Seattle Tuesday August 7, 2012

Yesterday didn't start out with much on the "things to do" list, but I managed to get in plenty anyway.

When Ariel and Hannah left for the farm they forgot to bring Hannah's clothes.  I had to mail them to her.  I figured that while I was going to the post office anyway, I should mail my quacker as well.

(It never arrived!)

 I went to the post office and was promptly told, "You can't mail that!"  I asked, "Why not?  I've mailed all sorts of weird things before."  She replied, "Well... you just can't."  I said, "I can, but that's ok.  I'll go somewhere else."  

I grabbed a bus and drove passed the Klondike Gold Rush National Park.  This park isn't actually a park.  It's a museum, but it has a national park designation.  It's free and interesting.  I read a woman's account of being a young child and going up to Alaska with her mother and two younger siblings to meet up with her father.  It was both fascinating and terrifying all at once.  

You might be wondering what Seattle has to do with the gold rush.  It was the last stop in civilization for many miners and stampeders on their way up north in search of riches, and the gold rush is what ultimately put Seattle on the map.  The two are as intertwined as any city and event can be.  While there I could see what the building I'm staying in was over 100 years ago.  It was just a restaurant.  I was really hoping to find out it was a brothel, but that building was a few blocks away.  

I went to a different post office and successfully sent my quacker off.  I'll let you all know when and if it arrives.  

I wanted to see the hostel we would be staying out once we make the switch, so I headed out.  It's about a mile away.  On the way I went into a place and got a gyro.  It was huge, and I knew I would never finish it, but I had plans for the other half.  I finished what I could, wrapped it up and headed toward the hostel.  I needed to go into Pike Place Market, because after seeing the pictures from yesterday someone put in a special request.  I ordered my stuff and had it shipped out with a special note, Do not eat this until I get home! 

Along the way I passed Nancy's favorite Seattle place.  I went in, but crumpets and tea just aren't my thing. But hey, I was thinking about ya'.

Remember that half a gyro I had?  When a homeless guy asked for a $1 for something to eat I offered him half a gyro.  He said sure.  The day before I gave the very same guy $1.  I figured that since so many of them will go rummaging through the trash for half eaten food I may as well offer my half a sandwich.  People can get sick going through the trash.  

Oh, check this out.  Sarasota has never seen a roach coach quite like this before.  What do you think they might call it?  The swine line, the pig rig?

I found the hostel and checked it all out.  Looks safe.  I was long overdue for a sit down by now and stopped in a coffee shop called Bedlam.  Then I went back to the apartment and took a long needed nap.  That nap that occurs about half way through my trip usually signifies that I have worked through my jet lag.  I am officially on Seattle time.  I woke up and got ready for my big evening: Toastmasters!  The meeting place is pretty far north of my apartment, but it was just one bus ride.  The bus dropped me off right across the street, with 45 minutes to spare.  I found a great used book store and spent a few minutes in there.  Then the time had arrived.  

This club, Chamber 540, meets in a restaurant, Razzi's Pizzeria.  They do a few things much differently than our club does, and I really enjoyed it.  Watch out fellow Positively Speakers, some changes might be coming.  I forgot to get a picture of myself in front of their banner.  A member gave me a ride home because I was a bit concerned about walking back to the apartment from the bus stop so late.  Thanks Niko.  Oh, poor guy; he asked to be included in my emails. I told him there was an opt-out option.  Hee hee.

Seattle Monday August 6, 2012

Wow, what a long day.  Are you guys as tired as me?

I started the day deciding to do some laundry, remember?  But the washing machine and dryer cost a combined $3 and I only had $2.75 in quarters.  I figured I would do the laundry at the end of the day.  I sent off two emails (hope you got them) and headed out for a walking tour of Pike Place Market.  I had over an hour  before it started, so I swung into a deli first and grabbed something to eat.  Now that Hannah's not with me I see no sense in keeping up with the Hannah/mommy cinnamon roll ritual.  

