SATURDAY | Due to heavy highway traffic the drive to Seattle was long and dull. We arrived at Hertz with only a couple of minutes to spare before they closed for the day. It was a dash up through the car park to get to the return desk before they clocked off. Carless we made the short walk through the concrete jungle that is the city centre to the nearest restaurant, the Cheesecake factory. The wait was half an hour but we were happy to clog up the waiting area with our bags, the other patrons weren’t so pleased. Post lunch we bundled into the waiting Uber and made the short ride to our Airbnb in Capitol Hill. Our driver was a chatty Cathy and managed to give us a complete list of everything we needed to see and do with our one full day in town. At the Airbnb the room was still being set up so we hung out on the town house steps with the neighbour who was painting her toenails, a local cat, an eclectic girl who lived in the back room our Airbnb and the roasting afternoon sun. Finally, able to ditch our backpacks we were chuffed to find that our room for the next couple of nights was a groovy space that housed lots of ace drawings, plants and a piano. With no clear destination in mind we wandered up to Broadway Street to find somewhere for dinner. After ambling up and down unable to reach a decision we finally settled on Pho Than Brothers, a no-frills Vietnamese soup restaurant. Over massive bowls of broth and veggies we attempted to plot our plan for the next day. Not 100% satisfied we hit up the frozen yogurt shop next door to indulge in some dessert and people watch. Seattle did not disappoint in the people gazing, it seemed the street was teeming with next-level crazy outfits and whack personalities. After a slow stroll back through the neighbourhood we retreat to the comfort of our room for a quiet Saturday evening, a world away from the shenanigans from a week ago. SUNDAY | After spotting Roy Street Coffee and Tea the previous evening we headed straight there for brunch. The place was brimming with locals with laptops keen to make the most of the free wifi. Our drinks and my breakfast arrived quickly but after 10 minutes it became evident that Ash’s quiche had been forgotten. She attempted to approach the girl at the counter to enquire but was told to sit down and wait for her order to be called out for collection. By the time, I’d wrapped up eating my breakfast there was still no quiche so this time it was my turn to approach. When I was also told to return to my seat I pushed back and explained the length time we’d been waiting at which point the meal was then investigated and it turned out the order hadn’t been placed. Ash had passed the point of Hangry by the time her meal was finally caught out. Already frustrated with the day we decided to jump into an uber to take us to our next location, Kerry Park. Luckily our uber driver was an absolute boss and in the short time we were with him our spirits were lifted and our historical knowledge of Seattle was expanded. After gawking at the divine views of the city we put our big girl pants on and headed off to the public bus stop. Shortly after arrival we had paid our fare and were sitting at the back of the bus, weaving down the streets of Seattle past the Space Needle and onto the Pike Place Market. We did a walk by of the original Starbucks coffee shop and persuade the stalls before snagging a booth at one of the seafood restaurants inside the market that overlooked the bay. Lunch was a mixture of fresh oysters, catch of the day fish with salad and lightly fried calamari. All this washed down with a glorious glass of semi sauv blanc whilst soaking in the blue sky that radiated above the bay. After we completed the self-guided walking tour of the markets we hailed another uber to take us across town to the Fremont Sunday Market. With a focus on art, jewellery and clothing the place was bustling with locals keen to pick something up. It took close to two hours to make our way through the crowds and check out everything that was on offer. After a brief reprieve from the sun we buddied up with a dude to help return a lost phone to its owner. Good deed done we made our way back across town to Capitol Cider, a bar boasting a collection over 152 ciders. We kicked off the drinking with a tasting flight before moving on to try different bottled varieties, such as Vanilla Cider and Chilli Cider. Scattered amongst the drinking was some tiny tapas (that was completely overpriced) and a few rounds of UNO (that I won every time). Our Cider fix satisfied we started the trek back up Broadway towards our house but midway we agreed it was far too early to return home and so we detoured to Nacho Barracho for some slushy margaritas. Here we stayed till well into the evening, chatting to our bartender who also moonlights as a musician and people watching the other guests. The crazies that we’d seen on the street the night before weren’t limited to our area and throughout the night they came in to the bar, testing the patients of the bartender and keeping is thoroughly amused. The highlight was the ranga lady who claimed to be blind but could read the menu. After making the bar tender explain every drink she ordered one beverage, chatted his ear off about how she’d been to this bar 5 years ago (despite it not being in existence) and returned about an hour after she’d left to accuse the bar tender of taking her money – she’d paid on card. By the time, we strolled home the streets of Seattle were sleeping and as soon as we returned to the comfort of our room we too were out like a light. MONDAY | In the morning we had no time to laze around, instead we were packed and out the door joining the hordes of people heading off to work. Our destination however was to Hertz, to pick up the car that would drive us through the remaining mainland portion of our journey. Now pros at the process it was easy to check out the final car and within the hour we were on the road, via a brekkie stop at Maccas, in our nearly coined vehicle Christian due to his grey exterior.
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