A Weekend in Seattle

Today I'm going to share about my recent trip to Seattle! My friend Rachel and I went over there for a weekend training, and although we didn't have much time to spare to play and see the city, we made sure to take time for some of the highlights everyone says you have to see when you're there.

This was my first time being in Seattle so I was very excited to finally get to visit the Pikes Place Market in person and it certainly lives up to the hype ;)

Since we were hungry the first thing on our agenda was getting some good food, specifically clam chowder.

With so many places to eat at the market it was hard to make a decision on where to eat, but we decided to try the Market Grill.

I've heard they're famous for their Salmon Baquette Sandwich, but since we wanted to save room for other goodies we opted for just a bowl of New England Clam Chowder.

I'm normally not the biggest fan of clam chowder, but I do have to say it was the best I've had. You could taste the freshness of the clams, and it was made with tons of fresh herbs.

I love the open air aspect and eclectic vibes of the market. It's super fun to just walk around and soak it all in.

Being right on the coast there are quite a lot of seafood vendors throughout the market with tons of fresh fish to offer. They even will ship their seafood if you wish which I thought was pretty cool!

One of the highlights of the market, especially of the seafood vendors is this one which is where they toss the fish back and forth every time someone buys one.

The fruit and vegetable stands were absolutely beautiful! Walking through the market is seriously a feast for the eyes with all the fresh and local food as well as all the vendors selling unique gifts and such.

My absolute favorite part of the whole market were all the fresh flowers!! It's no secret I absolutely adore flowers, and it made me so happy seeing the rows and rows of fresh tulips and absolutely gorgeous bouquets.

One store in the market which is totally noteworthy even though I failed to get photos of it (because I was too busy trying to decide what I wanted to try) is called Market Spice. They have two walls floor to ceiling of jars with the most amazing selection of teas and spices. I wanted to take a home a little bit of everything but opted to try their Earl Grey tea and Market Chai loose leaf teas which are seriously about the best I've ever had. If you're a tea lover and find yourself in Seattle, Market Spice is a must for you!

Beecher's handmade cheese was pretty neat. They make all their cheeses homemade from local dairy and they make it right there in the store, so you're able to see the large vats of milk as they churn it to make their cheese. They were sampling a few of their famous cheeses, and while it was good it had nothing on Wisconsin cheese in my opinion.

Le Panier Bakery was a beautiful European inspired bakery. I'm not really a pastry person but when it looks this beautiful it sure is tempting!! However I settled for just a rose flavored French Macaron which I ate before I got a good photo of it haha. Speaking of French Macaroons, if you've never had one do yourself a favor and go try one, it's like biting into heaven. For real!

And here you have the famous original Starbucks where it all started. People didn't seem to mind standing in a long line outside in the rain, but I didn't find it worth it to do that especially since I personally don't like Starbucks. So instead we went around the corner and tried another coffee shop haha.

Storeyville Coffee was very good! The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, a perfect place to study. We went to two of them while there, but the one at the market is upstairs above an old book store and has windows overlooking the water with lots of cozy seating.

It was typical rainy weather while we were there, and it amazed me how it didn't seem to bother the locals at all. They just stand out in the rain and walk through downtown with their umbrellas as if the sun was out. But in a city where it rains all the time life does have to carry on I suppose.

One thing I do love about cities are the street musicians that often play on the sidewalks. This guy was super talented and played the piano amazingly!

Here you have the famous gum wall. To be honest it kinda grossed me out being surrounded by thousands of pieces of chewed gum haha so I didn't really take the time to photograph it well. Plus it was pouring down rain and by that time we were just about feeling over it and ready to head to the dry and cozy hotel. But at least I can now say I've been there done that and check it off my list.

Our purpose in Seattle for the weekend was to attend a training class to become a certified Doula. If you might not know what that is, a Doula is someone who is trained in childbirth to be able to provide emotional, physical, and educational support to a mother during her pregnancy as well as during the birthing and labor process.

I've alway been interested in learning about pregnancy and birth, especially from a holistic viewpoint that values home births and the moral support of either a Midwife or Doula in contrast to the sterile hospital experiences most women have. And this was honestly such a perfect opportunity! Especially since I'm pregnant myself now I was able to learn and get more confident and educated for my own birth.

Some organizations require you to attend a certain number of births before you can get your certification as a Doula, but this training we went to allowed you to receive your certification after completing the online training and/or attending the live class. So now I'm completely certified as a Doula and at any point in the future I would be able to pursue it as a job or even just as a hobby job if I wished.

Before I visit a new place I always look up the best places to eat and Ivar's kept popping up every time. I had also heard from some friends of mine that they had the best fish and chips. That's one of my favorite foods that I never let myself eat, so I had to give it a try.

I have to say I honestly wasn't that impressed, it was good but certainly not the best I've ever had.

They actually have several Ivar's restaurants right there and we went to the fish bar which is just a walk up to the counter and order deal. The experience was fun and lots of locals were there getting their fish fix, but to me it left some to be desired.

On our last day it was absolutely beautiful, so I guess the sun does shine sometimes in the rainiest city!

Although we didn't have that much time to explore, I have to say I enjoyed Seattle and I think it would be worth going back to visit especially in the spring or fall when hopefully the weather is better and you can get out and explore the city and nature surrounding it.