my seattle weekend (not sleepless)

sponsored by lime scooters

A few weekends ago, I headed to Seattle with my mother. It was just for two nights, and it was probably the first of many university touring trips. Here are my general thoughts and highlights in a semi-chronological order. 

Firstly, I’m a big city person, so this was all kind of working out for me. But I’m also from San Francisco, which I totally love. So Seattle kind of seemed like a knock-off. I apologize to any diehard Seattle fans, I liked my trip but I’m also about to insult it a bit. When I first went down to the waterfront area, with all the big tourist traps, I felt right at home in this Pier 39-esque walkway. Street performers, really trashy souvenirs, and a nice shot of the ocean if you ignore the trash that floats near the shore. In the main city area and downtown, it also felt like a smaller San Francisco. 

I found plenty of Sleepless in Seattle merchandise while I was there, and if you know anything about me, I am quite a Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fan (though I prefer You’ve Got Mail). I am so jazzed they were able to find purpose in this movie and then turn it into this hot pink sleep shirt with the logo across the chest. I think they hope you won’t be sleepless in Seattle. Personally though, my mom and I retreated back to our hotel at about eight P.M. every night so we had no issues falling asleep. 

hot pink Sleepless in Seattle sleep shirt

my disgusting cinnamon roll

The second day began bright and early (maybe it was eight A.M.) for our trip to the Space Needle and the Chihuly Museum and Garden right next to it. I would first like to mention though, pictured above is part of my free breakfast. It is the worst cinnamon roll I’ve ever had. Nothing and no one should aspire to be that sweet. 

picture of the Space Needle from the Chihuly Gardens

Back to the Space Needle, our endeavor here was mostly because we are tourists and therefore must go to the tourist traps. I must say, it was quite nice, but the tickets were also much too overpriced. If you look at the photo of me, you may notice the sweater I’m wearing nicely matches the building. 

me wistfully gazing off into the distance at the Space Needle

I liked the Chihuly Gardens next to it a bit better. My mom was telling me I had seen these things as a toddler at San Francisco’s deYoung, but I have no recollection. Glassblowing is a super cool art form and I’m quite impressed by all the different things that the artist has done with it. My personal favorite was the coral reef that took up an entire room.

Then we head over to the University of Washington. Our official tour time is tomorrow but we wanted to scope it out by ourselves first, and more importantly the mall next to it. The campus was very nice, but I fear Washington and Seattle may be too nature-y for me. My mom points out that if I live here I may have to buy outdoor gear and go on hikes. I am a bit opposed to this idea. The Hogwarts-esque library was very beautiful though, and I would love to study there. 

University of Washington Library

However, I think the most important thing about this whole day is my endeavor on a Lime scooter. We hopped on because we missed the bus and the next wasn’t meant to arrive for another seventeen minutes. This was a first for me, and the idea of it was very exciting. I don’t think this is a time-saver or money-saver if you don’t have a membership, but I loved whizzing around the sidewalks on this electric scooter.

my endeavor on the Lime Scooter

The next day, after my University of Washington tour, I headed to Capitol Hill to see Seattle University. Here, my mom and I stopped at Elliot Bay Book Company, and I was instantly enamored. I realize it is imperative that my university of choice should have an excellent library or bookstore nearby.

I’m not entirely sure if Seattle is the place for me, but I suppose it remains on the list.