HIMH (Seattle, Wa)

Hang In My Hood

A weekly series, introducing you to new adventures around someone elses' neighborhood!

{erika - rouge and whimsy}

Hi I'm Erika and I make pretty things for my Etsy shop and blog about my inspiration,

 my puppy and all other good things in between at Rouge and Whimsy. (Come say hi!) 

If you're hot where you are... and you might be with the crazy heat waves going around...

I suggest you come visit a cooler place, a place where it's been about 75 degrees.

I'm taking about my hometown and lovely city Seattle!

Before you hop on a plane though, I want to give you the rundown on a few things you need to see while you're here. The ultimate must-see list is enormous, so I'm just going to touch on a few of my favorite spots. 

First off-- there are the major tourist-y places you'll need to check off right away downtown,

 like the first Starbucks and Pike Place Market, conveniently located right next to each other.

Around Pike Place Market is a myriad of shops and alleys filled with cute cafes and bars-- very Europe-esque. One of my favorite restaurants, The Pink Door, is located in Pike Place Market.

 Delicious Italian food, outdoor seating and cute ambiance, basically a perfect date night restaurant. 

Once you've had your fill of the Market, it's time to hit up one of my favorite parks.

Gas Works Park is located on Lake Union.

 While Seattle sits on Puget Sound, there are also two lakes nearby: Lake Union and Lake Washington.

 Lake Union is in the middle of the city and is where all the houseboats

 (Sleepless in Seattle boat included) are docked. 

The Gas Works Park used to be the site of a coal gasification plant and rather than tear the plant down, the city chose to keep it as part of the park. The odd, rusted buildings still stand today admist the green grass.

 

Did you ever watch "Ten Things I Hate About You"?

The scene where Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger play paintball was filmed at Gas Works.

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Gas Works is not only a great place to fly a kite but a perfect place to watch the sailboats

 and get an awesome view of the sunset and the city lights. 

From Gas Works, I think we'll have to hit up Ballard. 

Ballard is one of my all-time favorite neighborhoods of Seattle.

 It started as a quirky fishing village and still operates as the headquarters

 for fishermen heading to Alaska (Deadliest Catch is partially filmed there.)

However, it's also become a very hip and upcoming neighborhood with great bars (like King's Hardware),

cafes (Caffe Fiore is my favorite!) and independent boutiques. 

 On Sundays I make sure to head down to the Ballard Farmer's Market.

It runs year round and is always filled with great food and great people watching. 

If you want to mingle with the true locals-- Ballard is the place to do it. 

Like I said, this is only the beginning of things to do in Seattle!

 I know my city gets a bad rap for it's cloudy days,

but I love the so many things here and can't imagine living anywhere else.

Thanks Heather for letting me share!

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(thanks erika!!)