High-tech, yet old school; innovative, artsy and a little hippie at the same time. A maritime urban centre in the Pacific Northwest of America, Seattle has diverse neighborhoods that cause shifting moods as one moves from one corner of the city to the other.
I had a short visit to Seattle this Spring break and was lucky that I made the choice because the sakuras that were in full bloom is every reason that Spring time is the best time to visit the city despite the ongoing rain. But hey, what is Seattle without the thick clouds and rain?
Here are some of the things that you can do and see when you have 48 hours in Seattle.
The prettiest place to soak in the blushed pink and white scenery of cherry blossom trees is the Quad at University of Washington. Being a Cali girl, it was such a sweet surprise for me to see an array of sakuras few hours away from my home without having to cross the Pacific Ocean to Japan. It was so hard to leave the quad especially when the loveliest moment came. And that is when the wind blew and the petals started swirling elegantly around in the air, making me want to capture that little fairytale-like moment in my camera hopelessly.
Pike Place Market is another favorite to walk around at because it just seems to have everything, from Russian bakeries to clam chowder, fish market, fruits, souvenir shops, and flowers. Yes, that endless row of flowers – daffodils, tulips, hyacinth and everything pretty. If flowers could survive through the long airport waits and plane rides, I would totally carry them all with me home.
And of course all Starbucks addicts (and even if you’re not…) have to pay a visit to the very first Starbucks store, which is located right across Pike Place Market. Cold mornings in the rain with a Starbucks cup in hand…
Down the alley below Pike Place Market (it looks a little sketch though) is where you will find the infamous Gum Wall. In case it is not clear yet from the name itself, the Gum Wall is where people stick their used chewing gums on this brick wall. Some parts of the wall are covered in several inches thick of chewed gums. Yes, “yucks” is the reaction, but this place is one of the landmarks of Downtown Seattle.
Taking the monorail from Westlake Station, which is a short five minutes walk away from Pike Place Market, will take you briefly to the Seattle Center. It is built originally in 1962 for the World’s Fair and it is the arts and entertainment center of Seattle. Its landmark is the 605 foot tall Space Needle where you can take an elevator up to the observation deck at 520 feet to get a 360 degrees view of the city.
End off your trip with a visit to Chihuly Garden and Glass. The exhibition showcases the glass artwork by Dale Chihuly using the technique of glass blowing from Burano, and the most enchanting section is the glasshouse that is filled with chains of glass flowers hanging over the roof. Those glasses were so beautifully blown like how my mind was right then.
About the writer
Anlin Melina majors in Business Administration and and South & Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She likes travelling and writing during her free time. You can buy her new book “Once Upon A Blue Sky” – a travel guide book on cities in the United States – from Amazon.