Seattle

Isn't Seattle GORGEOUS!?!? I love this city. not just because i live here. Because it is so beautiful, perfect seasons, nice people, and fun things to do. I grew up in a suburb of Seattle and have always taken the opportunity to go into Seattle for something to do. And there is SO much to do when you are here. I'm going to highlight a few things here. Fridays are local days which may also extend into the rest of the US because i haven't been very many places in my own country. But for now i will be ultra local and show you just how awesome Seattle is!

Transportation: It's pretty easy to get around Seattle. We've got buses, like everyone else. They are pretty thorough, easy to maneuver, fairly reliable. You can always take a taxi too. If you are heading outside of downtown Seattle (think Capital Hill, Queen Anne) there's lots of hills. So plan accordingly. It's a good hike, nice if the weather is good, but consider another travel option for a backup.

Weater: It doesn't always rain! I promise! It's usually cloudy. But we get sun breaks. And if you are local you understand weather terms; sprinkle, shower, downpour. They mean different things. Just make sure you have an umbrella (although we will know you are a tourist) and lots of layers. It can be rainy and humid. It can be cold and sunny. Wear lots of layers, bring a good heavy coat, an umbrella, and know that we have amazing cofee shops to duck into when the rain gets going to wait it out. And not just Starbucks, there are so many other amazing choices. Consider Stumptown and Cafe Fiore.

First things first, where everyone goes, and has a great time: Pike Place Market. It's open year round. it's got every fruit and vegetable you could imagine. It's filled with fresh flowers. Yes, there are fish throwers and it's fun to watch. there are little shops that sell almost any food product you can think of. The original Starbucks is there as well. You can spend hours, with the sea on one side and the city on the other. It's a must do and it's well worth it. Plus, it's free and there is so much to explore. It's worth spending an afternoon before moving onto something new.



Look at all of that amazing produce! Seriously, it's beautiful to look at and the food is fresh and delicious. The vendors are very knowledgeable and happy to talk about their stocks.


Go to the gum wall. It's under Pike Place Market. It's covered in gum. seriously. It's one of the greatest things us weird Seattle people have done. People love the gum wall. I try to contribute regularly haha People use the wall for backdrops in prom pictures and wedding photos. It's fantastic. Stand far away or get up close, there is a lot to look at for just being gum.


Space Needle. Everyone thinks of the Space Needle when they hear Seattle. It's pretty fantastic. It's beautiful, a good land mark, fun to visit. Definitely worth it. Although it can be expensive. The ride up on the elevator gets you to the observation deck, with fantastic views of the city. You can eat at the restaurant too, but it's a separate price for dinner, needs reservations and nice dinner clothes. It's expensive too. I've been once and I barely remember the food, it was just cool because it rotates, you can see the whole city slowly spinning around you while you eat. Close to the Space Needle is EMP, or Experience Music Project, which is an awesome music museum with interactive exhibits. For kids, the Pacific Science Center has everything a kid could imagine for a day of fun and science. Plus a great IMAX theater.

Parks: Seattle has great parks. A lot of them around the water front. It can be beautiful in Seattle and that's when all of the locals are outside. Flocking to parks with a picnic lunch, trying to tan our pasty white skin, or a long walk with our dog. Everyone in Seattle has dogs. And one of the coolest parks is Gasworks Park. It's an old gas building, they have left the equipment that you can walk around near. The dangerous stuff is fenced off but you can get pretty close and the views of Seattle are amazing. On a clear day you can see really far. There's a sundial on top of a hill that's worth visiting. You can relax, see kayakers go by, watch sea planes land, it's really lovely.

Museums: Seattle has FANTASTIC museums. Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Frye Art Museum, etc There are great exhibits going on all the time and it's worth checking a few of them out. The Seattle Library is a wonderful building with one of the greatest designs known to man. We have incedible THEATER. Check out a local paper and you will find a ton of great concerts and shows going on that are worth checking out. We've got national artists coming to town all the time but incredible local artists that we hold as local treasures and are definitely worth finding and seeing. Theater is good too, check out places like the Comedy Underground, Chop Suey, Showbox, Moore Theater, Paramount, Neptune, McCaw Hall. Great things to see and do.

FYI Seattle is beautiful at Christmas time. It's got beautiful hotels close to downtown. West Lake Center, part inside/outside mall is completely decorated and charming. 5th Avenue shopping is glorious, beautiful window displays and decorations. There is the Nutcracker at McCaw Hall, a must see. A giant tree on top of the Space Needle.

That's the jist of Seattle. There are so many great things to say and do and I'm sure I will have more to say about this city later. Check out the theater, a show, a park, and our awesome cofee. Enjoy!

