An unbeatable Seattle summer weekend

From being a tried-and-true Seattleite to an adoptive Coloradan, certainly a lot has changed in the past several years for me, geographically speaking. However, my love for the PNW and for Seattle in particular has not faded, despite more than two years since my last trip there! This spring, I expressed an interest in visiting Seattle and Owen was game, so we made a plan and at the end of July, away we went!

It was wonderful to be back home in the Pacific Northwest. I've missed it something fierce. Owen had been to Seattle once before a few years ago to visit friends, so it was fun to explore the city with him and show him the "native's tour" of town. 

Our first stop the morning after we arrived: the University of Washington campus! Having been a tour guide in college, and with the UW as my all-time dream school, I had to show it off to O with a personalized campus tour. :) And, of course, no visit to the U-District is complete without a trip to one of the neighborhood's many coffee shops. We went to my favorite, Cafe Solstice. I'm a sucker for their cardamom cake, which has had me salivating at the thought of it for at least 5 years. It's the best. 

Owen loved exploring the UW campus. He even said it was the most beautiful college campus he'd ever seen or visited! It is terribly French of me if I say, "but of course it is!" (since the French always think their home territory is the best, and that's how I feel about Seattle/UW)? ;)

Sylvan Grove Theater

Interior of Suzzallo Library

Jumping in front of Suzzallo, because Yay, Higher Education!

After lunch near campus with a couple of Owen's old friends from his college days in California, we made our way to the Capitol Hill neighborhood and explored the Melrose Market and the incredible, brand new Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room. WOW! Starbucks may be ubiquitous and they may typically burn their coffee beans, but the Roastery is on a completely different level. We enjoyed touring the facilities and checking out all of the awesome coffee roasting equipment and trying out some syphon coffee with single-origin beans from Colombia, as well as a toasted butterscotch latte (YUM!). Next time any of you are in Seattle and looking for an excellent new place to explore, check out the Roastery - it's worth it!

Beautiful bar inside the Melrose Market.

So many people and so much coffee at the Roastery.

On Sunday morning, we made our way to the Space Needle and enjoyed a lovely brunch at the revolving restaurant at the top. It was the perfect Seattle Summer day, and you could see for miles all around. Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, the Olympic Mountains, and the Cascade Mountains were all out in full force and looking gorgeous. I love this city!! 

Our next stop was to check out the Chihuly Garden and Glass, right there in the Seattle Center complex next to the Space Needle. I've been fascinated with Chihuly's glass blowing and art since I was a kid. He's a PNW-native and renowned local artist, and I remember staring at the Chihuly glass art in my dad's old office building in downtown Seattle when I was little. I had been wanting to explore the Garden and Glass since they opened it up a few years ago. My sister and brother-in-law went not long after and said it was gorgeous. It was, indeed! Owen and I had fun walking through and trying to figure out just how in the heck someone could come up with such amazing glasswork, and so prodigiously, too! 

 

 

Our weekend in town extended into Monday as well, and on that morning, we made our way to visit Pike Place. I don't mind if it's a touristy spot; even as a local, it's one of my favorite places in town. I always loved to go there in college, even just to pick up flowers or Christmas gifts, and it was so fun to be back! We checked out my favorite shops: The Perennial Tea Room, Tensing Momo, Metzger's Maps, Moon Valley Organics, Le Panier French bakery, and the Polish Pottery store. So many great treats were bought (tea! chocolate! French pastries!). Owen and I then went to try out a new place near the market, Shug's Soda Fountain. This place opened up only a couple of months ago, and I had heard that they served champagne floats. I had to try one. This stop served as our walking break in the early afternoon: we worked on a crossword puzzle together, Owen enjoyed some cold brewed coffee, and I savored an incredible, delectable champagne float with coconut sorbet. In the cute shop, with my handsome fellow, and such a tasty treat, it was positively heavenly! 

Ahhhhhh-mazing.

Seattle perfection.

I was very sad when we had to leave on Monday afternoon and return to Denver. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Mile High City, but so many things about Seattle are just home for me. I'd love to live in that city again someday. In the meantime, it was great to visit and see some of the many, many changes to the city since I'd last been for a visit in the summer of 2014. 

Mount Rainier from the plane window on the way home. What a beauty.

Owen and I had so much fun that weekend, and are grateful to have been able to stay with some of my best friends from college during our trip. We also had a chance to meet up with several others among my other oldest and best PNW friends, most of whom I hadn't seen in years. We even caught up with some of Owen's good friends who now live in Seattle, too! It was a weekend filled with great people, beautiful summer weather, unbeatable mountain and Puget Sound views, excellent food and coffee, and such good memories. I can't wait for our next trip to the homeland, coming up in October when we visit my family together for a weekend!