My long overdue travel post..

Seattle, Washington with Eddie 

Day One
December 13, 2013

Venturing off to Seattle, Washington with my boyfriend of four months was the most wonderful trip. We loved every second in the city and being in a long distance relationship really gave us the chance to spend some time together. It was a charming yet industrial. It was also foggy, dark and chilly but that made it all the more beautiful.  The city is filled with pleasing views, skyscrapers, charming neighborhoods, evergreen trees, coffee shops and intellectual people. Our flight to Seattle was quite long. It was exciting and we were very anxious for our arrival. Once we landed we quickly made our way to the tram station for our ride to downtown Seattle. The tram allowed us to get wonderful views of the city. We saw the industrial neighborhoods of Seattle, Seahawks Stadium, downtown views and of course plenty of trees. 

Once we reached downtown it was already dark in the city. The sun sets at around 4:15 p.m. in Seattle. We walked around the city with our luggage and found the nearest car2go to check-in to our adorable cottage Eddie booked on AirBnB for the trip. It was quite an experience driving through downtown Seattle to the Ballard neighborhood we were staying at. Even though we did at times get stuck in traffic we enjoyed the breathtaking views of the grand city. We finally reached our cottage and it was even better than the pictures. Ballard was a quaint and lovely neighborhood. We settled in and after a long day of traveling then we decided to get a bite to eat in the neighborhood. I picked the restaurant 'Ristorante Picolinis' that was only a five minute walk from our cottage and it was just beautiful. Candlelight tables, music, good conversation and great food. It was quite the romantic spot. After dinner we decided to get some lattes at Ballard Coffee Shop which became one of my favorite places in Seattle. The coffee shop offered moderately priced coffee, lovely views by the windows, pleasant staff and they played some wonderful tunes. The only thing I disliked about the coffee shop was the early closing hours. After coffee we walked across the street to Sonic Boom Records. What an amazing record shop! CDs, vinyl’s, books, tapes, box sets and much more were found in the store. You could also find a bunch of Nirvana memorabilia since of course they are from Seattle. After looking through CDs we decided it was time for a drink in a nearby Irish bar. The dive bar was dark and the bar service was pretty great. A few locals bought us a drink and we were able to try the local lager which was fantastic.  The bar was a lot of fun but after the long day we had it was time to head back to the cottage.

Day Two 

December 14, 2013

It was great to wake up without a hangover for a busy day out on the town. Eddie and I got ready and went to one of the four-hundred and twenty Starbucks in Seattle. While at Starbucks we met up with someone from Craigslist to buy tickets to see King Krule that evening at Barboza in downtown Seattle. I really wanted to take Eddie to the show so I was glad to score some tickets on such short notice. After the meet-up we headed to get some lunch before our adventure began. We made a stop at the greatest fast-food establishment I have ever been to. This place was a Seattle staple called Dick's Drive-In and they serve burgers, fries, sodas and milk shakes. Eddie and I were instantly in love. Oh yeah, it was also insanely cheap. If you are ever in Seattle you must make a pit stop. After a quick lunch we headed to the downtown Seattle area to go to the EMP Museum. The museum was a bit smaller than I initially expected but we had a lot of fun walking through because it was very interactive. I would definitely go back again! The museum was right next to The Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass which unfortunately we didn't get to see. After the EMP we drove to the Seattle Public Library. The library was absolutely wonderful. It was colorful, filled with books and was just great to spend time in. After a couple of hours wandering through the library we decided it was time to head back and relax at the cottage before the show. Eddie and I rested for a bit and listened to music then got ready to head out to see King Krule. Barboza was located downtown and it as a small, dark and intimate venue. Eddie and I grabbed a seat in a booth towards the back and we had a great view of the stage as we sat together drinking and enjoying the show. King Krule is pretty spectacular live. Our night ended back in Ballard at The Sloop Tavern where we drank Manny's, conversed, got really drunk and walked back to our cottage to finally get some sleep. 