Thursday: Saving Money

It's so hard to save money. it's soooo easy to spend money. it's practically in my nature to spend money. or at least culture to spend money. and it's hard to save money, even for something i really want. I've written about budgets before and i will write about them again but they are so so important. and it's important to remind yourself why you are saving money. Traveling can be cheap but depending on where you go or unexpected costs you can be out a lot of money too. the rule is true: bring half the clothes and twice the money.
I work a normal 8-5 job. i'm not at a computer all day. but i am super busy. And i don't make much over minimum wage. if i want to travel i need to do everything i can to make it happen within my limits. i have bills and student loans like everyone else but if i work hard to make travel a priority then i can have what i want, to add more stamps to my passport.
Make a budget. seriously. if you don't have one start right now. it's the one thing that is going to kepe you on track and focused on your goals. it's the only thing that really helps me stay on top of my expenses. Also, actively stick to it. i'm tempted by everything when i walk into a store, things i maybe need or will need someday. but it's about the here and now. i don't really need the latest movie that just came out. and if i really want it i can wait a few months until it's discounted. that's how things go. they will always be discounted eventually.
After i pay all of my bills my next step is put money toward my savings. it's usually 10% of my paycheck so that's twice a month i'm putting money into savings. Then I have a separate account i use for travel expenses. i put about 5-10% of each paycheck in there as well. that's the equivalent to a tithe if i was a religious person haha It's important to actively save for your upcoming trip.
Commit to sticking to your budget. And after a few weeks/months you will have the amount you need for a trip that just seems like "extra" cash you had lying around. Start your adventure!

Future Travel

It's a day late but let's talk future travel! I could go on and on with this subject. There are SO many places I want to visit someday! There is so much to see! So many adventurest to be had! I get a little old fasion about the whole idea of travel, I tend to believe I have a lot of money and free time and can fly off wherever I want with a moments notice. That's what I want to do with my life. Travel. And future travel is a good place to start.

So today's future travel idea: Three weeks off work. Three cities. Two I've never been, one that feels like home. Itinerary: SEA-NYC. Four days in the big apple. Then from NYC to Amsterdam. A week in Amsterdam. Then ten days in London. Before flying back home to Seattle.

I would be tired from the trip. Jet lagged, exhausted, and would have had the time of my life. I want to go to New York City. I want to see a Broadway show, see the Statue of Liberty, walk around Times Square, go to the Met. To sit in Central Park for hours. Basically cram as many touristy things into a few days as possible. I know I could go back at some point for a really deep tour of New York but I want to be a tourist in the one of the easiest places to be a tourist. To get caught up in the lights, crowds, beauty of the city. The reason people travel from far away places for a few hours in a big city.

Then I want to visit Amsterdam next. My usual reason for visiting a new place and the activities I spend doing while I'm there revolve around history. I'm a huge history nerd. I have loved every history class I ever took, read historical non fiction and fiction for fun, and plan trips around museum opening/closing times. Amsterdam has the charm of Europe. And I've missed that continent. I want to walk along canals and admire old buildings. I want to go to the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum. I want to wander through old churches. Ride a bike like a local (and fall a lot I'm sure.) It seems like a lovely small romantic European city and I can't wait to someday be immersed into the magic.

Finally, London. I dream of London. I dream I'm there, walking down familiar streets, stopping at my favorite stores, walking through the best museums in the world. London has a certain feel, it's comfortable for me, like an old sweater I left in the back of my closet and I want to find it again. I still have moments where I curse myself for ever leaving. I also tend to idealize. It wasn't a perfect year there but it held so much possibility and I learned so much about myself. I met amazing people, fell in love with an ancient city, and dream of a chance to visit again. Ten days would be perfect for a quick visit. It would fly by. And then I could plot my next trip there, and the next, and then the possibility that I could live there again one day. I would give anything to live there again someday. I could stay with my friends and relive the adventures by walking around my university, pubs, parks, and museums. When I first landed and dropped my stuff off where I'm staying, I would head to central London, walk through the London School of Economics, where I graduated. It's been three years and I can still see each corner in my mind. The students walking by, reading, hurrying. I would take in the library, go into the Garrick cafe, have a pint (cider and black for me) at the graduate pub (there were 2 on campus, one for undergrads and one for grad students). I would walk to the British Museum, then down Oxford Street, end up in Covent Garden with unique coffee shops and book stores. I would buy tickets for Les Miserables that night and grab a bite to eat at a pub. I'd spend the evenings catching up with old friends and taking in new sites, from the view of a pub haha. While my friends worked I'd head to Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, Hyde Park, and do a few touristy things I missed. And not forget to visit my old apartment building, the small Ethiopian restaurant I ate at way too often, the elephants on South Bank, and my favorite chai from cafe nerro. It would be PERFECT. completely blissful. London is my happy place.

