Seattle

So I've not blogged for several days - don't worry, I'm still alive, just been busy having a great time!  I arrived relatively early in the morning on the Friday and so had some spare time in the city before I met my Servas hosts, Sarah and Cale.  I popped up the Columbia Centre tower which gave great views out across the City and the various bodies of water that surround it.  I also took the chance to visit the legendary Pike Place Market - I saw some fish being thrown and also took advantage of the great local artists to pick up some Christmas presents. 

I met Sarah at her office downtown and we walked up to Capitol Hill - the neighbourhood where they live.  I'd read a lot about the Seattle micro-/craft-brewing scene so I was pleased when we went to a local bar to sample some of them.  The evening then took its usual turn when you go for a "quick one" after work... We went for some excellent Mexican food in a local 'hispter' cafe and then sampled most of the local beers - especially from Elysian Brewing - their pumpkin ale is excellent!  I displayed my usual self-control and light-touch when it comes to drinking and seem to remember displaying my British beer-mat flipping skills to any and all that wanted to witness them.  

So it was obviously with a spring in my step and a totally clear head that I went off to the Seattle Art Museum the next morning.   It's a really great space and had some cool exhibits - I'm just not sure that I made the most of it...  

The Museum also has a satellite campus of outdoor sculpture so I dodged the rain and took in that.  In the evening we went over to a local neighbourhood that was doing a kind of 'open house' at the artists' studios - you can see some info here.  

I moved on to another Servas host on the Sunday morning - Rebecca and Sara live in Mount Baker a few miles away from the city centre so it was interesting to see a different side of Seattle life.  We did a whole variety of things over the three days I was with them, the highlight probably being a tour of several wineries and also going to a local bar to watch the second Presidential debate.  I really enjoyed the conversations with Rebecca and Sara about the local and national political scene and what it's like to live in Seattle.  

Seattle is a great city - still doesn't knock Chicago off top spot, but I like the culture and stunning scenery - even the British-style rain wasn't too bad!

(I'm going to do another post in a bit outlining the companies that I visited whilst here in Seattle).