My boyfriend, Pete, who you may remember as 'Pete' in my Japan photos, has just been hired by Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington- just a stone's throw away from Seattle.
In an effort to convince me, his partner, how awesome Seattle is, and how awesome it would be to live there, he invited me along on his apartment search for 4 days, funded by Microsoft. The point of being there was to find him a place to live, one that we both liked, so that when I move up there [eventually!] we'll both be happy with the living space.
We saw a handful of places and thank God found one by the end of the day because I was getting super nauseous in the back of the location facilitator's Audi. So many mountains.
Let's talk about the planning, first. When I knew we'd be going to Seattle, I started looking for stuff to do- all the typical stuff: Space Needle and Puget Sound, local museums like the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum, the local aquarium, Pike's place, etc. I also looked to see if any famous people were buried in or around Seattle- there are some!
Ok, so we're in Seattle, in a little hotel, where they offer a continental breakfast (YES!), and are within walking distance of a brick shopping plaza with tons of shops and eateries, like this gem, Todai. It's a bit pricey, but they do have some neat stuff like crepes, fresh crab, and an assortment of Asian delicacies, all buffet style.
The entire trip, around the last week or so of December, was bleak and rainy- which is expected. It wasn't freezing outside, but it did require a jacket, maybe a scarf, and if you had them (which I do now!) some sweet rain boots.
Next, we headed to Lake View Cemetery, to pay our respects to the awesome Bruce Lee. You can find other famous gravesites on Find A Grave- and read about incorporating them into your travels in a previous post I made! His son, Brandon is buried alongside him- and there is a bench across from the tombstones, erected by his wife and daughter, to sit on.
After that, we found our way to the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum, which is amazing! It's only open until 5, so you'll have to either rush through the thing, or get there early enough- it's right next to the Space Needle, so you can spend a whole day wandering around the area.
The next day we wandered around downtown Seattle, which has an impressive building-engulfed mall called the Palace or Plaza or something like that...I honestly don't recall, but for the holiday season they had these painted, giant nutcrackers everywhere. Those were pretty neat, and there is a huge movie theatre on the topmost floor. Since it was rainy and cold, we explored the mall and caught Juno. At night, we ate at the Space Needle! Overpriced, undercooked, and you really can't see all that well out of the windows at night- probably best in the daytime hours. It's nice to say you've eaten there, like I just did...but other than that, don't waste your money!
The next day, we rode around and found Jimi Hendrix's grave! Then, we headed toward Puget Sound and the Aquarium, walked around the piers and finally ended up in our favorite mall.
All in all, it was a fun couple of days- my first impression of Seattle was horrible. The dreary weather, the terrible traffic (it's like there are only 4 main roads and so they are always backed up!), and the general malaise that comes with being not quite 'rained on,' but always wet. As somebody who has curly hair and glasses, it's so freaking annoying.
In an effort to convince me, his partner, how awesome Seattle is, and how awesome it would be to live there, he invited me along on his apartment search for 4 days, funded by Microsoft. The point of being there was to find him a place to live, one that we both liked, so that when I move up there [eventually!] we'll both be happy with the living space.
We saw a handful of places and thank God found one by the end of the day because I was getting super nauseous in the back of the location facilitator's Audi. So many mountains.
Let's talk about the planning, first. When I knew we'd be going to Seattle, I started looking for stuff to do- all the typical stuff: Space Needle and Puget Sound, local museums like the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum, the local aquarium, Pike's place, etc. I also looked to see if any famous people were buried in or around Seattle- there are some!
Ok, so we're in Seattle, in a little hotel, where they offer a continental breakfast (YES!), and are within walking distance of a brick shopping plaza with tons of shops and eateries, like this gem, Todai. It's a bit pricey, but they do have some neat stuff like crepes, fresh crab, and an assortment of Asian delicacies, all buffet style.
The entire trip, around the last week or so of December, was bleak and rainy- which is expected. It wasn't freezing outside, but it did require a jacket, maybe a scarf, and if you had them (which I do now!) some sweet rain boots.
Next, we headed to Lake View Cemetery, to pay our respects to the awesome Bruce Lee. You can find other famous gravesites on Find A Grave- and read about incorporating them into your travels in a previous post I made! His son, Brandon is buried alongside him- and there is a bench across from the tombstones, erected by his wife and daughter, to sit on.
After that, we found our way to the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum, which is amazing! It's only open until 5, so you'll have to either rush through the thing, or get there early enough- it's right next to the Space Needle, so you can spend a whole day wandering around the area.
The next day we wandered around downtown Seattle, which has an impressive building-engulfed mall called the Palace or Plaza or something like that...I honestly don't recall, but for the holiday season they had these painted, giant nutcrackers everywhere. Those were pretty neat, and there is a huge movie theatre on the topmost floor. Since it was rainy and cold, we explored the mall and caught Juno. At night, we ate at the Space Needle! Overpriced, undercooked, and you really can't see all that well out of the windows at night- probably best in the daytime hours. It's nice to say you've eaten there, like I just did...but other than that, don't waste your money!
The next day, we rode around and found Jimi Hendrix's grave! Then, we headed toward Puget Sound and the Aquarium, walked around the piers and finally ended up in our favorite mall.
All in all, it was a fun couple of days- my first impression of Seattle was horrible. The dreary weather, the terrible traffic (it's like there are only 4 main roads and so they are always backed up!), and the general malaise that comes with being not quite 'rained on,' but always wet. As somebody who has curly hair and glasses, it's so freaking annoying.
