The next day was another day of walking around. My friend had to go to work again, so my plan was to wander around the city again. I decided, however, to start with a walk around West Seattle and Alki Beach and later take the bus Downtown. Apparently, taking the bus in Seattle is more common for the general public than in the other cities that I visited during my trip. I liked that! In fact, they even had some free busses, for example, around some parts of West Seattle and Downtown!
While walking around West Seattle, I explored a completely different area to Downtown. Another area that I really enjoyed! Not only were there many cool small local shops and restaurants, but also the architecture here was very scenic. I could not stop making snapchat videos of all the cute houses and the beautiful plants and trees surrounding them (you can find these on my Instagram, see the Seattle highlight). This area is indescribable! In one way, the houses and the nature look very much like those in Norway, on the other hand, each of the houses here are much more unique than in Norway! It seems like people are doing everything to make their house look different than those of their neighbours and make sure their own house stands out. They do this with all kinds of decorations and beautiful plants. And it is all so well taken care of! In Norway, however, all the houses that are located in the same neighbourhoods look very similar. Standing out is definitely not a thing. I realised that if I would ever move back to Seattle, this is where I would like to live!
I already knew Alki beach very well, but I always came here by car. This time, I went for a very long walk around West Seattle until I reached Alki beach where I had a Taco and a cocktail at the Chupacabra restaurant overlooking the beach. Alki beach is just how I remembered! Although it was the first time I saw this beach in rainy weather, I still loved it. Watching the beach from the second floor at the restaurant was just magical. And guess what, it was Happy Hour again! I could sit there all day and enjoy the view, but I had more things planned on my schedule. I wanted to make sure to get to Downtown Seattle before it got dark, and explore some more hidden gems of the city.
Chinatown
I wanted to go to Chinatown because I also had some great memories from that part of the town, but I did not actually plan to come here at this moment. However, at one point I had to change busses to get to Downtown. I did not feel like waiting for the second bus, so I decided to walk to Downtown instead. By doing that, I had to pass through Chinatown! In the end, I am happy I did it that way and that I went to Chinatown.
When I got to Chinatown, I was met by a street food festival in the middle of Chinatown. I love street food festivals! Street food festival + Asian food, it just cannot be better! I did not try many things, I was still quite full after the taco, and the lines were quite long. In fact, Street food festivals are not as fun when you are alone, because you cannot share the food experience with anyone and you have to stand in lines everywhere! However, trying a few things was certainly a must! The best thing I tried here was a small lobster. It only costed me like 14 Dollars, which I believe is quite cheap for a lobster of that size, especially on a street food festival which usually sets the prices quite high.
Din Tai Fung
This day passed by very quickly. I promised my friend some Dim Sum, so before heading towards his work, I planned to grab some take away Dim Sum that we could eat later at home. I probably could have gotten some great Dim Sum from Chinatown, but I soon found out that there is Din Tai Fung in Seattle! Apparently, they now have it in a few cities in the USA. I guess the reason why they have it in Seattle is the large Asian population. Din Tai Fung was not in Chinatown, it was actually Downtown, but my final destination was Downtown anyway, because that is where my friend works, and I was driving back home with him after his work. I had not had Din Tai Fung or any other good Dim Sum since I was in Shanghai a couple of years ago, so I was in heaven! Although, there was a huge line to enter the restaurant, I could enter without a reservation. Again, that is the benefit of travelling solo, because there is always that one free spot for one person! I decided to eat a bit at the restaurant and bring the rest as take away. I met some fun people here, which was great, because I could share the Dim Sum experience with someone. It was simply delicious! Expensive, but totally worth the amazing flavour!
The next day, I met my cousin Downtown for brunch. I had never met her before, so it was nice to find out that she lives in Seattle and that she wanted to meet me. I will tell more about how I came to know that she is my cousin in the next post! Later that day, I picked up some Mexican food and brought it with me to my friend’s workplace where I stayed for some hours. I In the evening, after a few unpleasant incidents (such as not getting into the house to pick up my stuff when I should be hurrying to the airport and almost loosing hope of my further trip!) I was on my way to the airport for my next adventure in the next city: Detroit!
#seattle #chinatown #beautiful #westseattle #sushi #happyhour #dimsum#tripadvisor #seatac #airport #streetfood #usa #scandinavia #nature
Anyah Mroz 