Seattle!!! We're in America!

Hello and gday from America! So, last thursday saw us leaving Vancouver.....it was a bit grey, and early in the morning...so we were ok...it was sad to leave, but we both feel like we'll be back...for sure! We arrived in Seattle to mroe grey skies....but soon got ourselves settled into the hotel (a gorgeous 1920s building), then headed out into town. Seattle seems to be a city that is trying to be like Vancouver (its very close neighbour...only 3 hours across the border), but not quite getting it right! Or maybe we are biased! We found the Tourist Info, decided what we'd like to do, and headed off to find the bus out to see Cirque Du Soleil! We had deliberately booked this for our first night as we thought it would help us adjust!!!! It was amazing.....at times breathtaking...really breathtaking....i am not sure how the acrobats do some of the things they do. The show we saw was Varekai. It was a great way to start our trip...and if you haven't seen cirque du soleil.....any of the shows, then i recommend it! Friday was Mark's birthday, so we set about exploring! We found the perfect cafe for breakfast..the 5 Point Cafe.....and it was bacon, eggs, sausage and pancakes for him! Then on to the Space Needle - (which i think had quite good odds in the Aukland casino...do you remember Stokoe??!!). We went up to the top, adn enjoyed the panaramic views of the city and the bay! You could even go outside! After the Space Needle we went on a Duck Tour! It is an old WW2 vehical, that drives on land and then is a boat in water. It took us on a tour of the city, both from the road and the lake. Seattle is like Vancouver in that it is surrounded by water everywhere! We invested in 'quackers' and quacked our way around the city! (much to Mark's embarressment!) The driver accidently lost his ducks out the front window (which opened!) and when he leant out to get them he cracked the windscreen....this made for a rather eventful ride!!!! All in all we learnt a lot about the city though and it was a good way to get our bearings! When we returned from that we headed down to the waterfront for Mark's birthday tea....we ate in a lovely seafood restaurant called Anthony's, and enjoyed the sun setting and the moon rising! On the way home we popped into the Crocodile Club....the Croc...for a few drinks...apparently one of the original Seattle music venues. A great birthday for Mark. Saturday we continued exploring the city....we found a great crumpet place for breakfast, then visited Pioneer Square, then went to see some glassblowing - apparently which Seattle is famous for!!! Then it was on to the Science Fiction Museum....which was ace!!! (oh dear....perhaps we are sci-fi fans!!!!! ;-)), and the Experience Music Project...a huge museum dedicated to music, particularly west coast...including the grunge scene, and much more. We also got a chance to record some stuff and learn instruments....i tried the drums! Hmmmmm - don't worry Chris...you're safe! Mark tried mixing, drums and keyboards i think! We also got to do our own concert infront of millions of fans! After that we headed over to Fremont - another area of the city for dinner....a nice, and extremely filling Indian! Sunday was my birthday....and after a breakfast of Crepes, we spent the day looking round the famous Farmers Market...soooo many stalls, so much going on...and amazing flowers.....you can see the ones Mark bought me....well, he would have done if we weren't traveling!!!! (that's what he said!!!!) We also saw the very FIRST Starbucks (be proud Nicola!!!!)....the very original site, in the middle of the market, opened in 1912! There was music and street performers everywhere, the sun was shining and it was a great atmosphere! There was also a Giant Shoe Museum!!! Well.....not a giant shoe museum...as in a huge museum full of shoes...which i was very excited about...but a Giant Shoe museum....a museum for giant shoes!!!! hehehehe Then it was off to the bus station to start our 19 hour, overnight, bus trip to San Francisco! That was an experience!!!! Actually it wasn't too bad.....just some very interesting people watching!!!!! See you in San Francisco!!!! xxxx p.s. spot the STF TShirt Challenge!! xx