Seattle is a city I dream about living in, yet have only visited once and it was as a young girl. My first trip here was with my family and I fondly remember a very fancy dinner at the rotating top of the Space Needle, a lively day in Pike’s Place Fish Market and a somewhat dangerous seeming visit to the ever-active Mount Saint Helen’s. At this point in my life, I’ve come to realize cities with a balance of outdoors attraction and urban elegance most impress me. I was excited to have the opportunity to finally make it back to Seattle this weekend, even if for only two days.

EXPERIENCE

Seattle is loaded with great places to shop, eat, drink coffee and explore. This trip I caved to do take on the Starbuck’s Roastery experience. While over priced, I am a brand builder by trade and really love seeing how large brands are preserving aspects of their heritage. While Starbucks seems as commercial as McDonald’s these days, it’s nice to see their history and inspiration captured with such authentic execution in this store and their original location in Pike’s Market. If we had more time I would have loved to check out Kerry Park, the Art Museum and the Volunteer Park Conservatory as well. 

Pike’s Place Market was another stop on the list this visit. While it wasn’t as magical as I remember it being as a kid, we had a nice time checking out the fresh flowers and beautiful fish selection.

Seattle is home to some great shopping. Stores that topped my list included Tokokaelo, Glasswing, Rizom and Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. I’d love to have more time to spend hitting the local stores in Seattle, but this trip wasn’t the time. 

Beyond the boundaries of the city, Seattle becomes even more impressive. This trip we made a visit to nearby Snoqualmie Falls, which was nice to see. From here we explored the back roads of Washington, east of Seattle, checking our several small lakes and quaint towns. Had we more time and higher temperatures, we certainly would have made time to visit one of the many national parks near the city. On my short list is Northern Cascades, Mount Rainer and Olympic National Parks. These are places I visited as a child and would love to get back to with my camera and hiking partner.

STAY

This trip we stayed in an Airbnb on Minor Street in downtown. This location was very central and made it easy to walk to various destinations around town. I think next time we would try and stay in Capitol Hill, this area was a little quieter and more appealing to us. I’d also note that we rented a car and somewhat regretted it since street parking is made nearly impossible in Seattle proper. With two-hour time limits on nearly all street spots, a ticket is almost inevitable. If you’re planning to stay in the city, skip the rental.

EAT

We certainly did our fair share of good eating on this trip despite the length of stay. We enjoyed a wonderful egg and cheese bisquit breakfast at Oddfellows prefaced by a cortado at Little Oddfellows located in the charming bookstore attached to the restaurant.

Thanks also to recommendations we focused our evening meal on Asian cuisine given the local flair and had an amazing Vietnamese meal at Monsoon. From here we had handmade ice cream sandwiches at a great spot called Molly Moon’s then finished up with a cocktail at the beautifully executed Tallulah’s. This little part of Capitol Hill was the highlight of Seattle for me this visit.

We ended our trip with one last brunch at London Plane, this place is spectacular and stunning, with fresh flowers for sale alongside fresh baked bread and pastries. I can’t imagine a more inspiring setting to sip tea and munch on exotic topped sourdough toasts.

Restaurants on my list of recommendations that I didn’t make it to this time, but hope to hit next visit include: Italian at Bar del Corso, Bar Vacilando, Korean at Revel, Artusi, a fancy night at Spinasse, Le Piche, Earnest Loves Agnes and Delancey.