Last stop on the West Coast... Seattle, WA.

We absorbed plenty of energy from the sun by the time we left Oakland, we were going to need that extra boost to keep us going while house sitting in Seattle for over two months. Friends and family thought we were crazy by traveling to the west coast at this time of the year. But, we wanted to experience these beautiful cities in their worst time, if we could survive living with cold, rain and many gray days, we would be fine the rest of the year.

We started house sitting the first week of January and also took care of Sakda, a Korat cat, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. This is a very nice area surrounded by parks, lakes and all the conveniences of a cosmopolitan city. The house is situated on a hillside so the views we had were amazing, especially when the sun made its way through the gray curtains that covered the sky.

We spent many days indoors due to the constant rain but, we were able to explore the city when mother nature gave us some breaks. Our first walk was at the Arboretum Park, this is 230 acres on the shores of Lake Washington that has a variety of plants; even in winter we were able to appreciate the beauty of it. I can only imagine how it looks like in spring when everything is blooming. Walking through the park gave me the feeling of being in an enchanted place, I was hoping to see some trolls and witches running around but it was just us; perhaps they were hiding behind the big trees, making sure that we had a safe stroll through the woods.

We enjoy the outdoors so we were happy to find plenty of parks to visit within walking distance or a short bus ride. What was even better is that mother nature gave us some amazing sunny days to enjoy these places, something we weren't expecting.
Volunteer Park and Green Lake are worth a visit, here you can  spend a great time relaxing while being in touch with nature. It's amazing how invigorated we felt after walking around Green Lake, seeing the sunlight shimmering on the calm water and feeling the fresh air on my face brought peace to my senses.

 Volunteer Park is a little gem in the middle of the city; it's the perfect spot to clear our mind, read a book or simply have quality time while being surrounded by the energy of beautiful vegetation.  Here we visited the conservatory that has a good selection of exotic plants. There's a warm room full of beautiful desert plants that transported us to our home in Las Vegas the moment we stepped in.
As we explored the area, we found a water tower right in the middle of the park; we climbed many steps before getting to the observation deck where we were amazed by the 360° views of Seattle.

There's a Japanese Botanical garden by the Arboretum Park that we didn't visit the first time we explored this area because it closes during winter time. They reopened it in late February so we were happy to enjoy this little magical place even when the blooms weren't at their fullest. 

Seattle is a city full of life with plenty of activities year round, there's always something to do and places to go without even having to go over budget. 
The Public Market Center is a must visit, it's a fun place to walk around and be amazed by all the food, art craft and little shops that surround it. You can smell the flowers, organic food and even the fresh fish as you walk through its corridors. 
This eclectic farmers market is by the ocean which makes it a perfect place to wonder around downtown and get lost in its colorful alleys.

We took advantage every time we had a semi sunny day or when it wasn't raining to go for some walks, after being indoors for two or three days we just wanted to get out and breath the fresh air. There was a day we walked to the Space Needle, the sun was at its fullest so we ended up walking for about 18 miles. We were so content with such a bright day that we lost our time exploring the city and discovering beautiful places; we felt it by the time we were back home but it was well worth it.

Seattle has a great transportation system, the buses go all over the city and the new light rail goes from the airport to downtown and many other neighborhoods but, it's also a very walk-able city; this is what we liked the most because we were able to admire the charming cottages and the picturesque tree lined streets.
During the months of January and February most of the trees were leafless and covered with moss but still beautiful, every time we walked through the streets I felt like we were in one of those places that only exist in children's story books; there wasn't a day I wasn't amazed by such beautiful scenery.
In the second week of March we had our last stroll through the neighborhood, what a great sensation we felt when we saw the plants blooming and the cherry blossoms trees showing off their colors; it was like they were awakening from a long sleep.

Winter can be depressing in Seattle, specially for people who didn't grow up with this type of weather so keeping a busy mind is very important. There were days we didn't feel like going out due to the heavy rain, sometimes I felt a little anxious so writing has been a good way of escaping from my dark moments to a place where I can relax and it's full of bright colors.

Overall our experience in Seattle was very good, we had a great time living here for a short time but we're happy to move forward and continue our travel adventures to places where the sun shines year round.

Safe travels my friends!