Totally Sleepless in Seattle!

I arrived in Seattle feeling absolutely exhausted and then had to take a train, a bus and a ferry in order to get to my friend Pam who lives across the water in a lovely little town called Indianola. However, my exhaustion and bad mood faded when i got my first look at the Seattle waterfront- the sun was shining and everything seemed so pretty! The view from the ferry was pretty good too- I could see all the skyscrapers framed by the beautiful waterfront and the many pier buildings used as restaurants and shops.

I arrived in Bainbridge and Pam collected me and took me back to her adorable little cabin which is right near the beach. We went for a walk and i just felt like i was in the perfect place after so much partying in Chicago- the air was clear, the sun was shining and the beach was stunning and clean. We went for a walk and I took so many pictures as it all looked so idyllic- especially since you can see Mt Rainier- a huge active volcano- peering through in the distance. Pam tells me its right near Tacoma (where the airport is) and is due for an eruption sometime in the next 10 years... not an ideal place for a city then! After all that fresh air, I was good for nothing and just wanted to curl up, so we got out some wine, put n the fire and watched a movie which was the perfect way for me to end the day.

The following day we decided to take a hike in the Olympic Forest National Park as Pam had told me how beautiful it was. We drove over there which took about an hour and a half and made our way up some very small mountain  roads until we came to the Mount Zion trail head. It was indeed very beautiful-so peaceful and still, and a very light snow was falling, adding to the sense of hush and mystery of the place. Unfortunately I had a lousy cold by this point so the 2 mile all uphill trail was a bit of a struggle for me as I could hardly breathe! Still, the awesome view from the top was well worth the effort and the walk down was way easier! We then went to a lovely little town called Port Townsend where we wandered around craft shops and stopped in at a bar to eat clams (my first time!) and drink bloody marys.

After that I was pretty much exhausted again and was feeling rather ill with the cold so we went back to Pams and chilled out again which was, once again, blissful!

I had a nice lay in the next day and just chilled and read all morning before Pam and I headed into Bainbridge for lunch and caught the ferry back to the mainland. I checked into a hostel called The Green Tortoise which seemed pretty nice and went off to explore. The hostel was right next to the legendary Pike Place market where they throw fresh fish around in a very bizarre kind of show! It also has very cool little shops which I loved wandering around.

Early evening I headed up to the bank of America, a VERY tall skyscraper to meet Pam for something called Green Drinks. It's basically a group for people who care about the environment and they meet once a month to chat, network and eat and drink. the food and wine were free and the view was SPECTACULAR! I met some lovely people and thoroughly enjoyed myself... I couldn't beleive I got an amazing view, food and drink all for free!

The drinks finished at 8 so I headed back to the hostel, only to be greeted by James, a chap who works there, asking me if i wanted to come with them to a jazz club. I was feeling exhausted but had no other plans so said yes and I'm so glad i did. There were only 4 of us- James, a SEXY brazilian called Andre and a young guy called Mohammed. Mo had his sax with him and when we got there he started jamming with the band- so talented! The club/bar was very cute and chilled, with a theatre and art gallery out the back- quite unusual to say the least! After that we headed back to the hostel and bought some wine and I thoroughly enjoyed the company of sexy Andre.

The following day James, Andre and I went out and got bloody mary ingredients and had a chilled late breakfast. We took andre to get his bus and I caught a quick nap before meeting James and a norwegian guy called Jolle at 3. We decided to go to Seattle Art Museum and it was actually very good- i wished that we'd had longer but it closed at 5 and we stopped for tea and crumpets first!

After all that culture we went to pikes pub- a local brewery and sampled their ale platters which ranged from disgusting to really rather nice! After that, James took us to a cheap pub and left us there so Jolle and I enjoyed 1 dollar pints of beer and got addicted to electronic darts! It was hilarious and we must have spent 2 or 3 hours in there!

That evening Jolle and I went to a punk club and saw 3 live bands which was really fun, then hung out and chatted til 2.30am. I had to get up at 4.30am for my airport bus so, once again I was in a bad old way by the time I hit the plane!

My impressions of Seattle were really fantastic- it's a small, accessible, arty city with a very friendly feel to it and the people at the hostel were lovely. I'd definately go again and I was really sad to leave, but knew I had to head for San Fran!