American Diary Part 20 - Seattle Episode 1

Tuesday 19th June - Seattle Day One After a decent sleep in I got up around 9am and used the very good shower rooms here at the Green Tortoise Hostel. The Hostel is a bit dingy and small, but at least the beds are soft and the showers clean and quite newly renovated. The location is good too - right opposite the Pike Place Market. So, I found my way along the corridoor to the free breakfast which was DIY waffles or fruit, so I chose fruit, so as not to make a complete idiot of myself trying to use a waffle machine. The deal with hostels is that you clean any plates you use, so you join a queue of people waiting to use the sink. Then I was free to explore. I walked first to the post office to buy a shipping box then returned back to my room to pack all the unwanted heavy items to send back home. It has made my bag a lot lighter. Then I set out onto 4th avenue and walked towards the Science Park. THINGS WHICH SEATTLE IS FAMOUS FOR: 1. Space Needle 2. Frasier 3. Pike Place Public Market 4. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan Movie - you migt have heard of it... 5. Greys Anatomy - TV show I've not really seen it. Seatlle is hilly - not what I expected, but the streets are manageable. There are free buses, but I prefer to walk generally - you see much more. I noticed whilst walking that there are lots of PIGS in Seattle - on street corners, in alleyways, outside shops and cafes. I wondered why.... some are decorated and some are themed, very wierd.... At the Science Park, I paid $16 to ride up to the top of the Space Needle - well worth the view! 520ft above Seattle and Elliot Bay you get great views. The weather was clear, Mt Ranier, Mt Baker, Olympic Mountains and Cascade Mountains were all clearly visible - amazing scenery! Mt Ranier is huge! it sits behind Seattle like a mini Mt Fuji covered in snow. I spent almost 2 hours at the top, listening to the excellent free guides describing all the sights and giving a history lesson of the city. The Space Needle was built for the 1962 science expo. After that, I wandered the science park and museum, spent time with the tropical butterflies (good tip Abby!) and then watched an IMAX movie on the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980. I had wanted to take a tour to the actual mountain, but the operator has chosent not to run the trips anymore, and I'm not too keen to drive there alone. Instead I am going to Mt Ranier on Thursday for a day trip. Anyway, back to Tuesday.... Leaving the science park on the monorail, I got off in the centre of downtown with smart shops and restaurants. Not being in a shopping mood, I ambled along the sidewalk and eventually decided to head back to the hostel . They offer a free supper on Tuesday whcih was pretty good! I then sat in the sofa and chatted with a German girl until 10pm and then bed. Wednesday 20th June Slept even later today! Missed breakfast so instead I headed into the Pike Place Market to wander around. The fish market traders are great - they throw fisah all over the place and yell out orders and prices to the public and each other. Most people just watch, but some buy and occasionally they throw a dummy fish at people to catch them out - good fun! There are all kinds of things in the market, but I like the fresh fruit and farmer's market produce. Walking along Post Alley I was looking for Starbucks - the very first one anywhere. I couldn't find it, and was getting pretty hungry (11am) on no breakfast. Walking for ages up and down stairs inside the market and along the street I eventually found it - only to be a bit disappointed to be honest! It was a shop, selling coffee... but no pastries, food - just souvenirs. I snubbed them for my breakfast and instead I found a brilliant Russian pastry cafe called Piroshky Piroshky and I highly recomment it - superb sweet and savoury delights with a great level of service and all baked on site. Think I'll go back every day - I ate Rhubarb Piroshky today. www.piroshkybakery.com Buying some fresh cherries I wandered the market some more - you can spend all day here, then joined 1st Avenue to find North Face's Seattle store - an hour later I had spent almost $100 on stuff! great! Walking some more, I arrived at Pionner Square and the statue dedicated to Chief Seattle after who the city is named. There is not much else there unless you are interested in antiques - which today I was not! So, being close to the Smiths Tower building I decided to spend $7.50 on a ride to the 35th floor to get some views across Seattle from the opposite end to the needle. The building was the first skyscraper built in 1914 by the chap behind Smith Corona typewriters and the Smith & WEston handguns - needless to say he had a lot of dough and could spend money on luxury fittings inside. The interior is marble and wood with bronze extras all over. the lifts are operated by gentlemen in uniform and they are all extremely polite! The 35th floor has an open air walking platform and the views were worth it. Inside the observation level is known as the Chinese Room, decorated with wooden carved ceiling and famous for it's Wishing Chair which is said to guarantee that the woman who sits in it will marry within one year...... so..... yes... I sat in it! I also made a note in the visitors book that if I DO get married within a year I will return to this chair! After that optimistic experience I rejoiend street level to wander down the steep hills to the Piers along the waterfront. I had intended to get a McDonalds or eat at IVAR's famous fish eatery, but when I got there I didn't fancy either one, so instead I sat in a smart table with excellent service to enjoy a seafood cobb salad at Elliots. Seeing a sailboat go out on the water gave me an idea, and instead of taking the ferry to Baimbridge Island I am going on a 2 hour sunset sail... more on that later! So now it's 5pm and It's hot in the city! I think I might be sleepless in Seattle tonight if the temperature stays like this! UPDATE 10m Just got back from a very nice Yacht trip out into Elliot Bay and Puget sound. Down at the water side, the piers were pretty busy with night revellers and couples dining out. I saw a poor guy lying in the road having been knocked off his bike, the ambulance arrived (perhaps they were filming Greys anatomy?!). Then 3 schoolbuses arrived and spat out a crowd of over excited colege kids on their graduation night - dressed up to the nines, they made a lot of noise! I was glad ot be going out onto the water! I caught the yacht from pier 56 at 7pm- a very sleek sailing boat called 'Obsession' crewed by Charlie and his mate Nate. Leaving Seattle behind, the skyline was more visible and very nice to see. Mt Rainier was clouded on top but still impressive. As we made it out into the bay, the wind picked up and we made good speed across to a group of islands. then the wind dropped completely so we drifted for a while and I chatted to a few of the other guests - a couple frm Texas who were in town to collect a vintage cadillac which they bought on eBay and driving back to Texas from Seattle, and a chap o his own on business with a medical job - also from Texas. Once they heard I was English, it was all about the Queen and how small and green my country is - same old questions! They were nice though. Around 9pm the sun set behind the Olympic mountains above Baimbridge Island turning the sky orange and casting bright lights across the bay to reflect on the glittering buildings of downtown Seattle. It then turned cold - really cold! The skipper gave us blankets though so I was fine. turning back to Seattle I had a great view of the skyline at dusk as he twinkling lights came on in all the skyscrapers, and the neon from Pike Street market, the Marina and docks. Tonight there was also a baseball game at the stadium which was all lit up. It is a lovely city to look at at night. Back on dry land, I walked briskly back up the steep streets via harbour steps (more pigs) onto first avenue. I walked fast partly to warm myself up and partly to avoid some of the undesirables hanging around. I passed 2 horses in the darkness of the underpass being unhitched from their carriage afte a long day of ferrying tourists around - they looked a bt forlorn and I wanted to go and talk to them but decided against it. Up on the higher streets I was soon back at the hostel whcih is where I am now, typing into my blog before going to bed. Mount Rainier tomorrow, then I hope to get myself on a whale watching trip on Friday. I found out about the pigs - apparently there is a piggy bank at Pike Place market, and it is 100 years since the market opened, so to mark the occasion, the city is displaying themed pigs all over the place, some sponsored by businesses and others by shops just for fun, or kids ones. It's quite cool. I'm trying to photo as many as I can. Tired now.. and hungry....Maybe I can get up early enough tomorrow for another russian pastry????? mmmmmm..........