to the market we decided to take a ferry to Bainbridge Island. (Another shout out to Sar who basically planned this trip for me!) Sar gave us the heads up that the ferry was only $7, and a good way to see the city from the water. If nothing else, how often do you get to ride a giant ferry!? 

I'd done some research and realized Bainbridge Island has a TON of little wineries/wine tasting rooms. 

We hopped off the ferry and strolled up through town, which was exactly as Sar described it as a "little hippy downtown." We were "rushing" back to the ferry at one point so as not to miss the next departure when I had everyone stop and check in and asked why we were rushing back. 

We'd only been on the island for about 35 minutes at that point and everybody agreed we didn't know why we were doing that. 

Thankfully we all realized this as we were standing in front of an adorable tasting room, so we popped in for some cheese (do you even know me) and wine flights. 

After heading back to Seattle we just had one last place I wanted to stop, the infamous gum wall. 

I'm really not easily grossed out so to me it was nothing but a colorful neat spontaneous piece of art in a tiny alley in the Pike Place Market.

After the gum wall we headed back to the hotel for some cat-naps, and to rest for a bit. We'd done a TON of walking by this point! 

After recharging we headed to Serious Pie for dinner... this was a Sar recommendation and OMG did it deliver. I am a pizza fanatic and I also fancy myself a bit of a foodie..this place was the perfect marriage of both pizza and foodie. If you want a gourmet but no fuss meal, and you're in Seattle, head to Serious Pie. 

We decided to squeeze in the 3 "need the car" items all on Sunday before our later flights. 

Not before heading to breakfast at Portage Bay Cafe, though. I got the tip on this place from Iowa Girl Eats.  (also a GREAT source for Seattle tips- and doubled up on a ton of what Sar gave me!) 

After breakfast we grabbed the car and drove up to Kerry Park in Queen Anne for, as promised, SPECTACULAR views of the city.  It's literally only a boulevard of grass along the bluff but it's so worth it. 

Next stop was the Fremont Troll. This is a quirky art installation under a bridge.. the troll is clutching a real Volkswagon, too. To give you a scale for size (well, us sitting on it helps, too). 

From there, we made the long walk (and should have drove, woops) to Gas Works Park. 

Familiar with the paintball scene in 10 Things I Hate About You? (RIP Heath.) This is where it was filmed. 

It's a cool old plant of some sort that was turned into a modern park. 

The views also didn't suck. 

I wish we would've driven over here, or left more time for this, as it was beautiful and breezy and amazing. (the cover pic up top with "Seattle" on it was also a view from Gas Works Park). 

If you're ever heading to the PNW and have any questions- ask Sar.
No but seriously, haha.
Thank you so much for all the tips, Sar, it was fantastic!

Until next time. :)