Last Hurrah

This has been a funny summer really and this last week and a half has been no different. We decided that it would be an excellent opportunity to go to the West Coast and in particular Seattle, before Louie went back to school. To say I didn't want to go is an understatement, well I want to go, but the summer does pall after a while.....Anyhoo we went and this blog and the next one are the result of that trip.

I have a lot of photos and it maybe that we have to break this down even further. But the place is staggering. You have Mountains and I'm talking ones with glaciers, there is working water front, there are islands, there is city and then there are museums. Oh and forests....yes a lot. So when someone showed surprise that we have "immersed" ourselves being there 10 days I realized that just staying put isn't what people do. Oh no they would have been on a boat to Alaska...(all the cruise ships, sorry floating cities that berth out of the Northeast come out of Seattle) but if we had done that, I would have a years worth of photos for one blog. As it is I nearly broke my camera and computer with too many photos. Hence the maybe this should be a series of blogs.......

There is one more point to note. There is no record of this, apart from seared into my families retinas of our first night. We had settled into the apartment and decided to have a quick bite to eat...on our way home we heard a bike bell. Rolling in front of us was a cavalcade of bikers...naked and I mean no thong! Maybe a string of lights (that bit is true! oh and some body paint) goes in front of our eyes. We were silent and stunned and now we knew we were truly on the West Coast! Wow......I did point out to the boys that in Philly there is an annual bike ride that's much bigger than the one we saw, if they were interested. But I think they saw enough........I suppose this is a side of America I've not seen before....think we might keep it like that. But needless to say, I'm still looking good as the naked bikers before me are not models! Gives one hope.......

Ok really have run on and hope these pics show you why!

 

Seriously, I did take this picture but it looks like a stock photo off the computer and quite unreal!But no, this is part of the drive from Seatac (Airport) to downtown Seattle. My trusty driver (Mr D Fozard) taking me there.

I have momentarily gone back on myself, as the above picture was too spectacular not to be the first one viewed! This is the internal ceiling of said airport. Yeah so cool.

That would be the traffic in the fading light and there was quite a lot of it, traffic that is.

So that's where we are heading

Think on that mountain range you can see on the mountain side what looks to me like a forest fire. It was pretty dry there and they had been battling these forest fires....

Good morning Puget Sound and our view from the apartment that we stayed in. Damian had knocked this trip out of the park with this place. We are 20 floors up (I got used to that by the end of the stay and managed to stand by the window. The 2 ft balcony however was too much for me!) 

Another angle from the apartment and a cruise ship docked

This might look like a blurry picture and I concede it is but! That's early morning mists and what you're looking at is Bainbridge Island and behind that forest and behind that is a huge! Mountain which looks like cloud! Yes my friends this is a spectacular landscape

Central to one of the photos up above is this beauty. This is Pikes Place Market and Seattle's home to the Fish Guys. This market was the most beautiful one I've been in for all kinds of reasons. It is for starters multi layered. But the stalls were amazing and throughout the blogs you will see lots of photos of here. But we are directly above this place where we stayed across the road, that close. And! it's where Starbucks started out. So big sneeze all the way round. Whatever you think of Starbucks for me Seattle is the only city I've been in with so many fantastic places for coffee. The independent coffee shop is very much alive and well in Seattle.

This is a corner apartment we could see from our apartment and I think this is their library room, wow and they have the most brilliant space!

So we're still on the "what we can see" from the apartment. This is the working part of the view

Lots of cranes and boats

My personal hero, the Puget Sound tug! Now these guys do a great job and more of them later

Ah the moon that first morning, just hanging there

And the boys.....they are looking at all I've just shown you. Mesmerized and just taking it in! I love this photo. They are just totally themselves and comfortable. That's a rare phenomena for teens and this is just perfect. 

So off we went to have a look see and this is one of the sights at the market. Pretty cool

Outside the market there is this bizarre galvanized fence and this is underneath the worlds steepest steps. Seattle is all hills and slopping down to the water. In fact they got rid of one of the hills in Seattle with water, sloshing it for years with water and hence the term skid row...look it up, honest to goodness that's a true story!

So it's up hill from the waterfront to here, part of the market Post Alley

Thought that this brew house label was worth a photo...made me laugh anyway

This was a small gardened area in the ally and I liked the addition of the humming bird stencils

I'm sorry, this is actually disgusting. I was appalled by this. But apparently this is something to see in Seattle. It is the "Gum Walk" . I personally draw the line on this, it's gross. But everyone said I "had to see this!" well I did and it's a miracle I didn't catch something from it...also a sea of people were here...but this shot is all gum!

