wandering discoveries in Seattle

So… welcome back to the west coast!

Seattle started inauspiciously (baggage lost in transfer, bus stop lost in roadworks, confession from my academic contact that he hadn’t done any publicity yet for my talk on Monday). The boathouse, the amazing place that I showed you a few posts back, is absolutely amazingly charming, which then triggered something of a ‘wouldn’t it be great to share this with James’ blue.

But, things have got better (my suitcase turned up a mere 8 hours later), and now I’m ready to hit the sack and a busy day tomorrow, so just a few quick impressions and mini adventures from my weekend.

First, Seattle feels more familiar than anywhere else I’ve been in America.

• It’s green, and I can recognise most of the greenery
• It’s hilly, and I can understand the pattern of slopes and water
• It’s got a good smattering of more battered cars
• People cycle
• The accent surprises me less
• The air is fresh, chilly even. (Too chilly when all your extra layers are in a lost suitcase!)
• Sparrows
• Brick buildings

I am staying in Ballard, which is the Scandinavian neighbourhood. I’m really sad I’m not staying on until the 17^th, the Norwegian national day. Bad planning! There are 3-4 story brick warehouse-style buildings, and tree lined streets, and a working dockyard. Also quite a strong artists community, and on the second Saturday of every month they have an ‘Art Walk’ evening event, where all the arty shops and studios are open. Luckily my suitcase got delivered in time to make the last hour of this intriguing form of mooching: friendly, un-pressured, munching snacks and browsing time… an ideal way to spend an evening on your own in a strange city!

Saturday is market day: produce in Ballard, non-produce a few miles down the road in Fremont. Made a few good choices for lunch in the produce: apples and strawberry cake, and a few bad ones: tampale (bland) and hot apple punch (too sweet).

Fremont ‘center of the universe’ is fun, though a little self-conscious in the ‘trendy arty radical’ identity. They do a good line in quirky public art.

I was a little unimpressed with the market, a bit too similar to the kind of stalls you get at festivals. I took time off from being arty and went on an ‘icecream boat cruise’ of the union lake instead. An informative and appropriately cheesy talk, blues brothers music, blankets to wrap up in, a scattering of Moms on their Mother’s Day excursion and a great view of the floating houses, dockyards, Gasworks Park and the underside of Interstate 5. $10 and 1 hour well spent.

The buses deserted me so I walked back to Ballard. A very average light industrial road of little note. But even places of little note are worth noting: a giveaway fridge (Seattle has lots of roadside giveaways… I like this in a place), some isolated but busy eateries, a church with security guards, a shed advertising piano lessons.

And behind the scenes back at Ballard I found a new striking library with a green roof, a stylish and unpretentious new neighbourhood park with a sunken skateboard bowl. I’ve never seen a skateboard park like this before and it was brilliant in combining a challenging venue for skaters with opportunities for safe and unthreatening viewing for people like me and mums with toddlers. Just great.