Seattle with Owen and Sophie

The ferry from Victoria to Seattle left from the harbour not far from our hotel, so we were able to walk there with our suitcases. The ferry departure was slightly delayed, leaving about 10.45am, and arriving at Seattle just before 3pm. We caught a taxi to our Airbnb in Wallingford, owned by Joanna. It is a cute 'craftsman' style house, with plenty of room for the guests, though a shared kitchen and living space.

Owen and Sophie, and Sophie's dad Doug, arrived about 7.30pm and took us to dinner at a relaxed bistro called PigandCo. The next morning, Saturday, they picked us up about 10.30am and we went to Green Lake Park, where they went for a run and we walked and sat around. We went back to their house, very cute and comfortable, had lunch on their sunny back verandah. However, the nice weather didn't continue - in fact, it rained quite heavily - and our activities were curtailed except for a trip to get SIM cards and prepay for Neil's mobile and my iPad.

By evening the rain

had cleared and Neil and I had dinner at a local Turkish restaurant called Bodrum, where we ate dishes of stuffed eggplant and chicken and veg in filo.

On Sunday morning we went with Owen and Sophie to the Ballard Farmers Market which had a very impressive range of heritage and specialist vegetables, and late summer fruit, including Pluots (a cross between plums and apricots) which we had never seen before. We went from there to a cafe in a repurposed old fire station, and had brunch of heritage tomato eggs Benedict and a bacon and egg arrangement served on a Belgian waffle with maple syrup (only in America).

Owen and Sophie took us for coffee to a very serious coffee place where they served 'deconstructed' cafe latte, consisting of three glasses, one with a small amount of espresso coffe, the next with frothed milk, and the third with these mixed. You are supposed to drink them, sip by sip, in turn. Unfortunately the effect was unimpressive as the particular coffee beans used were very bitter, even somewhat burnt tasting. Still, an experience.

Also in Ballard, we went to see the locks and fish ladder. The locks, built in the early 20th century, link Puget Sound to Lake Washington, and the fish ladder was constructed at the same time to enable salmon to make their habitual journey from the freshwater lake to the sea in spring, and the return journey in autumn. It is towards the end of the salmon migration now but we still saw large salmon in the tanks that form part of the 'ladder', though we didn't see any actually leaping from one tank to the next.

Monday was a public holiday, so we were able to have another day with Owen and Sophie. It was also the day for our changeover in accommodation, so they picked us up, with luggage, and took us to their place. They had booked tickets for all of us, including Doug, for a 'duck' tour of Seattle. Neil prepared sandwiches and we headed into the city by bus. It was, of course, a very touristy thing, with lots of honking of duck whistles (handed out with the tickets), loud music and silly jokes. Despite all, the section on the water, at Lake Union, was very enjoyable and the whole trip was in lovely warm weather.

In the afternoon we went with Owen and Sophie to a nursery and bought lots of seedlings - rocket, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, etc - for their vegetable garden.

Owen deposited us at our new Airbnb - where the owner wasn't at home and in fact was only seen briefly the next morning - and Jan

went back with him to help with digging over, fertilising and planting the vegetable garden in their sunny and sheltered front yard. We finished quite late and Jan went back to the BnB - still no one around - where we had a simple meal from the supermarket.

On Tuesday morning we started our solo Seattle experience by catching the bus to the EMP centre. With its exhibitions on film genres such as science fiction, horror and fantasy, we didn't expect to find a lot that we would recognise or be interested in, but in fact we found it fascinating and entertaining, and returned to see more after lunch. It takes a thematic approach and follows themes historically, and we were surprised to realise how many of the major films in these genres we have seen over the years, dating back to our childhood.

The EMP building itself is significant, designed by Gehry.

Later in the afternoon we caught the monorail to the Westlake Centre and bought travel cards, then made our way down to the Edgewater Hotel where we were to meet Owen and Sophie at the bar. We set ourselves up at a window seat and had 'happy hour' drinks until Owen and Sophie appeared. There was a great view over the harbour, and we even saw a seal swimming by, as well as many seabirds.

After drinks we all went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner.

On Wednesday we did two of Seattle's major tourist attractions: the Space Needle and Chihuly exhibition. Our ticket for the Space Needle - essentially a very high viewing platform - allowed us to make two visits in 24 hours, so we did the first in the early afternoon and the second at 7.30pm. It was a very clear and warm day, so great for viewing the 360 degree view of Seattle, with mountains behind.

In the afternoon we visited the Chihuly exhibition, which houses the sculptural works of glass artist Dale Chihuly, which he has given on a 30 year loan. While he is most often known for his chandeliers, these were our least favourite sections of the exhibition. The Persian ceiling was especially impressive, as were the flower garlands hanging from the roof of the glasshouse.

The evening visit to the Space Needle was the most enjoyable. We had a light meal at a table near the window and watched the city gradually light up as the twilight turned to night. As well we were seated near the spot where people stood to have their photos taken with the city in the background. It was fun watching them compose themselves for the camera.

On Friday we visited the Pike Markets and the aquarium. We

wandered the length of the market stalls, and saw the famous salmon tossing - in reality just a bit of fun for the tourist crowds. The old section of market shops was also interesting, the buildings well preserved and businesses all local, without any of the downtown chains.

The aquarium was busy, mainly with children and grandparents. The displays are varied and educational in an easy way. The feeding of the fish by divers is very entertaining.