Lady Luck continued to point her cheery disposition in our direction as we descended upon Seattle; arriving on a sun-soaked afternoon that stretched lazily across the next few days like the cat that ate the award-winning budgerigar. And they say a lot of rain falls in this neck of the woods? Hmmm. Sarah and I ducked into the salubrious surroundings of The Green Tortoise Hostel - our digs for the following nights - then went for a long walk around the waterfront, feasting on fish and chips (still not a patch on those of home, alas), pitchers of beer and the amazing views of the Olympics, Mount Rainier and Puget Sound. Exploring the old World Fair site took up a fair chunk of the next day, along with the obligatory trip up the Space Needle (now a robust 40 years old). Oh, and we got there by monorail ... it's the mass-transit system of the future I tell you! (someday we'll be eating all our meals in pill-form too). The Frank Gehry-designed Experience Music Project was wonderful eye-candy too, especially seeing as I missed out on seeing his Guggenheim Bilbao when I was in San Sebastian.
Local eateries were again attacked with gusto ... Pike Place Market lived up to its reputation as a foodie's paradise ... an iced caffe mocha was gulped down at the "Evil Empire's" founding store. One memorable night was whiled away in Capitol Hill at R Place ("A Seattle icon", the site informs me). Start with the grande pitcher of beer. Add another. And maybe a third. Then thrown in a stackload of appletinis when they catch your eye on the blackboard menu. Meander around the various floors. Watch the "Queer Factor" blow-bubbles-and-eat-octopi-tentacles-and-stuff fest on stage. Observe everyone else trying to be cool (as the local entertainment rag put it, "frat boys with a naughty little secret"). Drink a few more green concoctions. Slur, dance, dribble, stagger, pass out. Nice one. It's tough work keeping up with old flatmates but you'd have to listen pretty damn hard to hear any complaints from me.
‹ 12.9.02
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