Spectacular Seattle

Woah.

I haven't been to Seattle since, I don't even know.  1998?  Something like that.

Let me tell you: Seattle is awesome.

I've only been here about 28 hours, but the weather's been nice (we could see Mt Rainier and the Olympics at times!) and my brother Ben and I have done a lot of walking.  Yesterday, I walked to Benaroya Hall (home of the Seattle Symphony) from the train station,* then he and I walked around in search of dinner.

We spent the evening watching Jaws (which I'd never seen before!! - look for review on Wednesday) and some home movies.  And when I say 'home movies', I mean movies that we made at home.  Two Christmases in a row when we were all in college, Steven, Ben and I first recreated scenes from movies we liked, and then made our own original movie western.  Needless to say, we spent that part of the evening cracking up.


This morning, we set off for the famous Pike Place Market for more walking.

This is the place to go for taste tests.  We sampled dungeness crab, three kinds of apples, three types of pears, a persimmon,  two German cold cuts, and Greek yoghurt.  For lunch, we ate at Piroshky Piroshky and Mee Sum Pastry.  We got Kassler and Weisswurst from Bavarian Meats for tomorrow, and some fun fruits and vegetables from the produce stands.**

We also swung by the original Starbucks, and watched the Pike Place Fish guys throw fish (and whatever else people bought).  These guys are entertaining.

Be sure to move in close for a good look at its awesome mouth.

We returned home with our treasures, then went down to the historic Ballard Locks and watched a fishing boat get moved into Lake Washington.  We saw a baby harbor seal, a sea lion, a rat, some jumping fish, and possibly an otter (it was too far away to be sure).  Unfortunately, there were no late salmon jumping up the ladder.


All in all, visiting Seattle has been great, and I still have a another whole day!^


*Yep, I took the train up from Vancouver, WA.  Cheaper than driving, if you're traveling alone, and you get to read/write/sleep while you travel!

**Pike Place Market is sort of like a Saturday farmer's market on steroids, and it's open every day of the year.  Going to the Market is an experience, and I highly recommend it.  Just don't expect it to be cheap.

^Have you been to Seattle?  What are your favorite spots?  If not, what's your favorite city to visit?