I have a soft spot in my heart for Seattle… which is odd because I’m not a west coast person whatsoever. I’m not even saying that because I’m basically employed by this city! Something about this place gets me every time.

In terms of days OOO, I’m usually there for work. But you could do this trip with 2 PTO days.

Budget Style: Definitely not a budget-friendly trip

What I Did:

Pike Place Market. A famous spot with some of the most amazing seafood on display. If you want to see the fish being tossed you’ll have to wait until someone buys something. The fresh flowers are my favorite, as well as the yummy seafood chowders and fresh fish sandwiches!

Gum Wall. I’m not sure how this became a thing… but a bunch of people stick their gum on a wall and it’s equally gross and instagramable. If there is a snapchat geo-tag, it’s probably worth visiting right?

Space Needle and Chihuly Museum. The Space Needle is obviously an iconic symbol of the city and the views are hit or miss based on weather… but the real star of the show for me is the Chihuly Museum. Built right under the Space Needle, it is full of beautiful blown glass masterpieces. I especially liked the free photo with my friends at the end!

**Snoqualmie Skiing. Including this just in case you go in the winter and have enough time. I happened to be in Seattle during a freak storm that dropped 4 feet of snow at the ski resort, so the fresh pow was awesome! A coworker rented a cabin for 10 people and set it all up, I guess since it isn’t a conventional ski spot the prices were very low… ~$172 for gas, food, cabin, lift tickets, etc for 2 nights.

Where I Ate:

Din Tai Fung – Bellevue. O.M.G. is all I have to say about this place. Originally a Taiwanese dim sum place, DTF (lol) is a Michelin starred restaurant. This is just the Seattle branch of it. No res needed– it’s first come first serve and sometimes the wait times can be upwards of an hour or so. Go with a ton of people and order all of the dumplings! They are filled with warm soup, fresh meat, and handmade in front of a window towards the front of the restaurant. I ate here twice over 36 hours… I dream of this place. Not too expensive when split amongst friends! The truffle pork XBL is a highlight.

Japonesa. Beautiful/fresh sushi, right across from my hotel, and they had a Veuve flight of champs. Done, done, and done.

Goldfinch Tavern. This was conveniently located inside of my hotel and I may have taken advantage of room service a few times because I’m the slothiest sloth who ever slothed. If you have a chance, sit at the bar. The mixologist was extremely talented! I told him that I liked fresh fruit, champagne, and gin… he concocted a custom cocktail with all 3 and a few other flavors– it was the bomb. He also gave me a taste of many other drinks by polishing off empties from the shaker when he made other peoples’ cocktails. I felt so taken care of!

Where I Stayed:

Four Seasons Seattle. Much like dinner at DTF, I have dreams about this place. Perfectly situated along the water downtown, it is a 5 minute walk from Pike Place and beautiful space. Large rooms and bathrooms. Marble everything. TV built into the bathroom mirror. Heated pool and rooftop hot tub. Ferragamo toiletries. Everything about this place made me feel glam! The attention to detail is legit. **Bonus** the hotel has a private chauffeur who drives a Model X Tesla around Seattle proper and saved me countless ubers! The doors open lambo style and it made every entrance to the party dramatic for me haha.

How I Got There:

Alaska Airlines has nonstop flights from DCA which are pretty standard. I liked that I could check my skis for only $25! I did have to sit middle seat on the 6 hour flight out there… not fun.

There is a light rail to get into the city but Seattle is weirdly spread out and I hear it takes forever. Uber or Lyft fo sho! Seattle is a little tech hub, might as well take advantage of it!