West coast travels

I've been home for a little over three weeks now, but I was gone for two of it! For Christmas my family went to visit my grandparents in Portland, and we also visited Seattle since we don't go to the West coast that often.

In Seattle, we hit up Pike Place Market right away. We don't really have markets like that in Michigan. I was pleasantly surprised with the variety of produce (especially fruits) that I've never seen before. We also ate at one of the restaurants and had super fresh seafood.

Dungeness crab roll and lemonade

My mum and my sister and I walked around downtown Seattle a bit. We mostly went shopping, but we also stopped for an ice cream break!!

I kinda regret not getting these Jeffrey Campbell heels. They've definitely grown on me

Honey Lavender ice cream!!

I didn't realize Seattle would have so many hills, like San Francisco. I guess that's the nature of the West Coast?
In Portland, we made sure to go to Voodoo Doughnuts and Big Ass Sandwiches. I liked how downtown Portland has lots and lots of permanent food carts, unlike in New York, where they have to drive off at the end of the day. And not just hot dogs and pretzels, lots of South Asian, Greek, etc. food stands. I wish we had had the time to try a few more.

Finally, I went to Vancouver to visit my close friend Justine who I have not seen in a year. I had so much fun in Vancouver!! I arrived on New Year's Eve, so a bunch of Justine's friends from high school came to her house to watch the various countdowns. The next day, her parents took us around the different parts of Vancouver and we had a really delicious hotpot for dinner. Monday, we went to an Asian mall with a yummy food court. For my last day in Vancouver, we went to Granville Island Market, which I really enjoyed, shopping at Artizia (which there is now one location in Soho) and a Glee marathon.

Yakisoba dog from Japadog, now on St Marks! 

Baked Portugese chicken and milk tea.

One of my favorite parts of this whole two week trip was Uwajimaya in Seattle. It's a Japanese grocery store/market/food court. I loved the food there. The first time I went with my parents and I got Korean, the second time I got a Japanese bento box. And I had to stock up on baked goods for my flight home, and the biggest honeycrisp apples I've ever seen!

Sunrise in Seattle 

Beard Papa cream puffs!

Bulgogi Dupbap