Remember yesterday I showed you a picture of the skylights underground?  Here's what it looks like above ground.  They look like magenta glass bottles.  The above ground view is really pretty.

After my meal, I passed a store with the cutest vintage style dresses and decided to pop in.  The prices nearly made my head fall off so I kept going.  I arrived at the market far too early for the tour so I walked through to kill some time.  They have all sorts of things.  There's the obvious fruits and veggies, but they also have clothes, silly trinkets no one wants and people only buy for souvenirs, magazines from all over the world, nuts, jams, flowers.  You get the picture.  Speaking of pictures...

I think these are the biggest lobster tails I've ever seen in my entire life!!!

Pike Place Market needed their floor replaced a few years back so they had a fundraiser.  It was the kind where you could buy a floor tile, or a fish scale, or something along those lines with your name engraved.  One of these days I'm going to buy one and it will say Here lies Jimmy Hoffa.  

A certain percentage of the taxes Seattlites pay goes toward funding art in and around the city.  Here are just a few.  These gutters have plants growing out of them, and the light posts hanging on the walls are another example.  It might take a second or two for your brain to orient itself to what it's seeing.

Gutter

Street Light

Street light closer up.  This picture is NOT sideways.  The man is.

There were some fun buskers, like this hula-hooping/one-man band.

After the walking tour I walked a few blocks over to the Duck Tour . I had some time to waste so I sat at this park, Westlake Park.  There is nothing sadder than depressed trees.  Why so blue? 

There were some interesting things at the park.  A giant chess set, life size sculptures of men, and this interesting *fountain that one can walk through without getting soaked to the bone (in theory anyway). 

Before the Duck Tour started I went to the bathroom.  I am short.  I not only accept it, but I embrace my lack of height (it's the easiest way to speak to good looking men, "Excuse me sir, would you get that for me please.  I'm too short to reach it...") but this bathroom was for extra, extra short people.  The walls and doors of each stall only came up to here... 

I would've taken pictures, but uh...that's just weird.

It was time for the tour.  We were given assigned seats when we purchased the tickets. I sat beside a ten year old boy who was soaking wet (see "*fountain that doesn't get you soaked"...)  We all, well many of us had quackers; silly duck-bill shaped noise makers.  The little boy had one too.  Really, he did and he never stopped making noises with it.  I almost threw him overboard..

Just kidding.  He was a cute kid.  I told him, "I'm going to call you honey.  It's not because I'm weird, it's because I call all kids 'honey'.  Ok?"  He just looked at me like someone who might take pictures of short bathroom stalls.  I did end up calling him honey, by the way.  "Oh!  Don't stick your arm out so far, honey!"

  

This is what it looked like.  It would've been more fun, but the driver wasn't especially into his job.  One could tell he's been using someone else's jokes for far too long.  He could use Toastmasters.

Oh yeah, Toastmasters.  You guys know it wouldn't be like a vacation if I didn't attend a Toastmaster meeting.  It's kind of like AA, but without having to stand up and say, "Hi, my name is Diana and I'm addicted to public speaking..."  I will be attending a meeting tomorrow evening at Razzi's Pizzeria.  (Robert, Sharon, it's NOT in my neighborhood.) I'll let you know how it goes. Of course, there's little chance it could be better than Positively Speaking Toastmasters (my club), but I'm going with an open mind. 

I need a life...

16 August, 2011

Monday we headed to the Southbank of the Thames.  There are many bridges to cross the River and that Australian woman who led us to believe that an hour is within walking distance told us to use the pedestrian "wobbly bridge".  It didn't take long for us to learn that it hasn't been wobbly in a very long time.  We stopped some police officers to ask them which was the best way to cross.  It was nice.  There were cute little shacks set up as an art exhibit, each one was decorated differently, by different local artists.  Then we came across a large book sale.  

Bob and Jacob had to be at the mall by 5.  We got Jacob a "flight" on a simulated air plane that he was going to pilot and the appointment was at 5. 

