As usual, I didn't bring shampoo with me, so I had to go out to buy it for my morning shower. 'Where can I get shampoo?'. The guy at the hostel desk smiles: 'Just here, for free, people keep forgetting it in the showers'. I grin, proud to be a big contributor to these free shampoo reserves wherever I go, and happy to get something back from them for once.
Ready to go, Starbucks down the road. Not much of a fan, but well, it's Seattle, Starbucks city. After I order, the girl behind the bar smiles and asks how is my morning. 'Great, first one in Seattle actually'. 'Oh, welcome, make sure you check Pike market right there'. 'Yeah, that was the plan, thanks!' 'Ok, have a great day and enjoy your coffee'. It's my fourth time in the US, but every time I come I am gladly surprised by the incredibly good service pretty much everywhere. Some people might argue that it's fake, but, even if that were the case, they are so good at faking it that it feels real, which is what matters when I go for my morning coffee. I would say Spain is definitely the country with the worst service among all the ones I have been to, and I can tell you that's for sure not fake :P
Coffee in hand, I head towards Pike Place Market, just across the street. Most stands are still closed, but it already looks great. First shop, a left-wing/anarchist bookshop, closed for anti-earthquakes reforms, asking the patrons to buy gift cheques so the shop can survive until it reopens.
In the main part of the market, three vibrant floors of stands with flowers, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, all kind of food, movies, comics, music, a magic shop and giant shoes, among others.
Everything you can imagine is on sale in beautiful looking stands and shops, and, more importantly, the attendants seem to love what they are doing and look warmly at their goods. Sometimes you can get a peek at the bay through the windows of one of the cafes.
After going down to check the waterfront, I have scrambled eggs with veggies and cheese for breakfast in one of these cafes.
Then, I quickly visit the first Starbucks coffee shop ever, part of the market and opened in 1971, and then go to have a look at the Metsker Maps shop. I dig maps so I spend half an hour there, browsing old maps and guides of the places I am planning to visit. I love the shop, so decide to buy something just for the sake of it. After a while I decide to get a Banff, Jasper and Glacier National Parks guide and to spend a week there (in the parks, not in the shop).
I had heard about this 'underground tour' somewhere, so I decide to check it out, without really knowing what kind of 'underground' we are talking about. The tour starts at Doc Maynard's public house. Our guide is Rick, a retired Alaskan-born Seattleite, who has been doing this tour for 16 years and loves the city. He starts from the beginning, how Seattle was founded, their problems with the sewers and how toilets flushing in the wrong direction didn't help business. Then he takes us literally underground, into the old Seattle that stands below the streets and sidewalks nowadays, and there explains to us how Seattle was built by men and women of dubious reputation, how a tax on prostitution amounted for almost all the budget of the city for years and how they partied underground for decades. The tour is based in the history of Seattle as told in Sons of the profits by Bill Speidel and it's definitely worth the money.
Rick mentioned that the Elliott Bay Book Company, just two blocks down the road, had been chosen as one of America's top 10 bookshops, so I go there and have a look. It is a brilliant place, all wood except for some brick walls and totally packed with books. After a quick look around I go to the travel loft, browse a few books there and end up buying John Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie: In search of America. Although it's a bit outdated, as Steinbeck's road trip took place in the 60s, I hope it might help me decide where to spend the last month of the trip. The bookshop also has a beautiful cafe which makes use of the underground level we had just learned about in the tour.
After this I have to walk by Pike Place Market again. By now the weather is great and the market is buzzing with activity. A lot of people, including musicians and other artists, hang around the streets and the green areas near the waterfront and I know that I would love to live in Seattle, less than a day after arriving to the city.
I just keep walking towards the Space Needle, to at least take a close picture of this far cousin of the Dublin Spire. I finally take the bus to go to my hosts' place, who live in a beautiful suburban area called Magnolia, quite Wisteria Lane-like.
Bill and Ix-Chel, my hosts, are also hosting Ignacio, a guy from Bilbao who has been traveling around for over three years, including more than a year in Africa, using HelpX to improve his travel experiences.
After talking for a while, Bill proposes to play Guitar Hero. It is my first time. After a few tries I start to not suck too much :P
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