After jumping in Fay's car, the three of us (with the help of the SatNav on Fay's phone), headed to Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle. After parking the car, we first had lunch at Ivar's Fish and Chips Bar (according to Fay, the best fish and chips in Seattle) on the pier. Sydney was hungry, so Fay made us order a serve of fish and chips, clams and chips, scallops and chips and seafood chowder to share. It seemed like a lot of food, but the three of us must have been hungry as well, as we managed to polish it off. After lunch, we walked back along the pier towards the Pike Place Market.
The first time I had heard of the Pike Place Market, was the weekend before I left Australia, when Bronnie told me that if I had a chance that I HAD to go, as she'd seen a film of the people who work in the fish stall there, and that it looked like a great thing to see. The workers certainly seem to enjoy themselves! Whenever anyone orders fish from the front of the stall, the guy working at the front throws the selected fish to the back which is caught by another worker, who wraps the fish up and then hands it to the customer. We watched these guys for quite a while, but (despite it being Good Friday) they only made about 3 sales in the 15 minutes we were there. They didn't let that bore them though, and they made their own fun by throwing some fish back down to the guy at the front of the stall to display, and also throwing a stuffed, toy fish which hit a guy with a camera, and was very funny! See video below.
We left shortly after that, as we were a little concerned that we might be their next target, and we took a walk around the rest of the market. The rest of the market sells home made and home grown wares such as flowers, jams, sauces, paintings, hats, soaps etc.
Outside the market, on the other side of Pike Place, is the very first Starbucks ever! It's amazing that such a small store could give birth to so many others.
After visiting the market, we jumped back in Fay's car, and (with the aid of SatNav again- although if we'd only just looked up, we'd have been able to figure out our way, I'm sure) we headed to the Space Needle. 
Before we went up to the top of the space needle, Fay made Karen sit in the Daffodils for a photo, which was reminiscent of a trip the three of us took to Launceston's Cataract Gorge once and Fay also made Karen sit in the Daffodils for a photo. 
At the top of the Space Needle, which is 500 and something feet in the air, we had great views over Seattle, and were able to get an idea of the orientation of the city. We saw where we had been that morning, and also where we were planning to visit in the following few days. Despite the traffic and freeways, Seattle to me is an attractive city, water being a dominant feature, but also lots of park areas and cherry tree- lined streets, and with snow covered mountains as a back drop. With so much water around, it is also very green! Although in this photo, it looks kind of grey... 
We didn't spend too much time loitering about the top of the space needle, as we had to get home to Fay's house (aided again by SatNav- we would have been lost without that thing!) to get ready to go out for Fay's Birthday Dinner that night. Fay and Justin live in a beautiful 2 bedroom house in a town about 20 minutes out of Seattle called Sammamish. They had just finished painting their guest room, when they discovered that Fay was pregnant, so now they're going to repaint it for the baby! Justin arrived home shortly after we did, and shortly after that, we all piled into Fay's car again and headed back to Seattle to meet Fay and Justin's friends, Randy and Becky (who Karen and I had met in Hawaii at Fay and Justin's wedding), at an Italian restaurant.
We had a great meal, after which we headed out to Randy and Becky's neighbourhood, Kirkland, to have a few drinks at a bar. Unfortunately, I had left my passport at Fay and Justin's house, and only had my Australian drivers licence with me for ID. The bouncers wouldn't accept my non-USA form of ID and I was denied entry! So we all left, and went back to Fay and Justin's house for a few drinks instead, after which Randy and Becky went home, and the rest of us went to bed.We had a wonderful sleep in, and after having a shower, I was tempted down the stairs by the smell of bacon cooking. I was wrong though, it was actually bacon AND scrambled eggs AND ham AND turkey sausages AND croissants. Fay didn't want us to go hungry, so Justin was cooking up a storm for breakfast. By the time we'd finished and got ourselves together, it was nearly midday, and Fay, Karen and I headed back to Seattle to do some more sightseeing. We decided to do the Seattle Underground Tour, so went to Pioneer Square, from where it departs.
I thought the tour would just be of the city's old sewerage system, or something along those lines, but it was actually a lot more interesting than that. Apparently, when Seattle was first settled, the city used to flood- alot. To make matters worse, when the toilet was invented and they were installed through the town, the drainage system was inadequate, and at the wrong time of the day, depending on the tide, the sewerage sometimes flowed the opposite way to what was intended, and so going to the toilet could be a messy experience. After the town burnt down in the 1890's, it was proposed that before rebuilding started, the town would be raised 12 feet higher than what it had previously been, by building a large retaining wall and building on top of it. Unfortunately, the town's people objected to the proposed 8 year delay in building, and started building right where their houses and shops had previously been. The city decided to continue with their plan, however, to raise the city, so built 12 feet walls in front of the shops beside the pavement, on top of which they built their roads. After years of inconvenience and several fatal accidents, the towns people finally built up their pavements to the level of the roads, burying the first floors of many of the businesses. So basically, the tour was of this first floor of several old businesses, and of the pavements which used to run outside the front of them. The tour was punctuated by several humerous stories of some of the characters which lived in the city during that time.
