Seattle yesterday had truly glorious weather, so Jeannie and I took full advantage of it by getting out early and visiting the Seattle Space Needle for brunch.
Being from London, and therefore genetically evolved to life on the flat, every time we drove up or down one of Seattle's many hills, my ears popped and I couldn’t hear a thing. So you can imagine just how deaf I was going up and down the Space Needle elevator.
Someone does need to tell the interior designers of the restaurant that the 70’s are over, and brown carpeting and fittings are old hat.
Going to the Space Needle was just one of many first experiences for me. Others include.
- I ate Shellfish for the first time (Clam Chowder – Very nice)
- I ate Salmon for the first time (That was very nice as well.)
- And, I ate in a revolving restaurant for the first time (Which had a really nice view)
While the floor of the restaurant revolves, the walls don’t, so children write little messages, pop them on the window ledge, and other diners can see what they have written. Someone should collect and publish them, because there are some little gems there – for instance, the picture to the left, where someone writes hello, and another child (I hope…) asks of they are “Boy? Girl? Single?”.
Reminds me of some chat rooms. I suppose that it is similar here, anonymous messages sent off for everyone to read.
We then went to the observation deck, which as the weather was so nice, had a lovely view of the city. It also helps that Jeannie is an excellent tour-guide.
We got our picture taken by a French businessman, while Jeannie explained the meaning of some American slang.
We then had a bit of a drive around, we saw the locks, where I got some nice pictures of a train drawbridge. We also went to Fremont where I visited the ‘Center Of The Universe’, which to me looks a little like a cut price Camden Lock in London.
But the Statue of Lenin was cool, as was the Fremont Troll.
For those that don’t know, the Fremont Troll is a concrete troll under a bridge, that was financed by an arts charity. It really is excellent, and given the number of bridges in London we could do with something like this ourselves.
The day was rounded off perfectly by drinks and then a new episode of “Family Guy”, and “Shaun Of The Dead”.
Today, I am Jeannie-less as I try to find my way across the city to meet up with an ex-pat. Should be interesting as I try to navigate the public transit system. Hopefully I’ll be able to find my way back after dark…
I hope you aren’t finding this travelogue too boring, but as my phone won’t make international calls (bloody AT&T), this is a good way of letting my mum and brother know that I’m still breathing.
More tomorrow.
