Portland and Seattle Favorites

Cliche as it may sound, you really do learn so much about yourself when you travel, especially when you travel alone. I flew up to Portland by myself, met up with my cousin and friends, drove up to Seattle and I flew back home by myself. I will be honest and say that I am lucky that at my age, I have been lucky to have traveled to quite a few places. I know people my age have been far more lucky to have even traveled overseas, but I'm just speaking from my own upbringing. I didn't get to travel a whole lot as a kid so lately, I've been taking advantage of every opportunity I can get my hands on to travel.

So why the Pacific Northwest? It's just one of those places you have to go, yknow? It's definitely the most north I've traveled! People say Portland and Seattle are like sister-cities. I definitely agree after visiting both cities. The layout of the cities, the businesses, the people...gives you the same ~vibe. Very different from the hustle and bustle of LA for sure. We spent a lot of our time in residential areas where we visited different coffee shops, cafes and shops. Now, if you're in LA, you know you'll be traveling longer distances to get to one cafe to one coffee shop or to one shop. Often times, you don't get the luxury of finding all 3 within the same radius of walking.

I personally feel like I am more familiar with PNW's nature side vs. the hot city spots (well, besides the coffee shops). I do wish I had more time to spend in the well known national parks like Mt. Rainer, Olympic, Mt. Hood and Mt. Baker, but s'all good, I'll save a PNW nature trip for next time!

So here is a very messy photo diary of some of my favorite shops and destinations of Portland and Seattle.

Blue Star Donuts, Portland

Coava Coffee, Portland

Good Coffee, Portland

Heart Coffee, Portland 

537 12th Avenue

Definitely prefer this Heart location vs. the one on Burnside. The space here is just so much brighter and cleaner. I like the huge windows here the most which gives the shop so much life. The white exposed brick walls...I died.

Stumptown Coffee, Portland

4525 Division Street

Just a few blocks west of Good Coffee! This is the first original Stumptown...all hail Portland! I love visiting all the Stumptowns because of how different each shop is. 

Ace Hotel, Portland

Last but not least, the Ace Hotel. I have always seen pictures of this lobby and finally seeing it in person...my eyes could not handle all the beauty.

Other Portland favorites with no photo proof:

Pok Pok

Good Neighbor Pizza

Elm Coffee, Seattle

One of my favorite coffee shops in Seattle. 

Chin Music Press, Pike Place Market, Seattle

Glasswing Shop, Seattle

Very adorable shop with men's and women's clothing, beauty products, accessories, plants, furniture...you name it. Really reminds me of Alchemy Works in the Arts District in LA.

Seattle Public Library

Seriously this building is insane. I explored all 10 levels of this library and was in awe the entire time. It's like a library inside a museum inside this beautifully designed cathedral of architectural beauty.

Victrola Coffee Roasters

A Seattle must. 

Green Leaf Vietnamese

418 8th Avenue, International District

I had my last meal here before I took off to the airport. After a week of eating random foods, I felt like my body needed its nutrients. I looked to Vietnamese food to give me just that. 

Moorea Seal

(I think this boutique deserves its own blog post, plus I just have a ton of photos to share!)

Other Seattle favorites with no photo proof:

Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream

Oddfellow's Cafe + Bar (American)

Mr. Gyro's (Greek, Mediterranean) 

Tsukushinbo (Japanese cuisine)

xx