Bob took all three boys plus Hannah, leaving Ariel and I to wander the city.  We decided to just hop on and off some buses, seeing different things.  A police officer saw us looking at the map and walked over to see if we needed some assistance.  I explained that we weren't really looking for anything in particular.  He asked what we had already seen and said (honestly) "Well, you've seen just about everything there is to see."  Really?  How is that possible?  I started laughing and said, "Oh...well then I think we will go home now." 

When we finally decided to head back to the house we found the bus we needed on the map, but had to walk all over various intersections looking for the actual bus stop.  We found it, the bus arrived, we boarded, then a few minutes later I realized that it was headed in the wrong direction.  It really wasn't a big deal because it just meant hopping off, crossing the street, and getting on the next one heading in the opposite direction.  The problem was that we were in an area with lots of traffic circles and there was no such thing as simply crossing the street so we had to wait until we got far enough away from the circles.  Eventually we made it home and Ariel and I had a nice time, just the two of us.

Yesterday was Bob's birthday.  We started the day by having a big breakfast then heading out to the London Eye.  The London Eye is a great big ferris wheel, 443 feet high.  We rode in a "pod" like thing along with about 20 other people and we could walk around inside of it, take pictures, laugh, sing Happy Birthday to Bob and even get the other passengers to join in (Great job, Ariel).  It takes about a half hour to go a full revolution.  Hannah, Jacob, Ariel, Bob and I went.  It was two trains and a ten minute walk from the house. 

Afterwards we went to a department store called John Lewis.  (They have some great yarn and crochet hooks that have been impossible for me to find in Sarasota). 

Then we had to go to another department store called,  Selfridges to replace the coffee I used for the special coffee machine, a Nespresso machine, that our fellow exchangers use.  There are only two stores that sell it, Selfridges and Harrod's.  We walked in the store and there was literally a line of people waiting to get into the Loius Vuitton section.  A security person only allowed a small, limited number of people in at a time.  I didn't have the heart to tell them that sometimes you can find Loius Vuitton at Goodwill in the states.  The coffee section is like its own boutique.  There was another queue (line) and when it was my turn I told the salesperson what kind of coffee I wanted and how many.  He got them for me and put them in their very own Nespresso bag.  It was almost special.

By now everyone was fairly hungry so we found a spot in a train station that had a number of eateries.  Hannah had to go to the bathroom so I took her and approached two men who worked there and asked them where the restroom is.  They said, "There is no restroom here, but if you go out those doors, cross the street, walk down the alley, blah, blah, blah..."  I took her outside with all intentions of crossing the street but there was road construction right outside the doors- it was not possible to cross the street.  We walked a little bit and I saw a Subway, went inside but there was no bathroom.  Then I asked a salesperson who was hanging outside of a store who pointed to a large department store across the street.  We crossed the street, went into the store, where we were nearly asphyxiated but the perfume salespeople, went up three flights of stairs, found the bathroom, washed our hands in the same weird double fauceted sink, went down three flights of stairs, crossed the street, passed the bathroom-less Subway, got into the train station and found our family just the way we left them.  It was time for us to head back.  Bob and I had a VERY important meeting to get to.

Many of you know that every Friday night, come hell or high water (or even holidays if I had my way) I attend Toastmasters.  I couldn't imagine going two whole weeks without a meeting.  There was a meeting only 20 minutes from the house.  We bid the children fair well and off we went.  This club, the London Athenians, is a big club.  They have 70 members.  I was not invited to participate in Table Topics.  It may be the size of the club, but I suspect that one of my fellow TM members tipped them off about my obsessive need to win the ribbon and that I am willing to do almost anything to get it.  The club meets in a pub and after the meeting many of us went downstairs for a drink and to chat.  Not nearly as cosy as meeting at Panera, but there may be something there for us to consider. 

Bob and I laughed most of the way back to the house.  Where we collapsed into bed after a long, long day.