Last month my sister came for a last minute visit from California to hang out with me for the 4th of July. I love it when I get visits from people it gets me excited and it gives me a reason to do all of the touristy things and get excited all over again.
Of course, I took her around Portland which entailed walking across the Burnside Bridge and driving out to see the beautiful Multnomah Falls. Then, ate some delicious food which there’s really not a bad place to eat around here. If you have enough time on your trip to Portland visit a town east of Portland called Gresham. There, you’ll find a delicious burger joint called The Local Cow where they use organic beef to make their amazing burgers.
Her main request though was to visit Seattle, just a three hour drive north of Portland. Since living here I haven’t had the chance to explore Seattle so I definitely said yes to that amazing thought! Spontaneous trips are the best ones even if you weren’t able to make it to all the places on your list.
On Saturday July 7th at 11:40 am we were welcomed to Seattle with 75 degree weather and a bit of an overcast which was nice considering the heat up here can be intense. But, of course that did not last long at all. Keep reading to see the different stops we made on our mini road trip.
Stop 1 → Pike Place Market
Let me just say this is definitely the part of the city with the steepest hills! Bring your comfiest shoes if you’re going to be walking around town. Pike Place had a cool vibe which put into perspective why that is the popular attraction when visiting Seattle. The tight space of the weekend traffic does make it difficult to get around the market so be aware of that but in my opinion, it didn’t take away the fun experience for me. If you don’t like crowds I wouldn’t recommend going during peak season or the weekend.
Go early to watch the famous fish market toss the fish into the crowd and by all means try as many samples as you possible can. They are everywhere! Another thing that is all over the market are the fresh bouquets of flowers which are absolutely stunning and make great Instagram pictures too 😉 . Then make your way to the other side of the market and you’ll find the first ever Starbucks! There is a line for the line so make your purchases worth it guys.
Stop 2 → Gum Wall
After walking around in a complete circle, then finally looking on our phone’s map for the exact location, we came to the realization that the Gum Wall was literally under the Market.
How convenient, right?
The Gum Wall is not just a small section of a wall either, it takes up most of the alley way so there is plenty of room to stick your wad of bubblicious gum wherever you’d like 🙂 .
To be quite honest, I was excited to see the wall but once we finally found it I was a bit grossed out by the amounts of gum on the wall and the texture showing off how long it’s been sticking around 😉 . But to each their own of course! It’s definitely still worth the visit though so don’t be discouraged, my friend.
Stop 3 → Waterfront
Next to Pike Place Market is the waterfront where you are able to hangout on the pier and enjoy the view of the city from below. There’s an aquarium that sits right on the pier so you’ll feel closer to the sea life, a Ferris wheel where you can enjoy the sunset views, and there are plenty of restaurants too. It’s a nice place to stop and take a break from all the walking and maybe even have a little picnic if you made lunch for the trip.
Stop 4 → Lunch
Come to find out Pike Place Market holds a lot the attraction in Seattle so if you’re driving up to visit, try to find parking that is close enough to it. We walked around the city in search for lunch since it was already about 2pm and we were starving.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t many options that were appealing and since living in Portland I’m used to a restaurant being on every corner so I was slightly disappointed with the food options.
That is just my opinion!
No doubt, Pike Place Market did come to our rescue! I found a Japanese cafe and order a bento box that tasted delicious. I don’t remember the name but it’s located inside the market left of the famous fish throwing fish market.
My sister tried Pike Place Chowder which supposedly had received awards for their chowder and is titled number one in America. It turned out to be quite good! I’m not a huge chowder fan though so I’m not sure how amazing it was but my sister enjoyed it. She had the New England Clam Chowder and the Oregon Bay Shrimp Roll.
Stop 5 → Amazon Go
This was a must see destination for my sister so there was no way we were leaving the city without shopping at Amazon’s new cashier-less grocery store. I must say the concept was a pretty cool experience.
First, you download the app which allows you access into the store and don’t worry not everyone has to have the app, the person who does have one can get you access as their guest.
Then, you shop!
They supply reusable bags that you can keep and place all of your goodies in there. Once you leave the store it calculates your total purchase and you’re done. It’s literally that simple, it’s quite insane.
Stop 6 → Space Needle
The view is incredible, there is just no words to describe it. The price for this beautiful view is $29 for adults and yes, this is pretty pricey but it’s worth doing at least once in your lifetime. Just a heads up for those heading to Seattle during the tourist season (aka summer time) it will be crowded up there! There’s not much room to roam so you’ll have quite a few photo bombers in your pictures.
What I wish we did do that I totally would recommend is go during sunset hour! You would take the most stunning pictures even if you’re not the best photographer. The picture that is featured on the top of this blog was taken on at the top of the space needle, we were able to snag a seat that had the perfect lighting but of course everyone else had the same idea.
So that’s it! Those were all of the stops we made on our little trip in Seattle and a lot of what took up our time was walking around the city trying to find all the cool spots. My sister said the city was very similar to San Fransisco, so there’s a visual if you wanted to know what it was like.
Here’s a secret… if you’re driving into the city on the weekend but don’t want to pay crazy prices for parking go to the West Elm parking garage on Westlake Avenue BECAUSE on the weekends they only charge $7 for 8 hour parking.
Mind Blowing right?!
And it’s only a 10 to 15 minute walk to Pike Place Market and a 20 minute walk to the Space Needle. Not too shabby right?
Well, I love you all and I’ll see you soon.
Stay Wild,
Bedhead Nomad
If you’ve been on an adventure this summer let me know where!
This post may contain affiliate links which means I do make a small commission in return. As always all opinions stated in this post are 100% my own. Thank you in advance for your support!
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