USA: Seattle Picasa Pics

USA: Seattle

(post by Colin)

Hi Folks,

After a 4.5 hour journey on the Greyhound Cascades train from Vancouver we arrived to Seattle train station. We recommend this journey, which is not very long and you enjoy great views all the way.

Long stretches of beach for most of the journey

A sawmill we saw en route to Seattle

Upon arrival we  hung out in Pioneer Square. It was a beautiful day which was a welcome relief to the weather in Vancouver..

Pioneer Square

Pioneer Square dressed Trees etc..

Pioneer Sq - outdoor chess

After whiling  a few hours away and checking online for car rental ....

Colin looking for a Car..

...we eventually got a reasonable deal and headed over to the place to pick up the car which we will have for the next 30 days and which will take us on the slow journey to LA.   So we got the car and headed over to Bellevue where we would be staying for the next few days.

We stayed  with Mike and  his lovely wife Caprice.  Mike is the CEO  of GMI - the company I worked for most recently..

Thank you Mike and Caprice for being such lovely hosts and for being so welcoming and generous!

:-)

Mike & Caprice

They have a beautiful home in Bellevue and we had a lovely room in the basement.  When we arrived Mike and Caprice provided us with a much appreciated glass of wine ( or 3 !) and a lovely meal - chicken on the BBQ - and some great conversation.  We had this on the deck - Sun, good food, good wine and good conversation. We all agreed - we don't need much more - this is bliss..

The next day after a  long lie in ( we were so tired.. !)  Kizzy and I  eventually headed into Seattle..

The first stop was  Pike Place Market . This is Seattle's famous indoor market. It is huge and sells everything you could possibly imagine..

Sign @Pike Place Market

 We saw the first ever Starbucks..

1st Starbucks @Pike Place

We could easily have spent  the whole day  here - but we wanted to pack in as much as we could and so we headed towards the Waterfront..

View of the City from the Waterfront

View from the Waterfront.

We walked all the way along until we reached the Olympic Sculpture Park.  This is a free area sponsored by one of Seattle's most famous entrepreneurs - Mr Bill Gates. It gives a hint as to  the cities heritage as a center of art , music and culture....

?

Perre's Ventaglio III, 1967
Beverly Pepper  
2005.200

Wake, 2004
Richard Serra  
2004.94

Split, 2003
Roxy Paine  
T2004.106 (on loan)

We moved on from here and went towards the Seattle Centre - home of the Seattle  Space Needle and the EMP (Experience Music Project).  The Space Needle is  a tower with a revolving restaurant and observation deck at the top.. We did not go up because the weather was not good and we did not think we would get a view..  You can take a look at the view yourself from here....

Seattle Space Needle

Of course one of Seattle's famous sons is the great Jimmy Hendrix and I was keen to see the exhibit in the EMP - Seattles Music Museum.  This museum is owned and run by another of Seattle's famous sons -  Paul Allen - Microsoft's co-founder and houses his entire collection of music and sci fi related paraphernalia... There was also a Nirvana exhibit and a special exhibit about  the  film - Avatar

EMP Building, Seattle

EMP - Guitar Sculpture

Hendrix exhibit..

Hendrix stage outfit

Woodstock Ticket

Hendrix Lyrics from Straight Ahead..

Smashed Guitar

Kizzy wearing Avatar Navi Boots

Colin wearing NAvi boots

 I could not leave the exhibition without first playing an instrument.. Here is me having a session on the drums !!

Colin in the Studio..

Funky Drummer...

We took a wander through the streets of Seattle....taking a few pics here and there..

and then on Mike's recommendation we had a fantastic meal at McCormick & Schmicks - a Seattle seafood institution...

McCormick & Shmicks

We arrived home after 9pm and pretty much went straight to bed. Kizzy and I were determined that we  needed some exercise the next day and so we got up much earlier and headed out for a hike on Cougar Mountain..  Unfortunately not many views on this hike as it was so heavily forested and Kizzy was not happy because the mozzies were going crazy...

Cougar Mountain

Caterpillars..

Kizzy protecting herself from Mozzies !

Upon arriving home that night - Mike and Caprice prepared a beautiful dinner  -  Salmon, Corn on the Cob  - grilled on the BBQ  and Salad.. and not forgetting some delicious wine.   Mike and Caprice have their own Vineyard in Argentina and so know a thing or two about picking a good wine... :-)

Mike Brochu

Caprice Brochu

Mike, Colin, Kizzy & Caprice on the deck...

