The Season of Cherry Blossoms is Coming to Seattle!

The Quad in UW and the trees in full bloom

 

“Where would be the best place to enjoy cherry blossoms in Seattle and When?”

Spring in Seattle means sunnier, warmer days, cool breeze, refreshing air, clearer sky, longer days, but most importantly, cherry blossoms! Sadly, I won’t be able to enjoy the most beautiful season of the year in Seattle, but would love to introduce how to enjoy cherry blossoms in Seattle!

My personal recommendation for enjoying cherry blossoms is the University of Washington Seattle Campus (UW). The iconic cherry tress in the Quad begin to bloom from mid-late February. Last year, the tress reached full bloom as of March 11 and were expected to remain in full bloom until the rest of the week. (http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/02/26/2016-uw-cherry-blossom-watch-full-bloom-week-of-march-14/)

Late February

The first week of March

The first week of March

The Quad gets extremely busy and packed with crowds – a group of friends or family having picnic, taking naps and playing frisbee, dogs and puppies running around and couples dressed in wedding dress and tuxedo doing photoshoot – during weekends once the trees reach full bloom. They’re all beautiful scenes in spring and watching the scenes give me smile. Standing in a snow-storm of cherry blossoms when a light breeze hits makes me feel like I live in a fairy-tale world.

The Quad in UW

It could be a bit challenging to take good pictures due to the amount of crowds, so here are my tips for how to get good pictures:

• Visit the Quad early in the morning, or try weekdays, which is much less packed than weekends.
• If possible, try to walk up to the 3rd or 4th floors of the buildings by the Quad, which would give you the chance to photograph the full angle of the Quad 🙂

There are more cherry trees throughout the campus, which usually have later blooming timing than in the Quad. Depending on which areas in campus is, the cherry trees remain in full bloom until the beginning of April.

While I was a student at UW, it’d been a such a joyful experience to watch the trees in buds to full bloom, which was a sign of telling me that winter was getting close to the end and spring was about to begin.

Seattle Downtown

Not only does the Quad in UW have beautiful scenery, but downtown in Seattle gets prettier as well.

Hope this year brings awesome cherry blossoms to Seattle and everyone enjoy the flowers before they’re gone 🙂

 

*Please note that blooming timing varies each year. I can’t ensure how the cherry blossoms would look like now and will be this year. This is based on my experience last few years.

Philz Coffee – San Francisco, CA

Mint Mojito Iced Coffee

• My reason to visit: One of a kind spot in Bay Area. So unique in drinks and ambiance!

• One thing I wish it would be better: Less mint leaves

As soon as a winter quarter was over, I took a short trip to San Francisco with my boyfriend. Since Bay Area is a well-known region for excellent dining experiences and outstanding foods, we were so excited for experiencing good foods, drinks and desserts.

As my boyfriend is an avid eater of Mexican cuisine, I did some research on where to get the best Mexican foods in Bay Area and it turns out to be “Mission District”. We headed down to Mission District and seriously had the best, unforgettable, exceptional burritos and tacos!!!

After satisfying our Mexican foods craving, I found out that ‘Philz Coffee’, which was a must-try place on my list, was just a few blocks away from where we were.

Walking down the street to Philz Coffee was such a pleasant experience. The trees along the streets were beautifully trimmed, the sky was clear, the houses along the streets were colorfully painted, and the neighborhood had chill ambiance. After strolling for about 15 minutes, we finally made it to Philz Coffee!

Hand Drip Coffee Bar

A few of comfy-looking couches that looked like I could sprawl on, wooden chairs, the wooden floor, and the full-service coffee bar welcomed us. It gave hipster, cozy, lounge-y,eclectic ambiance. It certainly had its own character!

We already knew what we wanted to try – Mint Mojito Iced Coffee! The flavor of mint kicked in while I was sipping the coffee, which was refreshing enough to wake me up from food coma. I had never seen nor tried mojito coffee before, so this was a unique, special experience for me. I definitely recommend this to anyone! (except those who don’t like mint 🙂 )

Mint Mojito Iced Coffee!!

One thing I was sad about the drink was the amount of mint leaves in a cup. When I was getting close to finish my drink, the flavor of mints was getting stronger and stronger since the so much of mint leaves settled in the bottom.

Although the mojito coffee was such a great drink, I wish I would’ve tried their regular coffee to experience what their hand drip from over 20 customized blends tastes like since that’s what Philz Coffee is known for.

Have you ever been to and tried Philz Coffee? What are your favorite and recommendations? 🙂 

• Philz Coffee was founded in 2002 by Phil Jaber in Mission District, San Francisco.
• Multiple Locations throughout town and the country
  • Mission District: 3101 24th St. at Folsom St., San Francisco, CA 94110

Stumptown Coffee Roasters – Capitol Hill, Seattle

• Reason to visit: Good coffee, Good vanilla latte

• One thing I wish it would’ve been different: Longer hours (currently 7am-7pm) and more seats!

Stumptown Coffee Roasters is originally from Portland, Oregon. In-house tasting, roasting, sourcing and producing tells me how dedicated and professional Stumptown is to serving coffee.

My favorite from Stumptown is (Vanilla) Latte. It is neither too sweet nor too bitter. It is the perfect combination of bitter espresso and a hint of sweetness. I personally don’t like too sweet vanilla latte that only tastes like vanilla syrup. Latte is the perfect mixture of creamy milk and bitter espresso as well.

Stumptown coffee tends to be on a stronger side, so try latte or vanilla latter rather than americano if you’re a person who likes mild coffee.

Iced Vanilla Latte and Latte! Excellent Lattes!

Cold Brew Coffee, Nitro Cold Brew Coffee, Cold Brew with Milk, Cold Brew with Coconut and seasonal flavors are available on their display in the stores! These canned or prepackaged ones come in handy

Cold Brew on Display

 

Are you a coffee lover? Hunt Stumptown down to grab amazing coffee!

There are two locations around town.

• Location #1: 616 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122, USA
• Location #2: 1115 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122, USA