Happy Monday! We just got back from a wonderful weekend in Seattle, and we’re already excited about finding another time to head back up there. As great as San Francisco is, the prices here keep going up and up and the city seems more crowded than ever. Seattle, on the other hand, seems a lot more affordable and has tons of fun stuff going on without the intense competition for getting an apartment/restaurant reservations/tickets/cabs etc. We also had three perfectly sunny days there, and we’re starting to suspect that Seattle’s whole “rainy reputation” is just a ploy to keep the Californians from moving there in droves.

Here are some of the highlights from our weekend:

• Absolutely everyone we asked told us to stay in Capitol Hill. We went the B&B route and stayed at Mozart Guest House right next to Volunteer Park. B&B’s aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the owner Tina was a fantastic host and her breakfasts were a delicious start to each day.
• If you’re into live sports, Seattle is a great city for you. We went to a Seattle Sounders* game on Friday, a University of Washington game on Saturday, and an Oakland A’s – ahem, I mean Seattle Mariners – game on Sunday. All of the stadiums looked great, were clean, and easy to get to. We loved wandering around the beautiful U of W campus, too.
• Coffee, coffee everywhere! We only wished that the weather was a bit cooler so we would’ve craved it more.
• The Fremont neighborhood is definitely worth the visit. We started our tour at the Fremont Troll then headed west to check out the Sunday market and funky shops.
• I wouldn’t exactly call us a “Farmers’ market couple,” but the Sunday Market in Ballard was adorable. So much gorgeous produce, lots of good brunch places (without massive lines!!!) all around, and cute dogs everywhere.
• The typical touristy stuff was great, too. The jaw-dropping Chihuly Garden and Glass took our breaths away, and the view from the top of the Space Needle was also worth the wait. Exploring Pike Place Market (AKA SF’s Ferry Building on steroids) was also a lot of fun, but we unfortunately didn’t have the appetite at the time to try any of the delicious-looking food. Travel-fail!
• When we actually did have appetites, we very much enjoyed our meals at Scratch, Honey Hole, Local 360, and Poquitos.
• We took an Uber to Alki Beach in West Seattle, then took a water taxi back to Pier 50. Would’ve been even better if we took the water taxi both ways, then we could’ve rented bicycles by Seacrest Dock instead of walking.

Below are a few pics from the trip.

University of Washington

Chihuly glass

Safeco Field – Go A’s!

A big thanks to my sister Nicole and my friends Alice, Cicely, Matt, and Maritza for all of the great Seattle recommendations. Hopefully we’ll be able to plan another trip up there this winter, so we can find out if the bad weather is just a myth after all.

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* The Seattle Sounders soccer match was one of the biggest highlights of the whole weekend. Their fans are insane, the pregame excitement was palpable, and they even have their own choreographed marching band, the Seattle Soundwave. The March to the Match is one of the coolest sports traditions that I’ve ever seen.