The Seattle Trip
I've had a lot of difficulty characterising my experience in Seattle to people. I think this stems from the fact that not enough happened while we were there to give an overall good or bad impression. The city was relatively clean and well planned but by the same token it didn't really have that much charm (other than Pioneer Square). We started the trip by seeing an NBA game. The Sonics were playing the Minessota Timberwolves and while the home team ultimately lost they put up a good fight towards the end. There was a great atmosphere in the stadium and this is what made it the highlight of my trip. That said I probably could have had the same experience in any American city with a basketball franchise so I can't really say that Seattle felt that special.
The day after the game we went out adventuring to the Pike Place Markets where there was a lot of interesting bits and pieces . It's a great little part of town and I would recommend it to anyone visiting. The first ever Starbucks is located accross the road from the markets but unfortunately nothing had been done to make the place an interesting or worthwhile experience (Just like their coffee!). We then headed over to Sky Needle with the intention of actually going up, once we got their the bad weather put us off and instead we hit the fun park located next door.
On the recommendation of some other exchange students staying at the hostel we then went to the Seattle Music Museum. It was a very interesting experience with some great exhibits focused on locals like Jimi Hendrix but not enough on groupls like Nirvana. There was a lot of very enjoyable interactive exhibits that went through the basics of guitar, drumming, keyboard and even DJing.
On Saturday night we headed out to an Italian restaurant for a hearty meal. The bill ended up being much larger than we expected but due to the alcohol consumed it really shouldn't have been a surprise. I think in the future none of us will ever drink without seeing the prices again. After the restaurant we meandered back to the hostel and smuggled in some alcohol (sorry HI but the rules suck). The night lasted a bit longer than it probably should've and only a few of us dedicated souls made the 8am breakfast.
This group of seasoned travellers then made it's way out in search of the legendary russian submarine that was meant to be down on the water only a few blocks away. When we finally found it we were dismayed to discover that it is inaccessible to everything except long distance shots. I'm sure the tourist bureau of Seattle wouldn't be impressed. It was then up to Pioneer Square which is the oldest district in town.
The rest of the day was spent waking up hung-over people and doing some shopping. The bus ride home wasn't as eventful as the one into America largely due to the very friendly people at Canadian Customs.
When I say that the Seattle trip was just ok I'm not fully expressing the great time that I had. The group that went down were all great fun to be around and I think we're all keen to head out again. I just felt that the same group probably could've had as good a time anywhere and that Seattle didn't offer too much to the trip as an experience.
Nick - "Your dearest wish will come true."
Pictures to follow. If anyone wants the complete set of pics then hop on MSN. My nickname is nick_denham AT hotmail.com
The NBA game.
Cheeeeerleaders
Novelty foam hands are the new black.
I think this was a spy balloon sent by the CIA. Or it could just be good marketing.
I never did go up the giant space phallic symbol.
We were all a little tired on friday night. Most of these people are not 21.
We visited the Pike place markets and all that I got was this lousy photo.
The original Starbucks was no better than every other Starbucks I've been to.
Craig finds his ancestral home.
Hellooooooo. I didn't steal this street sign but I probably should have. There's no way like the
Denny way right?
Apparently this is a quaint American custom called driving to work.
This attraction was called the American Electoral process.
American gun culture strikes again. When we crossed the border these were all peaceful people.
Monorail, Monorail, Monorail!
This was the only photo I was allowed to take of the Seattle Music Museum it's a sculpture of guitars that actually plays music with a number of the guitars having computers controlling them.
We got drunk but that's only half of the story.
We were then serenaded.
Some romantic dancing took place.
But then we decided that more alcohol would cure that dancing crap.
We aren't meant to be drinking in the hostel...shhhhh.
There were far...
far too many people in the room.
A few of us managed to get up in time for the free breakfast in the morning. Then we decided to go out and see some more of Seattle's old district.
Morning crew discovers Russian Submarine...news at 11.
This is part of the Pioneer Square district. The hobos were skillfully edited out of the picture.
Somone forgot to do the gardening.