I don't mind the random posts

For whatever reason the pig at Pikes Place is a thing. Still not sure why but they have more than one.

Now this is the Crepe place in the market and boy do they do a nice cuppa coffee and as for the crepes...yum!

But for me I was entranced with the structure of the market and I've got a few of these pictures...but seriously look at that column and the detail, that's stunning! I wonder if anyone looks up and sees that.

I also started to realise that the market indeed is a wonderful building and all the stairs in it and walkways just totally caught my eye. This here staircase is just solid wood! In case I hadn't realized that this logging thing is a big thing in the North West! I mean come on! this is a staircase and it's beautiful! (I have some more stairs later on!)

So I was doing some research and the four books that me and the boys had, I realized weren't going to be enough for me or them during the stay. So I did some digging and found an amazing independent book store. Well this isn't it! But this is next to it. The area was at the top of a hill some 10 blocks (it felt like ten!) later and in the student 'Vibrant' part of town we found it. The Elliot Bay Book Company...earned a loyalty card for our visits! Needless to say I had to buy a bag at the end of the holiday to accommodate the additional supplies I bought. Damian liked the coffee, sooo we went there a few times...

We always knew we were close to the store when we saw these wonderful crossings and yes the cars anticipate you stopping here. They actually don't make you fight to cross the road and reminded me that's what a zebra crossing is to most of us. I had been told about this West Coast phenomena and was happy to see it was true. Needless to say the East Coast doesn't hold this practice!

Walking back down the hill there is this area and it seems so majestic and lovely.

I also spied this on the sidewalk. It's just a drain cover but pretty fantastic

The sun is going down and wow

The ferry is going home from Bainbridge Island

And again that image of the paper cut out landscape. Just truly beautiful

I couldn't sleep and so I saw one of the cruise ships docking!

They really are huge

As you can see this sofa in the apartment is the place to be. Honestly it was all we could do to leave it. The view was just amazing!

But leave it we did and went for an explore of the water front. 

Ah my hero tug boat!

But I was after deserted Market

This is such a great building

This place is chock full on a daily basis, so having it empty felt quite privileged 

I love this, again the detail on something that is probably never noticed

This is along from the market and it's a building. If you look closely you can see it is a front and back and not just a wall.  So on the other side of that window is a slither part of a wedge shaped room! Honestly

Loved this. One way! No kidding....nice drain art though. Takes a certain mind to come up with this stuff

This was a bench on the hill....pretty cool

We ambled around the posh shops, window shopping. So this season looks like minimal is still in and the simple lines are all about the androgynous look...ah the 80's. But for me as I age....don't think it's going to work ...

They were looking up. what can I say. This is how they behave in public!

Now I would have gone in here

I really just kept being drawn back to the market and it is so cool. So many nooks and crannies

The stairs are just great

This is the other pig and behind it was the famous fish throwing stand. Yes the guys throw the fish and yes I found this so undignified for the fish I wouldn't be like the thousands of tourists who stand gawping and taking pictures of them literally singing and throwing fish! Now do I regret that, kind of, as I've had to explain this and realize that a picture would have been a 1000 times better than me explaining the significance of this spot.! But we live and learn

But I did take a photo when the throngs cleared of the goods....ok I know it isn't the same as singing throwing fish guys... just imagine it, that's all I can offer. But I bet if you know someone who went to Seattle, I bet they have a picture of a fish being thrown! So all is not lost because I took a stand against fish throwing!

I couldn't resist going back to the market when it was empty. In side there is a labyrinth of paths

Yes and stairs

Fab vintage Native American stuff

And of course wonderfully comprehensive signs! Pretty much love this one

You might be able to see that one of the paths at the market is a very steep gradient! 

This one is also like that...but without the helpful grippers

Come on, this is a wonderful stair case. Solid wood and I mean you can jump on this and it won't be moving

I did wonder about the colour scheme. But hey whatever. This has got to be the worlds best market!

Look at the flower stall!

Another crazy grippered walkway!

And here is the reason we might have to move! Do you spy english treats!? McVities biscuits and chocolate hobnobs! This was an amazing deli in the market

Yes it's marmite on the second to bottom shelf....heaven right there and this wasn't the only store I found such hard to find items on the east coast that were readily available on the west. 

I think for now that's enough of a blog for everyone. I still have islands, mountains and glass to go.....so I'd better get working. Hope you liked this first installment. I know there are a lot of pictures of the market...but it was just a truly amazing place. To capture it empty and to see if heaving with people was such a sight to see.