(I'm determined to finish my travelog if it kills me! Sorry this is about 4 months late - the details are slowly fading now, but I will finish! Just 1 more installment to go after this)
Our experience of 'Washington' was limited to several hours on Interstate-5, a single night in Seattle, and a brief trip to Bainbridge Island. It wasn't enough. We arrived early in the evening, and again had the daunting task of trying to navigate from the freeway to the centre of a major US city, in the dark with empty bellies. We were old hats at this now, having done the same in San Francisco and, inadvertently, Portland. Again it wasn't bad - a few lucky guesses and a couple of educated turns saw us arrive at our hotel without going wrong once. I dumped the car, paid an extortionate fee to park it for 1 day, and checked in. We stayed at the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle - by far our most salubrious residence on our trip, it was our little treat for just over halfway through the journey. It was nicest hotel I've ever stayed in - oldy-worldy and smart, but with a young and hip clientèle. Perfect.
It was already late, mainly because of our unintended detour via Portland earlier on that day. We dumped our stuff and sat ourselves at the bar next to the hotel lobby. I started to unwind after my long drive, ordered a stiff gin, and sipped it happily whilst Maria made inquiries about somewhere nice to eat. The obliging young barman had created a list of the cool places to eat, drink and dance whilst in Seattle. Perfect - he recommended a restaurant called The Tamarind Tree - it was a fair walk in the cold, and hard to find, but cheap and worth it. He said it's a cool place only locals know about. In short, massive Kudos and there was no decision to make.
We drained our drinks and wandered happily through the streets of Seattle, oddly quiet but more European than anywhere I had been to in the states so far. The restaurant we happened across almost serendipitously (all I can tell you now is that it's in the international district near a supermarket, down an alley - sorry that'd all my memory will allow me to divulge). But my word it was worth it - highly recommended.
By the time we left we were the last in and they'd cleaned up and packed up around us. We were in no rush. We wandered back towards the railway station, and found a quiet looking bar to have a drink whilst we debated whether or not we'd go clubbing. It was small and empty except for a group of college-age students taking in turns to sing karaoke. We took a seat at the bar and started to sample the local beverages. It was hilarious to hear these guys and girls sing - they were a motley alternative bunch of rockers, punks and hippy-types, and were getting drunk and singing ridiculous songs to each other's - and are - amusement. I loved every second of it - I just love youthful piss-taking. Seriously, it's how the world moves on.
We stayed until closing time. From there we stumbled into an irish bar, mainly because it was the only place left open. The barmaid was Irish and very friendly. Even though she'd lived in Seattle for 25 or so years, her accent was one of the strongest I'd heard - amazing, really, and proof that if you don't want to lose your accent, you won't. We were a little tipsy by now, so started to make good and full use of nearby props.
The next day we awoke late, had a lazy breakfast, and decided to take the ferry over to nearby Bainbridge Island. We only had 1 day in Seattle since we had to be Vancouver that night, which was a shame because what we saw of it we liked. I made more than a mental note - more of a 'resolve' - to go back and check it out some more. One thing that I could say, and in no way a bad thing, it didnt surprise me in the slightest and in fact was everything I had imagined it to be. That's a rare thing in my world.
Bainbridge itself was a yuppy haven, so not our style at all. It was pleasant enough poking around the shops for a while, but it didnt really have anything to keep us there for long. It was well worth the trip, however, for the views from the boat. My word - first the downtown seattle skyline, then a sight of the space needle, then open water followed by, most spectacularly, the imposing majesty of Mount Rainier. Wow. The weather was cold but gloriously sunny and absolutely perfect
We reluctantly checked out and left for the open road once more. I could have stayed a week, but equally we had ground to cover, and I was excited about my first trip to Canada, only a couple of hours away! Well, a couple of hours, as it happens, turned into about 8 once we hit the traffic gridlock that is the seattle suburbs, and slow queues to cross the border, the monotonous details of which have happily faded. Onwards to Canada!
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