Euro Trip: The Domestic

I've been putting off posting about my travels from this past summer mainly because I am lazy.  But I figured it was time to neglect school work and finally do it.

My European vacation started off with a few quick trips to some American destinations, the first being Seattle.

Now, I love Washington.  If I had to live in any other state besides California it would be the ol' Evergreen State.  It had been too long since the last time I had been there, 2010 to be exact, so I though it time to revisit since I had the time and means.

I stayed in Belltown near Pike Place.  I was made very aware of how awfully I packed when I had to haul my luggage uphill for roughly 30 minutes in the scorching heat.  The hostel that I stayed at was all right, nothing too bad considering it was a hostel which my dad warned me about even though I have stayed in several before this one.  I didn't spend much time there though before I headed out to Pike Place.

My first stop was to see an old friend of mine, Rachel.  We hadn't seen each other in while but the years had been good to the both of us.

2008

2009

2010

2015 (dayyyum  my hair looks good)

Then I just wandered around the market and made my way over to the Seattle Art Museum. I felt awkward paying since they had a "suggested price" for all visitors.  But what am I supposed to do with that??  I feel judged paying anything less than that price so in reality that should just be the actual price, right? Maybe most people aren't as paranoid as me and can live with themselves paying less.  Anyways, the museum had a pretty decent collection of works including some of my favorites such as Chagall and Lichtenstein.

Afterwards, I scurried on over to catch a boat out to Bremerton.  Mainly, I just wanted to sail the sound and catch the city at sunset even if that meant getting off the boat and getting right back on.

But I mean, look at this beaut!

By the end of all that I was starving so I stopped and grabbed a bite to eat at some pizza place and walked back to the hostel.

The next day, I was going to be heading off to my next destination so I woke up early to see my main reason for stopping in Seattle: The Fremont Troll.  Now, it seems silly, I know, but for all the times I've been to Seattle, I have never seen this dang troll!!  So of course I made it my mission this time. It also gave me an opportunity to experience public transportation for the first time in a long time. Let's just say, I was entertained.

Then there was this:

Mission accomplished.

I had Danny DeVito's voice in my head the entire time. Props if you know what I'm referring to.

After that little thrill, I took a bus over to the Space Needle, since no trip to Seattle is complete without it.

I was sweating like no other walking around that area. Literally, buckets.

Thus, my day was complete and I went to the hostel, grabbed my stuff, and headed out (and realized I had lost my key to my luggage so I had to find a locksmith to cut it off for me).  While on my way, I met a lovely man at the bus stop who engaged me in a nice conversation about how he was homeless  and on his way to a job interview.  I treated him to lunch in exchange for directions to the airport via bus.

All in all, it was a short, sweet, CliffsNotes version of Seattle but I'm glad I went all the same.

Next Stop: Chick A Go.

Mossmonster