I was totally ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ on Monday. Having woken up at 4am UK time, I flew for 10hrs only to gain 9 of them back in flight time-travel. This meant that I arrived in Seattle at 11am, so I kind of gained a whole day. It was magical but exhausting, hence the reason for me being ‘Sleepless in Seattle’. However, after catching some zeds I began my long wanders getting lost and found in the city.

Space Needle: This is located in an area called Seattle Center. You can choose to go up to the top, I decided not to because a big part of the Seattle skyline is the needle itself, which you won’t get to see if you are inside it!

Seattle Center: Hosts many of Seattle’s museums within this green space including Museum of Pop Culture, Chihuly Garden and Glass and Pacific Science Center, amongst many more. You also get free wifi in this area.

Pike Place: This is a vibrant market space, not far from the main harbour area. It is full of producers selling fresh fish, fruits and vegetables, pastries, handcrafted materials and also mini restaurants and eateries.

Gum Wall: It’s gross but it’s also fascinating. This colourful gum wall goes on for a few meters. Apparently it has been cleared in the past, however people continue to accumulate their leftover gum back onto this now famous wall. I didn’t contribute to this, for fear of getting my fingers stuck in someone elses germ ridden squidge.

Kerry Park: This is a small patch of grass that is high up, overlooking the city. It’s quite a climb from Seattle Center area so be willing to walk up some rather steep hills. Unfortunately on the day I went the weather was overcast so the pictures I took are not the best.

Starbucks Reserve: I had far too many white chocolate mochas whilst in Seattle! The original Starbucks store opened in Pike Place, Seattle back in 1971. There are a few Starbucks Reserves around seattle and a roastery where you can choose from a variety of blends.

Rainbow Crossroads: Capital Hill rainbow crossroads, painted in honor of LGBTIQ+ pride in 2015. They are on 10th and 11th Avenues in downtown Seattle.

Fremont- Fremont is an area North of Downtown Seattle. I spent half a day walking to Fremont, through Seattle Center and along a footpath adjacent to the lake. This took me all the way to Fremont Bridge where I could find the troll that lives under here. The area is beautiful, in contrast to the city it is rather residential and is full of quirky shops and restaurants. The houses here were really sweet, many of them up amongst the trees.

 

South Lake Union: This is a tranquil space overlooking the lake, the museum of history and industry is located here too. You can also pay for a sky ride on one of those fancy jet to water planes. It’s rather pricey though.

Olympic Sculpture Park : This is to the North of Pike Place and seems to be a favourite area for dog walkers! It overlooks the sea so It’s a beautiful area to take pictures. The park was created by the Seattle art museum and is free.

Harbour and Pier: After walking through the Olympic Sculpture park I walked down along the piers and harbours. There is also now a large Ferris Wheel on the edge of a pier, like a small version of the London Eye.

Seattle Public Library: This is a great piece of architecture as well as a quiet space to work. It also has free wifi! The views from the top floor down into the library shelves are brilliant.

Smith Tower: Like the Space Needle, you can also go up Smith Tower. It’s not the tallest tower in Seattle but it has more history to it. I actually stayed right next to this tower.

Vancouver: If you are planning to stay in Seattle it might be worth looking into spending a few days in Vancouver Canada. It’s really not that far 3.5 hrs by train or bus. It might mean you can fit in not only two cities but 2 countries in one trip! Just like I did.

Things I didn’t like about Seattle
There are a lot of building works going on at the moment, especially around Capitol Hill area, so pedestrians are detoured to a different crossing quite often. There also seems to be high levels of homelessness here. I’m quite used to this in London, particularly in  East London, Stratford area. It appears to be a challenging social issue here too, there is a section in Pioneer square that has around 8-10 tents set up for shelter. I’m not sure statistically, compared to the other American states, if Seattle has high numbers of homelessness but it was definitely noticeable when walking around.

Reflections in Seattle

These last 3 days have really given me time for reflection. I’ve been thinking a lot about why travelling makes me happy, I’m currently jotting down notes to write a new post soon. For now I’m leaving on this quirky signpost from Fremont area, all these signs made me wonder where to go next and what some of these places might be like. It reminded me of a quote ‘ Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures’- Lovelle Drachman.