Why, I hear you ask, have you used a quote about rain for your time in the North West? Well, God bless Portland & Seattle but it sure lived up to its stereotype - it simply rained. Not scary Louisiana rain, just the casual British drizzle. I have LOVED this part of my travels.
Friday (23rd) - I love Portland. Along with Chicago & Concord, this must be one of my favourite places in America. Everything is so green, the people are friendly, I felt like I'd just stepped into an episode of Grimm...need I go on?
A morning stroll through the forest.
First we went to the rose gardens considering Portland is the city of roses, then we went to Powell's Books which is supposedly the largest independent bookstore in the world; and let me tell you that I could have happily spent hours there!
Portland had a Holocaust Memorial by the rose gardens. It was sobering; on the path leading to the memorial were statues of abandoned suitcases & crushed glasses etc. The grey blur on the path in this picture is of an abandoned teddy bear.
For lunch, we experienced Portland's famous food trucks - we took at least 10 minutes deciding what to eat (settled on Indian food as I've not had a curry since December).
Saturday (24th) -After a four hour bus ride, which to me didn't seem all that long (probably because I was reading) but according to Nikki felt like forever, we had arrived in Seattle. But wait. The bus stop had moved to the opposite end of the city and both of us had to idea how to get to where we were staying. Luckily Nikki was calm because I was ready to Hulk out on the situation and we found the hostel. We had Mexican food for dinner before going out for drinks in a cool bar which looked like someone's living room; we met some very enthusiastic Seattle folk who told us everything we should do while here!
All dressed up and ready to see what Seattle nightlife has to offer!
Sunday (25th) - After a late start, we walked to Pike's Place which has a little market. It was cool to see all the little stools (so many chances to buy a Seattle t-shirt!) We then explored the pier which was rather generic. Very touristy!
So naturally, I needed a touristy photograph!
Seattle has over 2,000 coffee shops but we only tried one on Cherry Street (I'm now having to drink decaff everything but luckily it was still good coffee even if it did kill me a little inside!). In the afternoon we went on an underground tour. After the great fire in 1889 which burnt Seattle pretty much to the ground, the city was built literally on top of the old one and the tour took us underground to see the remaining structures. The tour incorporated history with humour (even if the tour guide had the occassional dad joke - a shame due to him being so young!)
Post tour - back into the rain I go!
Finally, we went to go and get cupcakes. I was just met with disappointment. This cupcake was nothing special & I just felt cheated! I take cake very seriously!
Monday (26th) - The weather surprisingly nice, we went to the Space Needle to have a look at one of the most famous landmarks in Seattle and while there, we discovered a Folklife Festival. There were musical performances as well as stalls for us to have a peruse around.
The only photo I took in Seattle...I didn't want to look like a tourist!
Afterwards, Nikki really wanted to go and find a famous troll statue in Fremont. 3 miles later, we still hadn't even got half way there so we gave up and went to find food instead!
But on a positive note, I found a four leaf clover! After 21 years, I felt it was about time!
The food was excellent; if you ever find yourself in Seattle go to the Twisted Pasty. I had pie (after SO LONG) and it was the best food I've had in this country for a long time. Nothing to do with the food but the ladies bathroom had a chapter of Pride & Prejudice written on the wall - classy!!
So that concludes my West Coast adventures. I'm excited to be going back to the East Coast after enjoying it so much during the Christmas break. However, I am aware of just how quickly my time here is going.
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