Sightseeing with Long-Distance Friends in Seattle

Something that draws me to a city even more than it’s culture, food, and sights, is if I have friends who live there! I love travelling up and down the U.K. to see people in their hometowns, and that’s something I’ve had the pleasure of doing in the US, too. With the Space Needle on my mind and being reunited with my long-distance friends, I casually flew to Seattle for a couple of days of fun! 

Landing in Seattle on Sunday April 7th, I found my way onto the Light Rail (over-ground train), and headed for the uptown district. After I stared at all the Canadian-like trees and greenery, listening to Imagine Dragons and feeling like I was in a music video, I got off to explore. I had adventure on my mind and my Disney suitcase in my hand. 

I was hungry and needed some Seattle grub. I headed for the popular eatery, ‘Biscuit Bitch’. Yep, you read that right folks. It’s freshly baked American biscuits with crazy toppings sold in a cool, grungy bakery. I had the ‘nutty bitch’ which was biscuits, Nutella, banana, and LOTS of whipped cream. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that’s why I ordered it to be honest. 

With a full stomach, I freshened up in my Holiday Inn Express room, put my Rapunzel backpack on (You can take the girl out of Disney, but you can’t take Disney out of the girl!), and walked to meet my friend Steven. 

Who’s Steven? He’s a friend I made years ago through Imagine Dragons and social media. We’ve hung out in London several times when he was at a British university, but now he’s moved back to the US and conveniently lives in Seattle! It was so good to see him again. To me it felt like being with someone from home, as we’ve only ever seen each other in the U.K. after all! 

Over the two days, we explored as much as we could. I was the tourist of course, taking in all the sights and being in awe at everything as per usual. On Sunday, Steven showed me around Pike Place Market, and we visited the first EVER Starbucks. By the end of my trip, I was officially over that brand. It’s literally everywhere in Seattle! 

We tried delicious homemade cheese in the marketplace, waited a long time for food in The Cheesecake Factory, and walked all over Capitol Hill. We ended up back by the Seattle Spheres, and stumbled across a secret bar underneath them called ‘Deep Dive’. $37 later on two drinks, and we felt as sophisticated as we could be! It was such a beautiful bar though, and one of the highlights of my trip.

The next day began with a pretty decent (and free) continental breakfast at the hotel. The two main things I wanted to do on my trip were The Museum of Pop Culture, and the Space Needle, so that’s what I was going to do. 

Honestly, that’s THE best and most interesting museum I’ve ever been to in my life! It featured so many incredible things that celebrated pop culture. There were countless different unique exhibitions. Some of which featured props and costumes used in films such as Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, Back To The Future, The Gremlins, and more. Even Monty Python and The Holy Grail was featured – I was so, so happy when I came across this! “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.” Classic. 

My absolute favourite part of The Museum of Pop Culture was the exhibition dedicated to one of the biggest icons of our time; Prince. I have a sentimental value attached to the legend and his music, as my dad adores him. It gave me goosebumps to see his outfits in person, photographs mounted on the museum walls, and have his music fill my head with dreams as I wandered around his life in pictures. He is a pinpoint in history that we will never forget. 

Finishing the museum with an interesting look into the Horror and Death film features, I let the Seattle fresh air bring me back to reality. I met up with Steven again, and we plucked up the courage to soar up the Space Needle. It was so much fun! When we were up at the very top, we had a fantastic view of the city, as well as a photo shoot of course. On the next level down, the glass floor rotated, which was super cool. To think I used to be terrified of heights!

Later on that afternoon, Steven and I met up with Skylar – another friend through Imagine Dragons. If you couldn’t already tell, this band have changed my life in the most amazing way. Once we’d wandered around the city’s library, we ended up on the rooftop of the Hard Rock Cafe for an awesome sunset, and spent a while being competitive in a huge arcade. It was the perfect end to my short, but very sweet, time in Seattle. 

I’m so happy I got to visit such a chilled city in the US. But my adventure didn’t end there. From Seattle, I flew into Anaheim, California… I went to Disneyland! My DREAM vacation! Honestly, it was one of the best experiences of my life. A blog post will be coming once I find the words to sum up its magic. 

I’m now back in Orlando, and I have TWO WEEKS left on my program. How did that happen?!