I spent a few days in Seattle after my time in Phoenix. There was nothing I desperately wanted to do there. I was definitely going to Portland for the XOXO festival, but since I had been there twice, I didn’t want to spend the entirety of my time in the States there. It was actually not until I saw some XOXO folks post about catching the Amtrak from Seattle to Portland that I realised that was a pretty viable option for easy transport. Your girl kinda hates planes, and long-distance land transport is rare (or boring, or no one does it) in Australia.

Another reason for dropping by Seattle was the familiarity of visiting a place I previously liked. With Phoenix already a solid consideration (I hadn’t booked anything at this point), I think that was going to be enough newness for one trip, so I decided I’d give Seattle another shot. Plus, there is a snazzy piercing studio called Bury Me In Gold in Seattle, and I was Instagram friends with the front-of-house person Thea—not to mention was also a fan of the owners Anji and Frei. Wouldn’t hurt to drop by. 😌

I shared my rough idea of plans with my friend TeJaun, since he’d asked when I’d next be in the States. We have known each other online but have not met in person. Funny thing was, before XOXO this year, I didn’t see a reason to go back to the States any time soon. We all know how that one turned out. 😂 TeJaun said he had actually been considering visiting Seattle to suss out if it would be a city he would move to. After looking at a handful of accomodation options and realising that hotels were quite expensive downtown, and single-person Airbnbs were also quite expensive, we decided to look for a two-bedroom apartment that we could split the cost of, and have the comfort and flexibility of. God, I was penny-pinching so hard. 🫣

Our apartment was in the neighbourhood of Queen Anne, which… well, let me just say, I completely forgot how hilly Seattle was, and how green it was. I certainly wasn’t bothered by the latter, though. 🌳 But I’m glad we stayed in a spot further from downtown so we got to experience more of the neighbourhoods and get a feel for Seattle. Last time I visited Seattle, Nick and I drove from the Sea-Tac airport and went to the Boeing Factory which is outside of town, and then we a bunch of time in Cap Hill and often drove the car to go places. I feel like I didn’t fully capture the breadth of the city then, but this time TeJaun and I used the bus routes extensively, and also walked a lot. It made me realise that the buses in Seattle cover a lot of ground and go very far distances. Or at least it felt that way compared to Sydney.

My flight from Phoenix to Seattle was OK. I had a headache and I was trying to listen to an audiobook to will the pain away, but also sleep at the same time. I thanked my lucky stars that I kept hydrated enough to only have to use the restroom once on board… since I had picked the window seat, I only had to bother my two neighbours that one time.

I was hella tired and hungry by the time I bought train tickets through the app to get the train from the airport to downtown. After making it downtown I’d get a bus to Queen Anne. I focused on just chilling the fuck out and was grateful I still had snacks in my bag that I’d packed from Sydney for hikes. Turns out macadamia nuts, rice crackers, and dried cranberries keep alright in a ziplock bag for five days. I just needed a little burst of energy. Of course, I soon found out that it was after 3pm on a Saturday and I was going to have to hunt harder for an afternoon coffee and a snack.

I met TeJaun at our Airbnb where he had been just exploring the vicinity since we couldn’t check in until 4:00pm. I had packed some instant coffee so I made that once we were in the Airbnb. We went for a walk and TeJaun showed me what he’d discovered on his exploration around the area. We walked around Fishermen’s Terminal before going to Chinook’s for dinner. Chinook’s and the Fremont Sunday Market the next day were the only things we’d really had set in stone; we sort of figured the rest out as the days went on. The food at Chinook’s was delicious!

The next morning we had coffee at The Burnt Coffee Company, which was recommended by our Airbnb host. Then we walked for about 40 minutes to Fremont.

There was the option to get a bus, but we figured it would be nice to get some fresh air and see some of Seattle on foot. The Fremont Sunday Market was really nice to check out some local food and people selling handcrafted stuff. I purchased an octopus ring at one of the stalls. I was just amazed that I’d never seen anything like it before, and it was sterling silver so that was a plus. I was excited to see someone with horchata and immediately asked them where they purchased it because I was dying for some of the stuff. 😆

We sat by the banks of the canal to enjoy some time by the water. We heard some live music the whole time we were there. Then we followed it and found a local band set up and playing a little live show just by the side of the street. They were called Amor Fati.

We also stopped by the Fremont Rocket and the Fremont Troll, the latter which I’d seen before and knew from the 10 Things I Hate About You movie.

I didn’t know about the rocket, but sounds like it’s a bit of an icon and has a little history of phallic jokes being made about it, especially when it was purchased but due to some issues, was unable to be erected immediately.

Our next visit was Gas Works Park, which I know I’ve only visited once prior, but there is something I just really like about it. A communal spot to hang out and chill, picnic, people-watch, sea-plane-watch, paraglide(?)-watch… I don’t know how I feel about picnicking because naturally, by the water, there’s just a bit too much of a breeze to be entirely comfortable. Maybe I have only happened to be there when it was too windy; I’m not sure.

The Museum of Pop (MoPOP) was our next stop. I didn’t get to visit this during my first time in Seattle, so was quite happy to see it this time. I could have spent even longer in the Nirvana exhibit. The other areas were interesting, but I definitely still had a soft spot for the Nirvana stuff. TeJaun enjoyed the music making section where you could play different musical instruments and listen back to what you played, or mimic being in a band in a soundproofed room. It would have been fun to spend more time there, but we were almost at closing time. 😬🥁

Although we didn’t go to the Space Needle we had so many opportunities to take photos of it at good vantage points during our trip.

