Having stocked up, we headed off to Bellevue, an upmarket business neighbourhood. We stopped for coffee at Capitol One, a bank which offers discounted Peet's coffee to their credit card holders. Noice.
Something I didn't realise about Seattle is that it's a bit of a tech hub, and so our first cultural stop was the Microsoft Campus. Here, visitors can try out new tech like uber expensive gaming chairs and software that guesses how old you are or which type of dog you look at.
Being so nerdy had made us build up and appetite, so we drove to a nearby coffee shop called Five Stones for yummy avocado toast, although a surcharge was added that day due to low avocado supplies. Who'd have thought such a thing could be possible in our millennial era?
Given that we'd be in Seattle for a few days, we'd booked an Airbnb in Capital Hill which enabled us to have a place of our own just outside of the city.
As the sun began to set, we took a walk down to Pike Street Market to admire the views out beyond Puget Sound, and see the very first Starbucks. And who says I don't do historical stuff on my travels?
With dinner on our minds, I suggested the American institution that is The Cheesecake Factory. This turned out to be a pretty good option given that their 20 page menu has something for everyone, plus close to 40 cheesecake options. It's a win-win. I opted for a four cheese pasta (it works on pizza, and it works on pasta) followed by Adam's Peanut Butter Cheesecake, filled with Butterfinger and Reese's Cups. Pretty good.
Day two in the big smoke and I woke up at 2am - definitely channelling Meg Ryan a la Sleepless in Seattle. With sleep nowhere in sight, I waited until shops opened to venture to Safeway to see what grocery shopping in the middle of the night looks like, and then wandered back as light began trickling through the sky.
Once the whole gang was awake, we made our way to Verve for peanut butter acai bowls. The staff there aren't exactly the most reliable (customers have been known to leave because their bowls are taking too long, and my takeaway bowl was put in a to stay bowl), but the bowls are pretty good.
Embracing our inner techies, we wandered to Amazon district to take a look at the Amazon Go stores, where your movement is tracked so you can take whatever you want without worrying about cashier lines as you're charged automatically when you leave; and the Amazon biospheres, big domes filled with plant life.
We left Central Seattle towards Lower Queen Anne, home of the Space Needle. It's not the cheapest attraction, but given my inability to pass on climbing tall objects in cities (or hanging out of them, a la Toronto's CN Tower), I decided it was worth the money and booked in.
After waiting in a huge queue to get to the elevator, you are whisked up, up and up to the Observation Deck. Most of this is outside, which made it perfect for the sunny day I came on. The exterior is entirely glass, so you can walk around with an unimpeded view and even lean back against the glass overhanging the city if you're brave enough!
I particularly enjoyed the tech that they'd installed which allowed you to take selfies and videos by scanning your ticket and then smiling up at the camera on the roof; the photos from which you can later download on your phone - perfect if you're a solo traveller like I was!
Downstairs was the lower observation deck with glass floor, again, pretty cool. I wish I could've stayed there for a full rotation (about every 45 minutes), but given the queue to get down was about as big as the one to go up, I thought I'd better get moving.
Back on solid ground, we left the Lower Queen Anne district to head up to Queen Anne District. What no one tells you about Seattle is that its actually extremely hilly, so this was fairly challenging! But the view from Kerry Park certainly made it worth it, as you could see the whole Seattle skyline, which this time included the Space Needle too.
Since holidays are all about treating yourself, our next stop was ice cream at Molly Moon. Now, if you know me, you'll know I suck at making decisions, so after tasting two flavours and not really liking them, I panic ordered salted caramel. A safe bet, right? This one was majorly salty, and I think all of Molly Moon's flavours are rather intense, so if that's what you're looking for, try it, but if not, I'd try your hand elsewhere.
Pretty much the last key place we had to see was the Waterfront, so we traipsed past all of the fancy houses and down to the waters edge, walked along, and then had to walk all the way up the hills back to the Airbnb. Needless to say, after a day like that, my feet were killing me, and we weren't done just yet.
We'd booked dinner at Elliot's down on one of the piers, which meant heading all the way back to the Waterfront (my poor legs). Elliot's is famous for seafood, but unfortunately their vegetarian options weren't up to much (there was one) so I had a spiced pumpkin soup to start followed by a pretty ordinary cauliflower and chickpea dish. Dessert made up for it a bit with espresso panacotta, as did the view over the water as the sun set.
Our last full day in Seattle began with a drive out to Edmonds, where we went for brunch at the Rusty Pelican, a busy place with huge plates. I went for a variation on one of their combos - lemon curd crepes with 2 eggs any style and home potatoes; coupled with a seasonal apple cider. Not bad for under 20 bucks!
The main reason we were in Edmonds was to catch the ferry across to Kingston, a sleep town whose main attraction seemed to be some overly large chairs dotted around. We did a quick tour of the town, down to the bay to watch the gentle waves roll in, and then for a quick coffee at Majestic Coffee Roastery before hopping back on the ferry.
Back where we started, we took a drive over to Seahurst Park in Burien for a pleasant week along the coast of the Puget Sound, and then along to Lincoln Park to walk along the dog-filled Promenade. My kind of afternoon.
Legs still tired from the previous day, we decided to stay fairly local for dinner and head to Nue, an eclectic restaurant with dishes from all over the world. We had options from as far as Pakistan and South Africa, but I chose the spicy Malaysian Curry and a Tamarind soda. Something a bit different before we headed off to further explore Washington.
I hope you enjoyed today's blog! I'll be uploading the rest of my West Coast USA adventures shortly, so make sure to stay tuned to my Twitter @CiarasCountry and feel free to drop me a message in the comments for any recommendations of where I should visit next!
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