Day Three

December 15, 2013

Sunday was a very lazy day for my boyfriend and I. We stayed in bed all afternoon cuddling and enjoying each others company. It wasn't until mid-afternoon that we finally got out of bed and started getting ready to spend another day out in Seattle. We walked in the Ballard neighborhood area to grab some lunch at The Hi-Life. The food was alright, the restaurant was pretty cool. I would have loved to grab breakfast here instead. After lunch we walked across the street to Ballard Coffee Works for some vanilla lattes. Later that evening we made our way back to downtown Seattle to visit the famous Pike Place. By the time we made it over there it was pretty late so everything was pretty much closed. It was still nice to walk around the city with my love. We even made a stop at City Target which I was very excited about. City Target is AMAZING! It had three stories, escalators, elevators and was literally the greatest Target that I have ever had the pleasure of shopping at. We then made our way to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the area. After dinner we did a little more walking around the city and then headed back to the cottage to return to lazy mode. 

Day Four

December 16, 2013

Monday was our last full day in Seattle so we wanted to take advantage of it and wake up early. We woke up around nine to get ready and by the time I was ready we made it to an early lunch at 'Kiss Cafe' in the wonderful Ballard area. I've never been to a cafe that praises pickles so much and as a fellow pickle lover (that's what she said) I was so excited to try them. They were probably the greatest pickles ever and they came in a cute little mason jar. The cafe was small but provided great service and wonderful food. After a quick lunch we headed to downtown to the 'Seattle Aquarium' which was pretty amazing. I had never been to an aquarium before so I was instantly fascinated when I saw an octopus up close. The rest of the exhibits were interesting and I really enjoyed my time staring at these weird yet wonderful sea creatures. Upon leaving the Aquarium we stepped outside to a boardwalk which led us to marvelous views of the water and Seattle Great Wheel. The weather was absolutely perfect outside. No rain, nor overcast. It made for a beautiful day in Seattle. After several hours spent downtown it was now time for Eddie and I to check-in to our new room we booked on AirBnb. The room was perfect. The bed was comfy and our host provided everything we needed. The balcony overlooking the hazy Seattle skies in the evening was icing on the cake. Once we checked in it was time to visit The University of Washington. It was a pleasure to be on such beautiful school grounds. Although UW is a public campus it felt like I was walking through an Ivy League campus with all the delicate landscaping and fine architecture. Suzzallo Library was my primary reason for visiting the campus and it did not disappoint. It was most definitely worth stopping by for. It was exquisitely built and I could envision studying there for hours constantly getting distracted by the striking views before me. We then walked over to the University of Washington Bookstore which was beyond what we expected. It was filled with collegiate apparel and goodies of course but it also had an actual bookstore that we spent a great amount of time in. It was time now to head back to our room and I began to start feeling ill. I napped for quite a bit and then we woke up and got 'Dick's Dive-In' for the last time. We spent the rest of the evening in bed which is just what I needed after that long day in Seattle. 

Day Five 

December 17, 2013

It's never fun waking up sick especially when you have to catch an early afternoon flight across town. I moved slowly and luckily I had packed the night before. We rushed to a Car2Go then rushed to the tram that took us to the airport. Eddie and I almost missed our flight. We had to run in, print our tickets and then wait in long line to get through TSA. We thought we weren't going to make it back home but luckily we did. Our flight took off on time but we had a layover in Oakland, CA and then a stop in Las Vegas, NV. It was almost eight hours later and we finally arrived back in Austin, TX after midnight because of the time difference. I was quite sad for my arrival back into Texas. Seattle, Washington was the perfect escape and just what my boyfriend and I needed. This trip really inspired me to apply to graduate school at The University of Washington. There is just so much more to explore in the state of Washington and I feel like it would be the best move for me. I hope to move to the west coast with Eddie in about a year. Wish us luck!

love 

deb