Day 1: We arrived in Seattle after a 3 hour flight from LAX, we got to see Mount Rainier before we land which was a fantastic welcome to Seattle. We kept it chill for the first night and went to a sushi place. After dinner, we decided to take a walk to the Pike Marketplace.
Day 2: We headed over to Mr. West Cafe Bar for brunch. It was a short walk from our hotel and wasn’t too busy. We got a croissant sandwich and Shakshuka. The restaurant was spacious and had good seating indoors as well as some patio seating.
After brunch, we headed over to Chihuly Gardens, which is next to the Space Needle. You can buy tickets for both together at the venue, or by a CityPass if you are interested in museums, etc. Chihuly glass and gardens was a delight to experience. It took us about 30 minutes from start to end. There was time left until our space needle reservation, so we decided to head to the food court right around the corner.
It’s reservation only, so make sure to buy the tickets ahead of time. The elevator took about 15 minutes to arrive. the elevator itself is pretty fast and once at the top, you can take off your masks outside in the open air. The view from here is worth it; not only do you get a 360 degree of the whole city of Seattle but also a magnificent view of Mt. Rainier. I enjoyed my time up here immensely.
We decided to then go downstairs to the revolving restaurant and the glass floor. It was exciting but a bit scary to see all the way down. The restaurant was closed so we decided to head back and grabbed a couple of souvenirs from the store.
Day 3: This was the most exciting day as we had planned a hike to Mount Rainier. We chose the Paradise trail as this was the most scenic trail. It wasn’t easy due to the incline, but totally worth it. Bonus: This trail also had the most wildflowers and 360 views. The pictures speak for themselves. It’s 2.5 hours each way from Seattle, so plan accordingly.
Day 4: Day trip to Bainbridge Island. We got on the ferry from Seattle (bought our tickets at the port). The ferry runs almost each hour from Seattle to Bainbridge and back. It’s a fun ride as the cars can be left on the ferry and you can easily go to the deck and enjoy fresh air and lovely views of the city and the water. it’s about a 20 minute ride but took about an hour total with waiting in line and parking the car onto the ferry.
Once we reached Bainbridge, we decided to head to Pegasus coffee. The interior is chic and it’s a great spot for taking pictures. After coffee, we went to the town center, where they have local eateries which offer delicious food. Most of them close by 3 p.m so reservations are recommended. We went to the local Italian restaurant which had wood fired pizzas and a great selection of appetizers. I highly recommend checking out this spot if you are looking for delicious food and a nice place to hang out and people watch.
As we were walking about town, we noticed several people walking with gelatos and found out they were from Mondo’s. I tried the white chocolate, hazelnut chocolate and orange flavors. They also had summer special flavors such as lavender. The flavor choice was interesting and didn’t disappoint.
By the end of Day 4, we started noticing the air quality started to decline, due to the wildfires in Oregon and California. So we decided to head back and cut our trip short. We wanted to visit Cascade falls, however, the heatwave combined with the bad air quality was not a good combination for any outdoor activity.
What about Seattle’s Coffee?
As I am a coffee aficionado, I tried make sure that our itinerary included multiple coffee shop stops. I tried Fulcrum Cafe, Union Coffee & Wine, Victrola Coffee Roasters and Mr. West. My top choices were Victrola Coffee Roasters, Fulcrum Cafe and Mr. West.
Oneway Chic 