Seattle is very hilly. The first trudge up Seneca from the train station to our hotel was challenging. The walk downhill back to the station will be very fast, I think.
Seattle has fewer people than Fort Worth and half as many as Dallas. Yet downtown Seattle is much more urban than anything in Texas.
Wherever we go, we see more and more homeless people. Is this because we are going to the same places the homeless go, or are there more homeless everywhere in the U.S.?
If you think there are a lot of Starbucks where you live, come to Seattle, where they're at least two on every block. High-rise office buildings have several, conveniently placed on intermediate floors. We've seen one McDonald's.
In the mid-1980s, there was a move to make the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" the official Washington state song.
Unlike Texas, Seattle has topography.
Seattle is clean: little trash, no dog poop.
Public transportation here is extensive but expensive. There are many overlapping systems -- it's difficult and confusing to switch from bus to train to streetcar to monorail to ferry. There are no passes for visitors. Because of all this, we've decided to walk.
On a clear day there's a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier from the top of the Columbia Center, Seattle's tallest building.
I'm still snapping for Flickr.
When Terri asked if there were places to walk in downtown Seattle I remember thinking you'll get a good workout just walking the hilly streets. Sounds like you've discovered that. When I've used the bus system outside just using the tunnel to zip around downtown, I've had someone give me precise instructions as to what bus to get on to get from north Seattle to downtown. I've never tried to figure it out on my own. Is the waterfront trolley back working? I know it closed while the Sculpture Park was built. That park is where the trolley's north terminus was. The trolley took you from the north end of the waterfront to the International District. I'd park by the Seattle Center, walk down to the trolley, take the bus tunnel to Westlake Center, then the monorail back to Seattle Center. Doing fun stuff along the way.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm glad that, despite the dire forecast, no rain has fallen on you.
Durango, I can say we have now had the complete Washington experience, because we've gotten wet in the rain. Several times.
ReplyDeleteAbout the buses, we pride ourselves on figuring out transportation systems all over the world, but we gave up on Seattle. Too much hassle, and it's too easy to walk where you want to go.
The trolley is still not running, but they say they have a bus taking its place temporarily.