Day 3

Seattle itself.

First, to the Space Needle via various roads and buildings. J was unsure whether the Space Needle would be worth paying for, with visibility cut down in the gentle drizzle, but fortunately it was clearing to light cloud and we could see all of the city and most of the harbour and lakes. There are 24-hour time-lapse videos of a summer's day, so I saw what Mount Rainier would have looked like (very impressive!).

Having a resident with me was good, because I wouldn't have had a clue what any of the tall buildings are, nor which district and stretch of water was which. J wasn't too sure about naming the islands, except for the one which is a "reservation". We looked at the information screens, marvelled in mild disgust at the photos of the Gum Wall, and planned the rest of the tour.

Most important was the Pike Place Market, a marvellous farmers', fishers', and craft market. We watched fish being thrown across a stall (with a sort of shouted chant). Nothing like the fish-throwing in Asterix, but it had certain similarities to the Muppets ;). Drank Market Spice tea in the Market Spice stall, where I bought some things and had to resist massive temptation to buy a lot more; the teasets were especially attractive. We passed a Handmade Cheese shop and the pianist who has been busking outside the market for 20 years, looked at jewellery and craft stands, and generally tried not to buy things which couldn't be transported. Some years ago, around the time J moved here, there was a plot by property developers to pull down the market and build apartment blocks. So glad they were beaten off. Besides, the market must have brought in far more revenue over the years than a couple of blocks of yuppie homes would have done. It's going to be renovated this year, but it's promised to be done with minimal interruptions. If you have the dreaded flash, you can take an online tour of the market.

It was dark by now, so we visited the Troll under the Aurora bridge at his dinnertime, though he'd already caught dinner so we were safe. Later, from another road, we could see the Aurora Bridge in its delicate lacy splendour. It becomes a viaduct further down the Alaskan Highway, but we didn't go that far. Another time.

Seattle goes in for curious statues. There's also the Hammering Man outside the art museum, and various later creations based on the same idea, such as the Drinking Man and the smaller man with a coffee-cup. We went twice round the statue of Lenin to have a good look. It's an excellent statue, but I had to ask - why? J said some Russian friends had also asked why Seattle had put up a statue of Lenin, as there are none in Russia now, to which she'd replied "It was cheap".

I'm not usually keen on skyscraper-type buildings, but some of Seattle's are lovely. There are two made of light creamy stone like the stone of Charente Maritime: one with windows of pale cobalt and the other of turquoise-green. The famous Smith Tower which is purported to have been at one time the tallest building west of the Mississippi (now shadowed by apartment blocks!) is very elegant.

We went to look for food, not so easy on a Sunday evening: the chosen restaurant was shut. Unfortunately the lid of the boot^Wtrunk slammed down on my head; J found a place where they gave her a huge bagful of ice, and we drove off in search of another feedingplace with me wearing a cold and somewhat inelegant hat. I was feeling a bit queasy with the headache when we got to the 5 Point Cafe, so I didn't really appreciate the jukebox even though the music was good-to-acceptable. The 5 Point is a proudly scruffy place with a sign up in the window "Ripping Off Tourists-n-Drunks Since 1929". Good thing I had a local guide, eh? The prices are a bit high for a caff, but the food is good.

And so, with a last pass round the city and a wave to the seafront, back to Redmond.