Last weekend, I crossed off a bucket list item: I went to a Tulip Festival in the Pacific Northwest!
A long time lover of tulips, I had always wanted to visit the tulips when they were in full bloom in Seattle. It’s been years since I’d had a chance to connect with my friend Jade and we decided last fall to get together and see the tulips! You may remember Jade from my Rockstar days as we were a dynamic competing duo at those events.
In the midst of quitting my job, the timing of this trip was incredible. It was a great time to get away and just BE for a few days, amongst the chaos of wrapping up loose ends and planning for my next big adventure.
We arrive in Seattle early on Friday, rented a car, and set off to see the tulips! Knowing that the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is very popular in April, we made the decision to spend day one at the flower fields to avoid the heavy weekend travel.
We plugged Tulip Town into our GPS and headed north. Mt. Vernon is about an hour and a half from Seattle, and was perfect timing for Jade and I to catch up over Starbucks while we drove.
When we arrived in Mt. Vernon, there were signs everywhere guiding is to the tulips. It sort of makes me wonder what happens in Mt. Vernon the rest of the year because all signs seem to point to tulips (which are only in bloom for a few short weeks!)
Less of an organized festival and more of a town with stunning fields of flowers, we started our trek at Tulip Town. I am forever grateful for Jade (and the reviews on Trip Advisor) that talked about the heavy rain that had come through and the need for boots if you were visiting. I’m now the proud owner of a pair of rain boots… and I couldn’t resist picking up these pretty flower ones (affliliate link to boots)
And boy, did we need them! PS… I’m outdoorsy AF.
A little about the fields, there’s an entry fee of $7 for each site. Bringing cash is smart, as some are cash-only and the others have shorter cash lines. Inside the host site, you’ll have access to gorgeous fields of flowers, food stands, and gift shops!
Jade and I headed right for the tulips, of course. It was a chilly, rainy day in Seattle (aren’t most, really?) so we didn’t linger too long… but spent most of our time saying “this is so beautiful” over and over again. It really was incredibly lovely. You’ll see why in the pics below…
We visited both Tulip Town and Roozengaarde fields and both were amazing. If I had it to do over, I’d probably try to get up there later in the month. We visited the second weekend in April, and from the pics I’ve seen on Instagram lately from folks traveling later in the month, the tulips are so so much more in bloom now. Just the same, I absolutely loved it and could have easily stayed there all day looking at everything and buying up everything in the gift shop.
Alas, a weekend in Seattle lied ahead. Oh, and about that… Seattle traffic sucks.
After an evening of wine and tapas (and some very strange vegan ice cream), it was time to get out and explore Seattle! I had taken a trip to the Emerald City the year before, so I had an idea of what was ahead… and couldn’t wait to get back to the market!
We spent the rainy morning walking through the market, doing the tourist thing… Oooooh-ing over thebeautiful fresh flowers, watching the fishmongers throw fish, and walking over to the gum wall to be grossed out for a few mins.
It may have been the weather, but seriously, the market was REALLY quiet the morning we were there and it was perfect!
We walked over the Beecher’s to sample cheese (why is that cheese so delicious!!??), snapped a pic at the first Starbucks, and popped into Piroshky, Piroshky for a pastry. Normally, these are places you can’t even get close to on a Saturday morning, but it was easy breezy for us thankfully… and we loved it!
Next, the nerds that we are, we wanted to go to the cool new Amazon Go store. Walking in that direction, we had high hopes of being able to shop without checkout via the cool technology that Amazon has put in place. Well, that got squashed pretty quickly… when we walked up and found out that it was CLOSED on the weekends. What??? I question this, Amazon. Just walk out (Monday-Friday)…
We were able to go into the Amazon Spheres, located right next door. Part of Amazon’s HQ, they actually offer tours of the building (which has an amazing ecosystem inside!), but tours are only every other weekend – not the weekend we were in town. Just the same, we visited the lobby to get an idea of the Amazon way… super interesting!
Afterward, we wrapped up our time in Seattle doing a little shopping. Yes, I know I can shop anywhere… but city shopping is fun and different. From Zara to Madewell to Nordstrom Rack, we shopped until we dropped. We even checked out the Amazon Treasure Truck.. have you seen these? They have a special deal of the day. Kinda cool, though we didn’t need any steaks that day.
One of my favorite finds (and a dangerous find) in Seattle was Lady Yum. If you haven’t heard of this amazing bakery, they make the VERY BEST french macarons I’ve ever eaten. Their storefront downtown serves macarons and champagne – – Isn’t that adorable? Jade stopped in to pick up some cookies for her kiddos, and I was blown away by how delicious they are. Of note, these taste NOTHING like the dry Whole Foods Macarons and a little like heaven. Needless to say, I stopped to pick up two more from their airport kiosk before flying home to Denver. You guys, the Toffee flavor is life-changing…
What a lovely weekend.. this post wouldn’t be complete without a picture of the dreamy Puget Sound, and of course, more tulips… until next time, Seattle!
