Fall is in the air! And definitely more in Seattle than Texas. That’s right, I got to escape the 100 degree temperatures of fall in Texas to a cool 70. Not only was that super refreshing, but it was so nice to take a week long trip away!
Who doesn’t love a good work trip? I’ve never been on one myself, until this one, and what a rushing experience! Not only did I get to travel to a fun city like Seattle, but I got to enjoy meeting a bunch of wonderful people I work with in person! I did work full days during my trip, but I definitely utilized my free time exploring new places.
To begin with, I spent some time in Bellevue (east of Seattle) since it was closer to the office! I started at this quaint little coffee shop called Honor Coffee. It was a cool, rainy day which made it perfect to sit down and have a hot cup of Joe. I ended up getting a vanilla mocha and visited the coffee shop twice while I was in town. The baristas are also super fun to chat with!
I also had the chance to have a very touristy day in Pike Place. Obviously, it is the go to place if you’re visiting Seattle, and I can see why! Even though it was rainy, there were beautiful flowers and plenty of seafood to go around. Aside from gorgeous things, there’s also the gum wall, if you’re into that. I was astonished with the amount of gum that just sits around the corner of Pike Place, but the germaphobe in me thinks it’s disgusting. On the contrary, of course, you have to visit the OG Starbucks!
I was on such an adrenaline rush from visiting that I almost forgot about dinner. After doing some research on Pinterest, I discovered this cute diner in the Capitol Hill area, Lost Lake Cafe. I always love areas of the city that have a little charm and history to them, and I could tell this was that kind of area. Although I got a basic grilled cheese, it was really good!
After a bit of food, I stopped at the Space Needle as soon as it was getting dark. I’m not a heights kind of gal, so I didn’t actually go up there (plus, being from San Antonio, I feel like going to Tower of Americas is pretty similar!). Instead, I took a quick picture outside of it!
The next day, I checked out the University Village area including the University of Washington. I must say, it is a beautiful campus out there! I’ve never seen so many tall trees and just a lush, thriving area. In terms of nature, it was absolutely beautiful. There were a few shops and restaurants nearby, so I met up with a friend at JOEY Kitchen. I found that they are a Canadian restaurant with a few locations in the U.S. and have a menu with a lot of variety! After asking for a recommendation from the waiter, I got the chicken parmesan which was surprisingly a little spicy, but good.
If you know me, you know I’m a HUGE Houston Astros fan (go ‘stros!). So once I found out the Astros would be in Seattle at the same time I would be, I had to go! I always love to check out different sports arenas and teams while I’m traveling, and it was great adding a Mariners’ game to the list! I think the best part of it all is that the stadium was filled with mostly Astros fans! Some of my coworkers also recommended to go to Pyramid Brewing Company right across the street from the game, which was awesome to try out!
The next and final day in Seattle, I kept it pretty low-key (I was going non-stop okay!). I had lunch at this cute little place called Homegrown. They have a plentiful variety of healthy food choices, including the Matcha Chicken Avocado bowl (pictured below). It was super delicious and a good change to the food I was eating prior!
Last but not least! I had to check out the local thrift stores, and I found one of the ones that Macklemore’s Thrift Shop video was filmed in, the Freemont Vintage Mall. I totally forgot that Macklemore is from the PNW until I looked up various shops and read reviews. I was fighting against time since the store closes earlier in the evening, but I barely made it before the doors closed. They seemed to have a good variety of items, but it definitely would take some digging to look through every thing. You can check it out in the music video below at 1:40 and 2:24.
Until next time, PNW!
xx, Rachelle
