2 days in Seattle, Washington!

Why did I choose Seattle, Washington?
When I moved to San Francisco, I knew I wanted to explore everything around it, including Washington. Seattle was a city I’ve been wanting to go to since I was living in NYC, but knew I should wait until I was on the west coast. I wanted to explore the outdoors of the pacific north west and see how Seattle differed from San Francisco and NYC.

Communication
Easy, everyone speaks English

Currency
USD

My Travel Time
Mid January
We used a long weekend for this trip so we could have two full days to explore Seattle and explore the nearby outdoors. It was cold at this time (below 10 degrees Celsius) and raining quite often, but so many locals weren’t wearing winter clothes! If you are going hiking and increasing elevation, you’ll see snow.
Click here to check the weather
Click here to check when the sun rises and sets

My Flight Details
Airline: Delta, SFO – SEA (~2 hr flight)
Price: less than ~200 w/o checked baggage
Transportation: We rented a car from the airport as we knew we would be driving out to a national park/forest. The car was less than 40 USD for two days. Parking in the city center overnight is around 30 USD; the further out you are, the cheaper it is for parking as there is also more space.

My Hotel Details
Kimpton Palladian: I’ve stayed in Kimpton hotels before and I love them! This hotel was clean, well located, friendly staff, and there’s delicious food at the restaurant in the lobby. We also got a decent deal on it as we used Priceline Express Deals (how to use it and know what you’re booking). I would 100% recommend this hotel if you are able to get a good price on it.

My Seattle Trip Itinerary
Day 1
~1 hr of walking
Shaker and Spear: We drove our rental car from the airport and got to the hotel around 10-11; we were told that Shaker and Spear was one of the best places for brunch in Washington. We gave it a try and we definitely enjoyed the food. We ordered a mushroom and herb omelette with three cheeses, side salad, and toast and a lemon ricotta pancake. The omelette was delicious, especially the mushrooms!
Pike Place Public Market: This place is filled with little stores selling a variety of things. You might associate this place with the place that throws their fish/seafood across the store.
Daily Dozen Doughnuts: One place we went to in the Public Market was Daily Dozen Doughnuts. They sell small doughnuts and have a few different flavors. We ordered 6, but the owner threw in 3 extra fresh doughnuts in the bag for us as well.
First Starbucks: The first Starbucks is right on Pike Place; the line moves fast, although long, but if you’re a Starbucks lover, it’s cool to be able to see the very Starbucks that opened in 1971.
Beecher’s Mac and Cheese: This is also on Pike Place and has a decent line, but the mac and cheese here is well known. Some may say it’s the “world’s best” mac and cheese. They use penne ad there are a few chili flakes here and there. Dustin and I shared one 8 oz cup and it was definitely enough as it’s quite rich. The store has glass windows that allow you see how they process the cheese.
Rachel’s Ginger Beer: They have so many different types of ginger beer. Dustin loves ginger beer and he wanted to give it a try – we had pink guava ginger beer.
Pike Place Clam Chowder: There was a lot of eating this day, but we wanted to try everything. That last savory snack for the afternoon was the clam chowder; it’s claimed to be “America’s best chowder”. There was a decent line at the Pike Place, Post Alley store. If you order online, you can grab it faster from the take out counter (there was no line). This clam chowder is also in other malls.
Fran’s Chocolate: We found out that this was Obama’s favorite chocolate, so we had to go in for a quick try. We thought it was good, but definitely not our favorite chocolate in the world.
Space Needle: There are several museums near by the Space Needle as well. The Space Needle is a must see as it’s an iconic building in Seattle’s skyline. You also have the option to go up to the top of the Space Needle
Seattle Center Monorail: We tested out the monorail from the Space Needle to
Din Tai Fung: We love this place and xiao long bao and all the other food that they have. We ordered xiao long bao, oriental salad, pork chop fried rice, spicy noodle, spinach, and chocolate and mochi dumpling. The wait is a bit long, so make sure to get their early. It’s not as good as it is in Asia because the produce is different, but still somewhat similar

Pike place clam chowder!

Day 2
~2.5 hrs of driving
Gum Wall: We actually forgot to go to the gum wall the day before so we work up early to go the second day here. The gum wall is near the Public Market in an alley. I would suggest going there when you’re at the Public Market. You may get some gum stuck on your shoes.
Caffe Lietto: For breakfast, we went here to get a biscuit sandwich; it was pretty good, but it’s the culture that makes this place different. They call everyone and everything the b word.
Kerry Park: For the perfect skyline of Seattle, go to this park. It is beautiful, you can see the Space Needle if it’s a clear day, you’ll also be able to see Mount Rainier!}
Lake 22: A little over an hour drive from Seattle is Mt. Baker National Forest. We decided to go on the Lake 22 trail, where we get to hike through an amazing forest an alpine lake with a view of Mt. Pilchuck. This was my favorite aprt of the trip. Make sure you buy a park pass!
Molly Moon’s Ice Cream: Delicious ice cream! They request that you don’t tip because they pay their salaries a stable income, which is awesome to hear. We got cookie dough and yeti flavored ice cream!
Din Tai Fung: Again, because we love this place and another place we wanted to go to was completely full and not taking anymore customers a little past six. This time, we got xiao long bao, vegetable and pork dumplings, oriental salad, pork chop fried rice, Taiwanese lettuce, and mushroom and vegetable bun.