 We left the nextt morning and drove to Long Beach, Washington.  We  have checked into a nice hotel - it is kind of shabby chic.. meaning that they have taken old crates and made them into bed side tables and stuff - but actually pretty nice and clean and if I stretch..... i can just make out the sea.... :-)

Click here for Seattle Picasa Pics.

Kizzy will post the next update on Long Beach..

 Until then  - we love you and leave you...

Colin & Kizzy.
xx

Canada: Vancouver, Vancouver Island & Gulf Islands Picasa Pics

Click on the photo above....

Canada: Vancouver, Vancouver Island & Gulf Islands

( Post by Colin)

Hi All,

We are currently on the Amtrack  train  on the way from Vancouver - Canada  to Seattle - USA.  The train has WIFI that works !  We just passed the US border and I am seeing how much of the blog I can get up to date.  We arrived in Vancouver on 27th June and today is 18th July.  We were in Vancouver during the Royal Visit of  William and  Kate to Canada.. This has dominated the press here..  It has been a busy time so lots to update you all with...

For the whole time in Vancouver we stayed with my Aunty and Uncle - Margaret and Graham who kindly put us up and showed us great kindness and generosity. It was so wonderful to spend time with family and have a chance to tighten the bonds.  There is really something in our family which I really appreciate - the desire to debate, to philosophise, to verbally joust -  but  where the aim is not to be right but to extend knowledge..  Thanks  for everything Margaret and Graham. You are true gems..and we look forward to  seeing you again..

Col, Margaret, Graham, Kizzy

So the day after we arrived we met up with my Cousin Malcolm - those who have been following will remember that I have 3 cousins in Canada  - We had  the pleasure of meeting the other Cousins in other parts of Canada - Malcolm was the last to meet.   Malcolm  took us on a Whistle-stop tour..

Malcolm

We went to Kitts beach and got our first view of the City.. through the mist and rain..  Unfortunately a constant theme of Vancouver was that the weather was not great.  Apparently normally it is roasting in July - but I guess with us Brits in town we brought the rain. 

Vancouver Downtown from Kitts Beach

Laughing Statues

Whilst we were in Vancouver it was Canada Day - 1st July...  We went into the city to see what was going on and to join in with the celebrations.  The first thing we came across was  walls of apologies to the city for the recent riot after the hockey game - I am sure this made the international news - when the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup they rioted in Vancouver. Apparently this is  very unusual and half the city turned up the next day to help with the cleanup..

Vancouver riot message

Vancouver riot messages

We headed to the main touristy part  ( as you do..)- Canada square where the crowds were beginning to form and music beginning on various stages

Canada Square - Canada Day

African Drumming Group on Stage

 Kizzy also managed to get in on a photo shoot to be on an online art project - a Canadian Flag made up of photos - see if you can spot her here.. ( somewhere on the far right at the top!)

 We had agreed to meet my Aunty and Uncle on Granville Island where more Canada Day celebrations were happening.. upon the way we happened across another Canada Day celebration - which was  cleverly - in a very loose sense - re-named Canna-bis Day ;-)  A stage was set up and someone was speaking about the legalisation of Cannabis..  Ana and I were completely shocked (!!!???!!)  because there was lots of stalls in the square and these stalls were openly selling cannabis products..  !!! This is Canada not Amsterdam... There was no police in site and it seemed that they must know about this but not care.. And for those who  feel inclined to ask - NO WE DID NOT SMOKE ANY !

Canna-bis Day...

Sublime rhyming... hmmm

Really ??

Cannabis Cookies

Bags of Cannabis

The artistry just gets better and better....

We arrived at Granville Island to meet my Uncle and Aunty and hung our there  taking in the festival vibe for the rest of that day..

Canada Day Poster

The balancing rock Artist

Canada Day costumes...

Maple Leaf Tats

Canadian Flag

Evil Cat with Canada Bandana !

 Once again on this trip we met my second cousins ( once removed) Malcolm and his wife Mari's kids..  Isabel and Malcolm ( Junior)  Soooo cute... ( Yes I know I am broody...... !)

Isabel and Malcolm

and Yes - that is a baseball (well soft-ball)  game in the background.. 

Mari hitting it out of the park !