And then of course I'd have to leave eventually. Back to Seattle. Back to the real world. But that's ok because I had this amazing adventure and I know I will have another one too. And maybe someday I will actually get to live in London again.

If you've been anywhere I've talked about in future travel then I would love to hear your tips on where to stay, what to do, and anything else you got!

Tuesday Travel Tip

Honestly I feel like I have so many tips from the places I've been and things I've learned that this section might be all over the place. I may talk about pre travel stuff, things that happen while you travel, or even at the end, in no particular order. They can all be accessed by the tags at the end to find all of them together. I feel like the topic for the day is about as specific as I want to get and it would be too complicated (and also I'm not a Type A personality AT ALL) to go from beginning to end in terms of everything you need to do and remember. So it's going to be a bit random but I hope you stay with me because I feel like I have good tips to offer.

Like today's tip: FREE WALKING TOURS

Seriously. This tip is specific to Europe (at least I think so) but it's invaluable. Completely worth it. Look around your hotel or hostels for info. go online. ask around. check out fliers are tourist places and/or internet cafes. You will find someone has posted something about this awesome experience. Walking tours are THE BEST. There's usually info on the flier about when/where they meet. it's pretty simple really. You just have to show up. I've gone when there is only a group of five and then I've been on them when you have to pick another time to meet because there is a huge group waiting and lots of tour guides. They are the best way to dive right into a city. It's a first or second day activity. It drops you right into the middle of the city, with someone who knows the city, and gives you first hand look. It can be a great opportunity to meet people, give you an idea of where you want to go later, and ALSO a sense of direction in a new place. I find that to be really important. I'm not going to sit at a street corner with a map, I'm going to try to look like a local. And while the tour itself is a little "touristy" and you may stick out a bit, it's a good chance to retrace your steps with a sense of familiarity.

Every single guide I've had during a walking tour is totally awesome. They are friendly, full of information, and easy to talk to. They have a script that they've memorized but it doesn't come off as boring or rehearsed. They walk all over the city and may know a pub nearby you should check out, or a day for discounts at a museum. They like when you ask questions. It's more of a conversation than a tour. Most of the guides have been really funny and genuinely interested in giving you a glimpse of the city.

It's a good opportunity to get a feel for a city. You don't have to stay with them the whole time, you can wander off into a market or park. It's nice to know that the tour is always there to join later in the afternoon or the next day. There are always so many ways to see a city but mostly, for a lot of tourists, it's big buses with no roof and a guy with a microphone. Don't get me wrong, those are fine, I've taken many of those. But you can get the same info with a guidebook, a free walking tour, and an afternoon to wander around a city.

So. Take the free walking tours. Get to know the city you are in. Talk to a local. See the big sites before finding out the stuff you really want to see or revisit. AND tip the travel guide. Because they have one of the coolest jobs in the world (big city, no cubicle) and if you liked the tour then you want other people to have an awesome experience too.

A long and short way

Wow. these last few weeks went by faster than I thought they could and I abandoned all hope of getting anything done except starting a new job. That's gone well and now that i'm settled there things in my personal life have taken a dive. isn't that how it always is? there's always something. and of course, my favorite over used phrase, when it rains it pours. so things have been eventful in the worst possible way. and that means this blog is once again neglected. I need a better way to say the cliche.

Wednesday! It's time to talk about where I WANT to travel. ME. haha. the other days are for your benefit. tips, tricks, advice, all that good stuff. (theoretically) but Wednesday for me is when i get to talk about my deepest travel dreams. i actually had another idea for this week until i watched the amazing race on Sunday. They were in Bora Bora. There it is. my new place. I have a list that has no end of places i want to visit and yet here i've moved something up the list. did you see the episode? It's beautiful! sandy beaches and clear water. it's perfect. So many of the contestants were afraid of water. And I get that's a concern for a lot of people but it's the wrong reality show to be apart of. There is water every single race. multiple times. I have no fear of water. I would live in it full time if i could. It's the perfect thing for me. so give me a few days (weeks, months) in Bora Bora on the beach in the sand. And life would be perfect. (or at least real life would  be far away). Has anyone been there? Good times to go? How do i sky dive out of a helicopter like they did/ is that an offered activity when i go? Because i definitely want to do that. Sky diving is on my "bucket list".

ugh i just said bucket list. probably these preschool children are rotting my brain. must go. Back to work unfortunately but in my mind i will be in Bora Bora (and hopefully for a visit sometime)!

My poor poor sad little blog. It barely got off the ground and has been floundering ever since. I desperately want to post but I've had a rough work week and cant tonight. I will definitely catch up. I can't promise not to fall behind again but we all know that's not true. I will do my best though.

Bad new blogger

I am a bad blogger. And a bad new blogger. I promise to catch up tonight. I've got a lot or exciting things going on I want to talk about. And I'm finally over my cold. More soon!