Phil felt overwhelmed by the size of the building.
We weren't quite sure why this building was built with the first 5 floors missing. Maybe they had a shoddy contractor, probably mafioso.
Monday Night was the debriefing at Nura's house and then off to the Gallery for a nightcap or four.
The day after the game we went out adventuring to the Pike Place Markets where there was a lot of interesting bits and pieces . It's a great little part of town and I would recommend it to anyone visiting. The first ever Starbucks is located accross the road from the markets but unfortunately nothing had been done to make the place an interesting or worthwhile experience (Just like their coffee!). We then headed over to Sky Needle with the intention of actually going up, once we got their the bad weather put us off and instead we hit the fun park located next door.
On the recommendation of some other exchange students staying at the hostel we then went to the Seattle Music Museum. It was a very interesting experience with some great exhibits focused on locals like Jimi Hendrix but not enough on groupls like Nirvana. There was a lot of very enjoyable interactive exhibits that went through the basics of guitar, drumming, keyboard and even DJing.
On Saturday night we headed out to an Italian restaurant for a hearty meal. The bill ended up being much larger than we expected but due to the alcohol consumed it really shouldn't have been a surprise. I think in the future none of us will ever drink without seeing the prices again. After the restaurant we meandered back to the hostel and smuggled in some alcohol (sorry HI but the rules suck). The night lasted a bit longer than it probably should've and only a few of us dedicated souls made the 8am breakfast.
This group of seasoned travellers then made it's way out in search of the legendary russian submarine that was meant to be down on the water only a few blocks away. When we finally found it we were dismayed to discover that it is inaccessible to everything except long distance shots. I'm sure the tourist bureau of Seattle wouldn't be impressed. It was then up to Pioneer Square which is the oldest district in town.
The rest of the day was spent waking up hung-over people and doing some shopping. The bus ride home wasn't as eventful as the one into America largely due to the very friendly people at Canadian Customs.
When I say that the Seattle trip was just ok I'm not fully expressing the great time that I had. The group that went down were all great fun to be around and I think we're all keen to head out again. I just felt that the same group probably could've had as good a time anywhere and that Seattle didn't offer too much to the trip as an experience.
Nick - "Your dearest wish will come true."
Pictures to follow. If anyone wants the complete set of pics then hop on MSN. My nickname is nick_denham AT hotmail.com
The NBA game.
Cheeeeerleaders
Novelty foam hands are the new black.
I think this was a spy balloon sent by the CIA. Or it could just be good marketing.
I never did go up the giant space phallic symbol.
We were all a little tired on friday night. Most of these people are not 21.
We visited the Pike place markets and all that I got was this lousy photo.
The original Starbucks was no better than every other Starbucks I've been to.
Craig finds his ancestral home.
Hellooooooo. I didn't steal this street sign but I probably should have. There's no way like the
Denny way right?
Apparently this is a quaint American custom called driving to work.
This attraction was called the American Electoral process.
American gun culture strikes again. When we crossed the border these were all peaceful people.
Monorail, Monorail, Monorail!
This was the only photo I was allowed to take of the Seattle Music Museum it's a sculpture of guitars that actually plays music with a number of the guitars having computers controlling them.
We got drunk but that's only half of the story.
We were then serenaded.
Some romantic dancing took place.
But then we decided that more alcohol would cure that dancing crap.
We aren't meant to be drinking in the hostel...shhhhh.
There were far...
far too many people in the room.
A few of us managed to get up in time for the free breakfast in the morning. Then we decided to go out and see some more of Seattle's old district.
Morning crew discovers Russian Submarine...news at 11.
This is part of the Pioneer Square district. The hobos were skillfully edited out of the picture.
Somone forgot to do the gardening.
Phil felt overwhelmed by the size of the building.
We weren't quite sure why this building was built with the first 5 floors missing. Maybe they had a shoddy contractor, probably mafioso.
Monday Night was the debriefing at Nura's house and then off to the Gallery for a nightcap or four.
posted by denny at 4:54 PM
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