 Ana and I spent a day at Stanley Park and  on another occassion visited the UBC Anthropological museum.  Stanley Park is the second biggest city park in the world. I believe the largest is central park in New York.  It is so cool to have such massive wide open green spaces in the middle of a city. Even better than London Parks !   Actually one of the major impressions in Vancouver is just how spacious and green and  outdoorsy it is.. Lovely... An other major area of interest are the original peoples of Canada- First nations.  Kizzy and I were fascinated to learn a little bit about their rich and diverse cultures and it sparked a curiosity to learn more..  It seems we may have lost much of value from these peoples.. In the park you can find many Totem Poles.  We also  really loved the art of the First Nations peoples..

A statement of  the Haida tribe.

View from Stanley Park

Col & Kizzy @ Stanley Park with Totem Poles

Eagle @ top of Totem pole

Part of  Totem Pole

Statue from Anthropological Museum

Horned Totem - Anthropological Museum

First Nation Village - Anthropological Museum

One of the great highlights of the trip was spending time visiting Vancouver Island and Mayne Island
(one of the Gulf Islands). These Islands are all between 30 mins and 2 hours  from  Vancouver by Ferry  and are like beautiful tropical islands..  ( when the sun is shining..)  Vancouverites are so lucky to have this on theri doorstep.  Vancouver Island itself is almost as long as the Britain just not as wide..  Not sure of the total size - but Britain is not much bigger.  The difference is that Britain has 60 million people and Vancouver Island has 1 million !

BC Ferries @ Active Pass

Active Pass

On Main Island we rented some Scooters...................................................................................................

Col on Scooter

Kizzy with Helmut

 We saw some beautiful sights and I braved the freezing waters...

Mayne Island View

Mayne Island view 2

Colin Swimming

Cool rock erosion..

 On Vancouver Island we visited the Capital.. Victoria..  which is very pretty.  It is the seat of the BC Government and very British looking..

Empress Hotel

Col, Kizzy, Graham, Margaret @ Parliament Buildings

US with Actors dressed as they might have been  in 1800'a

John Lennon's Car in BC Museum eh?

Kizzy with Statue of Emily Carr

And we captured a beautiful twilight sky in Qualicum Bay..

Kizzy and Col - Qualicum Bay

Qualicum Bay view

Finally we  visited a temperate rain forest with trees over 1000 years old.  The sense of calm and tranquility in the place was incredible. It felt like a cathedral of nature and we found ourselves wanting to whisper...  Perhaps this is the reason they call it Cathedral Grove...

Cathedral Grove Trees

Cathedral Grove Tree 2

Cathedral Grove Bridge

So not long to go now readers.... Just a few more key highlights and then we are up to date.   Kizzy and I had the privilege of doing a trek  with Malcolm and Mari that Vancouverites call "The Grind" and not without good reason.  This is a trek that does not let up - only about 3k - but steep all the way ...  By the end I felt like I was walking through treacle..  but it was well worth it for the views ...

Grouse Grind..

Ow that hurts.

Mari,Malcolm, Colin & Kizzy  - At the top !

The views from Grouse Mountain..

So last but not least - we had a pleasure to meet with Gulin on 3 occasions and met her fantastic kids.. Gulin is an old work colleague of mine who moved to  Vancouver 7 years ago.   She is really lovely and it was good to get a reminder of home and  also to make a new friend in Vancouver..   Thanks Gulin :-) Also given that we are considering making Vancouver a home in the future - good to get the opinion of a Londoner !

Gulin & Kizzy

Zarina and Leon

Zak

On our penultimate night we went out with Gulin and met her friend Mark who was a very good lad and treated us to Bubble Tea..  This is a drink which originates in Taiwan and is incredibly popular in Canada. It is lovely but a little strange - it has these strange jelly like balls in the bottom that you suck up through a large straw- check out the wikipedia entry here

Col, Gulin, Mark & Kizzy

Bubble Tea

 And here is a pic from the last meal with all the family in Vancouver. A lovely steak house..

Vancouver Family

Vancouver was also a place that gave us time to reflect on the journey so far, on our lives and on our relationship. It became a place of some debate between Kizzy and I  and some deep communication from which I feel we emerge stronger.

 So - what's the verdict....  Kizzy and I loved Vancouver - the space, the nature, the diversity, the  cool but different areas..  We could definitely live here...  

One more thing  - a huge congratulations to our friends in London -  Liam and Sadia -  on the birth of their daughter Farah  And a huge welcome to the world to Farah.   We look forward to seeing some pics soon..

Please click here for Picasa Album..

Love you all loads..

Colin & Kizzy

PS - it is the next morning and we are in Seattle...