Seattle is definitely one of those cities that has a lot of checks in the ‘plus’ column - on the ocean, surrounded by beautiful mountains, seasons, an outdoor mentality, and an abundance of wildlife nearby.

After a scenic and peaceful ferry ride from Bainbridge Island my cousin, who lives and goes to school in Seattle, was my guide around the city for the day.

We started in probably one of the most iconic locations in Seattle: Pike Place Market (my cousin would like everyone to know that you should never say PIKE’S Place Market - it’s located on the street Pike Place and does NOT belong to some dude named Pike).

I’m from the Boston area so I grew up with Quincy Market but this place is like Quincy Market plus every farmers market in the surrounding areas on steroids. But in a good way.

There are actual fish markets, book stores, cafes, bakeries, souveniers, fruit and veggies stands, and an overabundance of samples of flavored nuts and jams (definitely not complaining about that last part).

The stalls are seemingly endless and it’s quite the sensory overload. Even on a Friday at midday the place was packed with people. But if you love trying samples of dark chocolate linguine, cajun garlic spread, fresh apples, and cinnamon honey hazelnuts or you enjoy perusing the many fine crafts of local artists then this place is a must-do on anyone’s list.

After meeting up with a friend of my cousin for a delicious lunch at a nearby cafe (we’re talking fresh tomato soup served with a goat cheese baguette…yummmm) we all walked over to the Space Needle for a few quick pictures. It’s a pretty impressive structure and while I didn’t go up to the top the view from the ground was just as spectacular.

From the Space Needle we moved on to the area known as Capital Hill which is home to the most amazing ice cream known to man. We stopped off at a place known as Molly Moon’s where I ordered a one scoop mixture of wild honey and tangerine blondie ice cream. Don’t worry you read that right. I had no idea that flavors such as those (as well as strawberry balsamic) existed! But boy oh boy were they heaven for your taste buds.

The very special ending to my day in Seattle was meeting up with fellow former dolphin trainer and traveler extraordinare Alison and her husband Adam. Both Alison and Adam traveled around the world over the course of the last year or so and it just so happened that they moved to Seattle only a few weeks before I landed there myself! I joined them on their new tradition of ‘Pho Friday’ and we had a blast talking travel and training.

Have you ever been to Seattle? What was your favorite part?