Traveling to Seattle Alone| My Experience & Advice
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
I wish I could tell you that my spur of the moment decision to travel to Seattle was based on an epiphany, dream, or a life long journey of finding myself....it was not. The truth is, I had a huge fight with my three best friends months before our girls trip to Las Vegas. So instead of sucking it up and just going on the trip, I removed myself from the itinerary and decided to go on a separate trip alone.
What made me interested in traveling to Seattle was mainly having the opportunity to be inspired by the mountains, quaint little coffee shops, and the city.
However, the question still remains…why alone?
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
Well it's as simple as this: I didn’t want to compromise what I wanted to do based on what other people wanted to do.
I booked my flight, reserved my Airbnb, and started making a list of all the things I wanted to do while in Seattle.
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
August 16th, 2016| Arriving to Seattle
A $3.00 train ride and a $8.00 Uber ride later, I finally arrived to my new home for the next 3 days. I reserved a cute air stream that sat in the backyard of a historic pink house in Queen Anne. It was small, had great outdoor lighting, and was the perfect size for one. After settling in, I plopped on the small bed and promised myself a 15 minute nap…three hours later I finally woke up. I got dressed and walked over to this restaurant called Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge. I felt bad being a party of one and taking up a table so I made my way to the bar. Now I'm not familiar with the culture of Seattle, but apparently a girl wearing a red sundress at the bar by herself seemed a little out of the ordinary given the confused look on peoples faces as I walked through. However, when your jet lagged, hungry, and in desperate need of a glass of Merlot people don't seem to care and they carry on with their conversations. Right when my dinner arrived this guy sitting next to me complimented what I had ordered and immediately started having a conversation with me. I forgot his name, but he was from New York and had been living in Seattle for the past 4 years. He made a list of all the places I HAD to go to on a beverage napkin, finished his drink, and wished me safe travels. I really wish I would've remembered his name…
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
August 17th, 2016| First Day Exploring
Picking out my outfit and quickly doing my makeup to start the day wasn’t hard, it was stepping outside figuring out what i was going to do first that was...so I started walking.
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
The host at my Airbnb recommended I try Caffe' Ladros, which is a coffee shop that sits right at the corner of Queen Anne Ave N, a few blocks away from my stay. Walking in I was nervous on the kind of reaction I will get from the way I order my coffee. I tend to come off a little high maintenance. The truth is, I've practically grown up drinking coffee, and having worked at Starbucks a few years ago it has exposed me to the different ways of making coffee. Due to this demand, normally when I order coffee, 9 times out of 10 the barista at such coffee shop will carefully write my complicated order on my coffee cup with a "are you fucking kidding me" look on their face. Instead, at Caffe Ladros, they happily made my coffee and even made a cute design on top of my sweet triple dirty soy chai latte. :) No judgements at all.
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
Walking around downtown Seattle among the other tourists and locals didn’t feel any different than walking around the mall back home. I didn’t feel alone or felt like I was in danger. I was doing my own thing, walking around taking pictures, experiencing the crowded farmers market, and going inside little shops snooping around.
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
I walked over to Post Alley and waited in line for thirty-five minutes for Seattle's best clam chowder. Thirty-five minutes later I was sitting down at a two top table that was inches away from numerous of other tables that were all seated . I don’t know much about clam chowder to say it was the best I've ever had, but it was okay; maybe not thirty-five minutes worth.
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
The only time I wish I wasn’t alone was when I rode the Ferris Wheel. The Great Ferris Wheel is right on the outskirts of downtown Seattle and sits on the pier. So from one side of the wheel you get the view of the water and the mountains and on the other you get the view of downtown Seattle. It was nice being in the cart alone taking in all the scenery, but after two round-abouts I wished I had my special someone with to lean on.
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
August 18th, 2016| Last Day Exploring
The funniest moment of this day was when I walked twelve blocks from The Pike Place Market to Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream and expected donuts. After walking what felt like 100 miles to this ice cream boutique, I looked at the lady behind the counter and asked "donuts?" Her response: "Ice cream?" As I looked around with embarrassment realizing this was clearly an ice cream shop, I laughed to myself and just said "waffle cone with chocolate ice cream please."
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
I didn’t do much walking this day, but I did find myself coming across this beautiful store that caught my eye. The name of the store is NUBE. NUBE is a store that is made up of clothes , jewelry, and home décor made by local artisans. Everything in the store came from either re-purposed or organic materials which would make anyone who bought their products, feel good about themselves. Since I couldn’t afford a $62.00 Epoca Vase made of porcelain , I settled for a hand painted birthday card for one of my friends.
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
photo taken by a stranger with a really nice camera
Later in the evening I went to the Chihuly Garden and Glass. The artwork was breathtaking and so colorful it made my eyes lit up every time I entered a new gallery and saw a different art piece.
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
photograph taken by Nicole Angelique Acevedo
Wayne W. Dyer once said, "You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with" and traveling alone did not make me feel lonely, it made me feel superior. A lot of people who asked me why I was going alone to Seattle also questioned "you're not going to feel lonely?" I would be lying if I said I didn’t fear that feeling, but something I am very confident in is my sense of independence and security. Traveling to Seattle was my way of proving to myself I could pick up and go anywhere I like and not feel like I NEEDED someone to do it with. Of course I would love the opportunity to travel with friends, family, and boyfriend, but I will never let that hold me back from doing the things I truly desire which is traveling.
photo taken by a stranger with a really nice camera
I recommend everyone to travel to a brand new town, city, or country alone for once in their life. You would be surprised on how much it opens you up and breaks down the walls of fear and unsurety. Something I definitely took away from this trip and learned is that adventure is the greatest gift you can ever give yourself, so don’t ever be afraid of adventure.
Advice I can give from my experience on this trip alone:
- Be safe, but never afraid.
- Always keep cash in your wallet
- Remember your mother when you think about walking at night
- Tie in transportation cost in your budget (almost ran out of money because of all the Uber rides I took)
- Don’t waste money on personal souvenirs, that’s what pictures are for :)
- & don’t be afraid to ask questions…
photo taken by a stranger with a really nice camera
Thank you so much for reading my article, I hope you enjoyed it! Has there ever been a trip you’ve taken alone? Is there one you would like to go on? Let me know and email me at Nicoleacev92@gmail.com
