Life, with the garden
Location: Seattle, Washington State, USA • • • Visit: June 2012
Seattle is full of small parks and squares, that give life and contrast to the heavy concrete and glass monsters of downtown, and places to breathe in the cute residential neighborhoods. An incredible, glass-covered, architecturally alluring modern main public library. I couchsurfed with Miles, a generous musician and language aficionado with a huge appreciation for Swedish indie pop. Which we really bonded over. A great city to stroll through, with interesting street art and architecture and good food.
And a short walk from Capitol Hill, where Miles lived, lies Volunteer Park and the Volunteer Park Conservatory. The park was pretty and the conservatory greenhouse was small and lush. At the time, the conservatory had free admission and was completely adorable. So many orchids. A very nice reprieve in my city sight-seeing.
After a couple of days on my own exploring the city, my friend Hanna arrived and we went shopping at a large arts and crafts market. I bought four pairs of handmade earrings.
Before I left home, people were telling me how much I would love Vancouver. And I did. What they didn’t prepare me for, though, was the wonders of Seattle. During my four days there, I developed a dead serious crush on this city of rain, libraries and art in the streets. It’s an amazing place, and I think everyone should go. Like, RIGHT NOW.
Katja Malmborg 