Seattle

Seattle has been cool (both in substance and in weather)! We only made it by the hair of our teeth, due to the time of the flight from LA being changed since we booked! When we arrived at Seattle Kaz's bag didnt!!!! Luckily it got to the hotel the following morning so I didnt have to go out and replace everything!

We've done quite a bit whilst we've been here. Our Downtown motel has been a cool base and we've a fantastic view of the Space Needle.

The first day was a bit of orientation and some web time booking St Louis accomodation which was a chore. After that though we walked a lot of the cty, did some shopping, had some food and got a good nights sleep.

On the second day we went back downtown to Pike Place Market (where we'd end up visiting almost daily) and then onto Bill Speidels Underground Tour of Seattle which was very historical and not as visual as I expected. Basically Seattle is built on mud flats and had a number of fires and floods in it's early history. After a big fire the city decided to raise the streets by one story. This left the original 1st story of many buildings under street level. You can now walk around these underground streets which are formed by a succession of what are now basements. It's pretty cool to imagine but there aren't many clues in the basements to help you visualise how the streets once were!

Our third day was spent at the EMP (Experience Music Project) which is a modern museum dedicated to music. It has the history of Seattle music (incl Grunge) and loads of Jam rooms where you can play along with other people or backing tracks. The best bit is the Jimi Hendrix exhibit which was worth the entry fee alone. A really cool place. The rest of the day was spent in the space age Central Library and shopping in Downtown. Money was tight today so not a lot else was done. Watched some american TV and snacked until bed time!

Our fourth day was spent at the EMP's sister museum the SFM (Science Fiction Museum) whcih was amazing. Loads of exhibits from sci fi past and present including Vaders Helmet and Light Saber, R2-D2, Capt Kirk's chair and loads of interactive computer based stuff. right up my alley and Karen even enjoyed it (apart from the life sized Queen Alien model!). We again visited the Library for free internet and went to Pioneer Square (where Seattle started and where the underground is) for lunch and a look at 'The Central' where Seattles most famous bands all started out. The rest of the afternoon was at Pike Place Market where we visited the worlds 1st Starbucks and caught some awesome waterfront views of Puget Sound, Elliott Bay and Mt Ranier.

Our last day will be at the Seattle Museum of Flight where Boeing et al will no doubt be heavilly sold as one of the North West's shining sons....