Seattle is one of my favorite places to spend the day and explore. My family and I will go once or twice a year, we have a tradition of going to the same places each time because of how little we go up there. Combining my experiences in Seattle with my friends and family, I have created my ideal day in Seattle, Washington.
When I do go up to Seattle for a day trip, I leave in the morning so I can get a full day there to have fun. After finding parking for 30 minutes… the first stop is Pike Place Market! When my family and I go we immediately venture to our favorite doughnut stand the Daily Dozen. They have regular-sized doughnuts or bite-sized, my order is usually cinnamon sugar or powdered bite-sized doughnuts. The bite-sized doughnuts are made fresh right in front of you when you get them, they are warm and so yummy.
After getting the doughnuts, my next step would be to walk around Pike Place Market and explore! There are a lot of booths with different vendors at Pike Place Market, most of them being artists, flower, or produce vendors. The last time I went to Seattle I bought a print from a local artist and hung it up in my dorm! My mom usually buys a big gorgeous bouquet and some art or jewelry from a local artist/vendor.
The next stop is Beecher’s Cheese to buy some cheese to take home to eat! I always get the flagship cheese and eat it with smoked salmon and crackers at home.
Right after that purchase, I go buy some bubble gum from a small shop around Pike Place and head to the Gum Wall. Every time I go to Seattle, it is a tradition to put a piece of gum on the infamous Gum Wall. When you think about it too hard, the idea of this huge gum wall is gross with everyone’s chewed gum, but it is so cool to go see and participate in.
By the time I do all of that, lunch rolls around! One of the best spots to get lunch is at Michou Deli, which is a yummy spot right in Pike Place that my mom introduced to me. There’s a variety of lunch options to choose from with sandwiches, soup, vegetable dishes, tamales, baked potatoes, and so much more. I usually get some marinated broccoli, soup, and a sandwich of some sort.
After grabbing a quick lunch, the next stop is SAM, Seattle Art Museum. This is where I would spend most of my day, exploring the museum and taking in the beautiful art. I could spend all day in SAM, there is so much art from so many different eras. I went to SAM for my 16th birthday, and I got my senior photos done inside the museum! They also have a small shop on the lower level full of art supplies and miscellaneous items.
Around 2 to 3 hours later the next stop in Seattle is Nana’s Green Tea; this place is my heaven. I am in love with matcha and the whole restaurant has matcha food and drinks. They do have some delicious savory options, like their chicken katsu curry. My go-to order is a Matcha Cream Latte and a Matcha Roll Cake or the Matcha Soft Serve; If I could, I would order the whole menu.
The next stop in Seattle is to travel 15 minutes to Freemont and explore one of my favorite vintage stores, Freemont Vintage Mall, and record store, Jive Time. The Freemont Vintage Mall is fun to explore the two levels, even if you don’t buy anything. They sell many vintage items, furniture, art prints, clothes and old records. Second-hand items are so unique and a great way to help the environment; I have bought the cutest vintage head scarfs from there before. Even though I love looking through old records at Freemont Vintage Mall, I enjoy finding recent artists’ albums that I listen to; So, the next stop is Jive Time in Freemont. Jive Time sells a mix of albums from used to brand new. They have a collection of genres for absolutely everyone; all of their vinyls are organized by the genres, and then within that are the artists. I usually roam to the pop and indie sections first and then explore the rest of the store afterward. Last time I went there I bought the album ‘Songs by Adrianne Lenker’ brand new. Adjacent to Jive Time is Ophelia’s Books, which is a three-level bookstore full of used and new books. Every time I go in there I have to refrain from buying any books because I have so many at home I need to read. One quirky feature of this bookstore is the spiral staircase that leads to the bottom level, which is so cool to walk down.
Since it’s at the end of the day, that means dinner time! One of my favorite places that I discovered last year is The Pink Door, which is amazing Italian-American food! The Pink Door is in Pike Place so you would have to drive back but it is so worth it. The location of the restaurant is in an alley, and you will see a light pink door that leads down to the restaurant. They have an amazing selection of food, I had their caprese last time and they had the best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten in my life. Sometimes The Pink Door has entertainment and when I went, they had a trapeze artist; it was so fun to watch! They also have cabaret, music and tarot.
After dinner, it is time to go home after having an amazing day in Seattle, WA.