In truth, we had no real preconceptions about Seattle. I had been viewing it as a necessary stop-off before we reached Canada, but when we arrived we found it to be a quirky, liberal city filled with kind characters and more coffee and fish and music than you could shake a stick at.
Our hotel was brilliant, the perfect mix between amenity and self-sufficiency. The room was enormous, with a fridge and a microwave so we could cook basic meals. We were only booked in for two nights but ended up staying for a week. I don’t think we were the management's ideal tenants (noodle packets everywhere, washed pants hanging from any available space) but they were very kind and let us stay in our upgraded room the whole time.
Seattle has been our most productive spot in terms of work, writing and general creative bits. Most days we would take our laptops down to the waterfront, get settled in a coffee house and work away until hunger beckoned. Pike Place Market is a wonderful hive of activity. Our favourite eatery was a muffin café where we enjoyed the cheap and home-made soup-and-muffin combo. I wondered why the chefs were watching us eat, and then they admitted it was because muffins are from the UK and they wanted to see if their produce ‘passed the test’! ‘No way, ‘ I said, folding my arms. ‘You’re a long way off. You’re no Nigel Lawson…’
One day we wandered down some steps into the old brewery, where we watched the bitter rivalry of the Olympic ice hockey final (Canada won in extra time after a very close game). The Americans were such bad losers that they wouldn’t stick around to watch the medals being awarded! It was all a bit patriotic for us, however, so we sat away from the TV and worked our way through samples of all the ales! Claire found a chocolate port which, if I wasn’t such a stubborn atheist, is what I imagine would run through the streams and waterfalls of heaven.
Over these past weeks Claire has been afforded many chuckles and chortles at my expense, as I bumble around the globe, naïve and much more English than I imagined myself to be. One day we were walking through the famous fish market at Pike Place when I noticed the men working the fish stands (famed for their singing, shouting and nimble fish throwing and catching) handing out tasters of their finest wares. The salmon was more expensive than gold, and I do like a bit of salmon, so I made a beeline for them, excited to get a free taster. Strangely, I found it hard to penetrate the small gathered crowd as they moved from stall to stall. I actually had to ram my arm between two men and shoe myself into the tight circle, and even then the fishmonger looked annoyed as I held out my hand. ‘Can I have a try?’ I asked, surprised by his grumpiness. He sighed, and handed me a big chunk of the finest salmon I’ve ever tasted. ‘Thing is,’ he said, ‘these lot have all paid for this tour.’ Feeling sheepish, I apologised to crowd (who I now noticed were all wearing badges) and the ‘Gourmet Seafoods of Seattle’ tour guide stood behind me and shuffled back to Claire. It was lovely salmon, though…
Many people don’t know that in the nineties I was a huge and unashamed devotee of grunge music. I don’t think it was Kurt Cobain’s ambition to crack Stoke-on-Trent but by golly he did it, and he had many flannel-shirt wearing, scraggy haired followers there, including me and my pal Jimbo Bryan. When we arrived here Claire and I got busy planning our pilgrimage day. We decided against visiting the house where Kurt died and chose instead to see the places where our favourite bands had seen better days. We went to the Crocodile café, which has hosted Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Mudhoney etc. and then walked down to Sub Pop records (which was dull, but Claire is very kind.)
By chance, as we stood outside the Crocodile Café we saw a poster which said the Trailer Park Boys (one of our favourite TV comedy acts) would be performing live that evening. I had never heard of them touring the UK, as they’re mainly a television and film group, so we hotfooted it down to the theatre and grabbed two of the last few tickets available. It was an amazing show, and if you ever get chance to see them I highly recommend it. I’ve attached a few pics and a video in case you’ve never heard of them.
Soon we will be taking the people’s chariot (the bus) over the border into Canada, where we’ve hired out an apartment near the beach in Kitsilano. We’ll write more from there and in the meantime send all our love and plenty of kisses for your misses(es). Big hugs XXX
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