I recently had the revelation that friendship, like travel, gets better with age. I have known Bridie and Jenn since fourth grade – that’s more than 10 years! We decided to meet up for a weekend in Seattle where Bridie just moved to explore, eat great food, drink some local brews, and mostly, catch up. These girls know almost every quirk and characteristic about me, but they still keep me around! Our friendship has continued to grow and get richer, even when we’re all in different cities.

That’s kind of how I feel with travel. You capture and experience cities differently as you get older. I traveled to Seattle my freshman year of college, but going back five years later made me see things in a new lens. One of the things that resonated with me the most is I could go to the middle of nowhere, but being there with great friends who would be up anything would make it an absolute blast. This second time to Seattle with my best girlfriends was all the more memorable simply because of their personalities.

Pike Place Market remains one of my favorite spots to visit. I could roam around staring at the vendors, produce stands and flowers for hours. If I had unlimited money (and lived in the city), I would sample my way through every food option and buy a bouquet of fresh flowers every week. When the girls and I got to the Market, we first made a stop at the famous Gum Wall for the experience and trademark photo. The wall both weirds me out and fascinates me every time! When you make your way upstairs into the shops, you’ll catch the famous fish throwing area. Those guys are such a blast to watch! Then, the rest of the market is all yours to explore. My favorite produce stop is Sosio’s Fruit & Produce. They offered us samples of these “OMG Peaches” that truly make you say “Oh my gosh!” I also picked up a handful of fresh lychee to make lychee infused vodka. Such a random purchase, but I had never seen fresh lychee for sale before so I had to get some. It was literally $2!! Details to come on how the infused vodka turned out.

After an evening of going out in the Capital Hill neighborhood, we needed a beach day to…ahem…recover. We checked out some really cool spots, but my favorite had to be The Unicorn. It felt like a Britney Spears music video for Circus and had a list of the coolest cocktails. Saturday morning, the sun was shining so we packed our bags and headed to Golden Gardens Beach. Who knew that Seattle had such blue and sandy beaches? Not me! Seattle’s summer weather is the best time to explore places like this. After working up an appetite tanning (haha), we roamed to the Ballard neighborhood for food and drinks. I could have walked up and down the streets all afternoon! We had fish and chips at Market Arms and then went to the Ballard Beer Company to try some local brews and chat with friends. My favorite thing was their really cool decor on the walls and their stack of games. We sat and played cards while we enjoyed our beer.

The weekend went by way too fast and I had to leave early on Sunday morning, but there are still so many things I would love to explore in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Next time, I’m hoping for some outdoors adventure to see the stunning greenery and maybe even go chasing waterfalls. Seeing Bridie and Jenn while visiting the city for a second time was the perfect addition to my summer. I’m grateful for their friendship and the ability to travel to cities, both new and familiar.

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela