...more exploring in Seattle...

***Miles travelled today: ...today we travelled by bus... and by foot...

***Total Miles:

***States travelled through: ...still in Washington State.

Okay...so today we could not quite decide on what photos to put on the blog... and so we have put 10 on... the first five are just general pictures of our day, and then the next five relate to musicians... as Jay commented yesterday, every corner has a street performer, all trying to have you stop and listen...

...we made our way to the - you guessed it 'hop-on-hop-off' tour bus... which was actually just on the next block to the hotel... the weather was not too brilliant this morning and so it started off with grey skies... but as the morning progressed the sun came out, making the day alot brighter... having toured around the city, we got off at the market and found an interesting little cafe to have breakfast... it's where there was a scene filmed with Tom Hanks from 'Sleepless in Seattle'... so that's their claim to fame... or one of them... as they have actually been in the market since the 1940's... so I guess they were doing fine without Tom!!! But - having a little plaque on the stool saying that it was where he sat during the making of the movie, made for interesting chat... The waiter had a bit of a problem with Jay's accent... and 'decaf coffee' somehow sounded like 'tequila'... which, had he not checked it with us, he probably would have brought as her morning drink... we have discovered during our travels, that for some reason people have more difficulties understanding Jay's accent... and so when talking over the phone we have actually resorted to using the 'Police Phonetic Alphabet' in spelling names and e-mail address... so that's another thing we've learnt this holiday... ('holiday' - that's hotel - oscar - lima - indigo - delta - alpha - yankee!!!) ...and it seems that the longer we stay in America, the more South African I sound!!! (...and I don't even have to be drunk - as it usually only comes out after a bit of alcohol... as most of you know!!!)

...after breakfast we explored the market a bit more... we have discovered that it seems that most of Seattle exists around Pike Place market - it actually gets up to 40 000 visitors a day... and the market is open every day except Christmas day!!! It is like nothing we have ever experienced... so naturally we needed to take some more photos... the flower sellers are amazing... there are literally hundreds of them, constantly making up bouquets of flowers... I spoke to one of the young women, most of whom look Korean... she said that they start at 06h00 in the morning and it is continual until the market shuts down at 17h00...

We found 'Post Alley', where I found myself a little spot on a stairwell and took numerous photos... I was able to get a close up of one of the sellers slicing into a peach... which I really like!!! Words cannot describe the colours, sights, sounds and smells... it just hits all your senses...

...there is actually a 'famous Gum Wall' in the market... said to be the second most unhygienic place in the world... second only to the 'Blarney Stone'... apparently - I'm not quite sure where some of the tour guides get their information from!!!

We then went off in search of the 'Space Needle'... as we have gone up high in every other city, to take photographs... we needed to do it here too... well, as the sky had cleared, we decided to seize the opportunity and do it, just in case it's not clear tomorrow!!! We were able to take some fantastic photos, although, looking out over the water, called Pujet Sound, the haze and pollution is quite scary, it really hinders the view...

...we relaxed on the grass under the tower for a while - just taking in the sights and sounds of the city... Seattle has to be THE most diverse city we have ever come across, what a mix of people... in every sense of the word...

We made our way back to the market (not quite sure what Seattle would be like if not for the market!!!) and went to a small place that had been recommended in terms of the best Clam Chowder in the city... well, it was fantastic... although Jay has already learnt to ask the question, "does it have bacon in it???" having been caught out a few days ago... who would've thought they'd put bacon in seafood!!! ...anyway, whilst sitting there, there was a street performer less that two meters from us, a gentleman from Peru, playing the panpipes and a Peruvian guitar... Jay asked him what it was called, but now can't remember, so we'll go with 'Peruvian guitar'... so there we stayed for the next hour simply listening...

...we walked back to the hotel, via some of the shopping district - although I informed Jay that she needed to keep her eyes closed - As we're going exploring in the shops either tomorrow or Monday - today was just a 'taster'!!!

...how could we forget, Seattle's other claim to fame is 'Starbuck's Coffee'... there are actually 188 separate 'Starbucks' cafes in Seattle alone... and... the other famous coffee company in Seattle called 'Seattle's Best Coffee', is actually owned by 'Starbucks'... simply due to the fact that 'Starbucks' wanted to purchase a store from 'Seattle's Best Coffee' and the owners wouldn't sell - so the owners of 'Starbucks' just bought the entire company, in order to get that one store...

...have added a website all about the market in our 'handy websites' above...