At 2:30, when the tour had finished, we drove to a suburb called Fremont, which Karen's Lonely Planet had suggested as a pretty laidback place to visit. It was a pretty nice spot. It reminded Karen a little of Carlton, in Melbourne, and it reminded me a little of St Kilda, in Melbourne, I'm not sure why exactly. It was just a trendy little part of town. We had some Cold Stone Icecream (where they mix lollies and chocolates and biscuits and peanut butter and caramel and things in with different flavours of icecream to come up with some great tasting creations) and walked around the streets for a while, window shopping and browsing inside some shops, and checking out the Lenin statue (which is a controversial piece in the town). We then headed back to Fay and Justin's to again get ready to go out for dinner.
This time we went out for Sushi with a friend of Justin's whom he works with, and his wife. We all perused the menu, before ordering a few dishes, which we shared between the 6 of us. Highlights were the tempura shrimp, and the sashimi dishes. Karen was very pleased to be eating sushi again- apparently they don't do great sushi in dead centre of the United States. 
The following day was Easter Sunday, so we all got dressed up in our Sunday best and went to Church. Yes, we actually did do that, even Karen who is Jewish! For once in their lives, Fay and Justin were on time to church- despite the fact that they were aiming to be 15 minutes late!Afterwards, we went out for lunch to a Mexican restaurant then, unfortunately, it was time for Karen to head back to Kansas. Fay and I drove her to the airport, then decided to indulge the shopaholic in both of us and head to a centre of factory outlets nearby. Unfortunately, being Easter Sunday, there was only one shop open, so we headed to another Shopping Centre a little bit further away. Again, there was only one store open, so Fay and I decided that that would have to do. Luckily, they were offering 60% off already reduced prices in the store, so we managed to come away with a few bargains. Of course, I am still practising a little bit of self-restraint due to the fact that I have to carry around anything I buy in my backpack.
The next morning, Fay and I headed to Pike Place Market, yet again, to meet up with my friend Nicky, from Launceston, and her boyfriend Wes. Nicky and Wes are currently living and working in Victoria, Canada, and decided to take a road trip to Seattle for the Easter long weekend. Nicky is addicted to Chicos, so I brought a couple of packets over with me from Australia for her. Fay and I had driven about 10 minutes into the city when I realised that I'd forgotten to take them with me, so we had to turn around and go back to Fay's house to get them. So we were a few minutes late meeting Nicky and Wes, but once I'd handed over the goods, I think I was forgiven! 
We managed to find a little place that was still open for breakfast, and caught up over some waffles and coffee. Nicky and Wes then headed back to Victoria early that afternoon, as Wes had to start work again the next day. It's always great to catch up with people from home when you're travelling overseas!
This carwash sign is apparently a famous landmark in Seattle.
That afternoon, Fay and I went for a drive to Snoqualmie Falls. This is a large waterfall only 30 minutes from Sammamish. It is actually a hydro plant, but the view is pretty spectacular all the same.
This poor squirrel was being harrassed by a couple of small children at the falls.
After the falls, seeing as we were halfway there, Fay and I decided to visit another group of factory outlets. We managed to find ourselves a few more bargains and again, Fay did a bit better than me- she managed to get a pair of shorts for $1 at the maternity shop! This is a photo of the backdrop to the carpark of the outlet centre.
The next day, Fay had to go back to work, so I decided that I was going to go on a whale watching tour. Apparently March is the best time to see Grey Whales, and the website for the tour said that a sighting was guaranteed! Unfortunately, when I rang up the tourguide that morning to check that there was a place available for me he said "You know what, I don't think we'll be going today". He had taken his boat to some islands the night before and he didn't think that he'd be back in time for the start of the tour at 10am. This was very disappointing, as I'd really wanted to go whale watching, and this was the only tour that operated directly out of downtown Seattle. I decided to go into Seattle anyway on the early bus, so Fay dropped me off at the bus stop on her way to work. I went down to the pier, just to double check that there wasn't a tour going that day (there wasn't), then decided to go to the Seattle Aquarium instead. The Aquarium houses lots of different sea creatures including Sea Otters and Seals, as well as the usual starfish, octopus, and colourful tropical fish. 
There were lots of school kids running around which made the experience a little frustrating. I think there were probably about 5 school groups there, so it certainly wasn't a quiet morning at the aquarium. For lunch, I decided to head back to Ivar's for some fish and chips, then I spent the afternoon looking in some of the shops, before heading back to Sammamish on the bus.
The next day, Wednesday, was another day off for Fay, and we spent much of it searching for a glider recliner which Fay wants for when the baby comes. We were unable to find the one that she's after, but we did manage to find a stroller at least. We also had lunch in Kirkland at a really nice cafe. Kirkland has lots of interesting bronze statues around it's streets. This is one of a cow with a dog on it's back. I'm not really sure why...
That night I had to start packing my bag again to catch an early flight to New York the next day. It was so great to see Fay and Justin again and to spend some time with them before Sydney arrives. Hopefully I'll get to see them again soon and meet Sydney, probably on my way back home to Australia. As for my impression of Seattle? I loved it. It was pretty cold, and I think that we were lucky that it only rained one day that I was there, but it was a really pretty city with lots to do.
Love,
Lis x.
ps. Comments, critisism, news and general gossip from home may entice me to update my blog a little more regularly ;)
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