For dinner we went up north after narrowly escaping some rain. Dinner was at the Ivar’s restaurant, which came at the recommendation of TeJaun’s Uber driver on his way in from the airport the day prior. The clam chowder was fantastic. I know TeJaun wanted to bring a whole crockpot of that back home to Ohio. 🍲 Our main meals (sorry U.S—entrees—bahah) were huge and even though I was hungry, I couldn’t finish it all.

TeJaun took a liking to the Ugly Mug cafe that was near our Airbnb so I joined him the next morning and took his recommendation for a salmon bagel and a macadamia mocha. He was still working on the weekdays during our stay so I decided to pop down to Bury Me In Gold and ended up treating myself to some new bling for my conch piercing. It was so lovely to meet Thea and Shay as well!

I spent a pretty penny on it, of course, but I love it! And I love that I got to see the jewellery in person—you don’t always get to see jewellery in person if a piercing studio doesn’t have a wide range in stock.

TeJaun and I went to Bainbridge Island in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we were there later than expected, due to delays on the ferry, but that didn’t stop us enjoying the ferry ride and finding the whole thing very novel. The ferries were huge and they also carried cars, but at the same time it didn’t feel too busy on board.

Most shops were shut by the time we got to the island, and although it would have been nice to see it come alive with more people out and about, I don’t think I really would have cared too much about browsing inside the actual shops. I quickly found out that there were also very few food establishments open for dinner, so I quickly chose one and made that the main event, since I don’t think a hangry Georgie and TeJaun would have gone down very well. We ate at Ba Sa and very much enjoyed our meals. We shared some delicious dumplings I couldn’t help but order pho, because I was kind of craving it. 🤤

Calculating how long it would take to get back to our Airbnb, it would be quite a long journey with the ferry and the bus, including any wait time. With the ferries delayed, we probably didn’t want to stay too long on the island (slightly eerie vibes). There would have been more trails and parks to explore during the day, but we kept it closer to the ferry terminal and the water.

It was actually nice to walk around on the island in the evening when it was getting dark. We came across a community garden, then walked near the water where it was quite peaceful, through some of the parks and trees. It was a bit of a wait at the ferry terminal but it was sheltered from the cool breeze, and there were power outlets so TeJaun could charge his seemingly ever-draining phone battery. 🪫

It was a super long day! The following day was similar; we were definitely feeling tired by the end of it. We decided to try and tick off the Japanese Garden and the arboretum, Green Lake, and the Golden Gardens Park. We ended up not ticking off the Golden Gardens Park due to me teetering between getting a piercing on my holiday or not… I didn’t, but I wasn’t bothered either way. We started our day with another trip to Ugly Mug cafe, then jumped on the bus to visit the Japanese Garden.

Koi fish are not as novel to me as they once were; I used to really marvel at them but now I just watch them with a more subdued appreciation. They were definitely entertaining to watch while TeJaun was enjoying feeding them since we were there during the feeding hour. I let him fully enjoy that experience, as feeding koi fish is also not new to me. Some of the turtles were eating the feed as well, but the koi were so rapacious it was funny.

It was a bit of a trek to Green Lake but we stopped for doughnuts on the way. The lady at the doughnut place gave us both an extra doughnut on the house; that was a surprise. I didn’t tip so I felt bad… after having a conversation with TeJaun, I decided it didn’t make sense to tip before I’d even gotten my food, and when all the person had to do was put a doughnut in a bag (or in this case, two). 🙈

Green Lake was a nice serene spot to watch ducks and birds float and fly around the water in small groups. Some people were paddle boarding too! There was a walking track around the lake where many people were not only walking, but running or walking their dogs. What a lovely spot to hang out in nature.

So I faffed around wondering if I should get a new piercing before leaving Seattle, but I couldn’t make up my stupid mind, and TeJaun was rather encouraging so we decided to head in the general direction of downtown, but I did find out they were fully booked out. I should have made my decision at least the night before… 😂 There was no real loss, though, and I will always get new piercings in the future, and I did walk away with new jewellery that I’m happy with. And I didn’t have to fuss about not sleeping on or knocking a new piece of jewellery in my ear.

Enthralled by the seemingly very American attitude of enjoying getting food delivered, we decided to get some sushi on DoorDash for dinner (not before we searched desperately for a place to get my afternoon coffee). TeJaun also convinced me that it would be a lot cheaper than dining in, because there’s no need to pay/tip for service. I don’t know why, but I can’t get my head around it. Perhaps it because we don’t have tipping culture in Australia, so you often pay equal or even more for food delivery, and I’m just so used to recognising that picking up food you ordered, or just eating in, can be cheaper. 🤑 I mean, does it matter? Because TeJaun paid for the sushi on his DoorDash account. 🤣 (Thanks TeJaun.)

The following morning, TeJaun had to leave early enough to be at the airport in time for his flight. I had until the time we had to vacate the Airbnb, since my Amtrak train was not until around noon. It was a nice second visit to Seattle. Weather was a lot cooler than I expected and there was no place for my white sun hat, but it was no struggle. It was also great to meet TeJaun and we packed in a lot of activities during our stay. He was also very good company as well. 🙌🏻

Next stop, Portland, for the last XOXO 🥹