SLEEPLESS IN SIZZLING SEATTLE!

Hi y'all!

We`re all back in one piece t.g. - actually make that 4 big suitcases! From all the shopping we had to buy another case which is not surprising considering our shameful history...In any case (xcuse the pun) on our outgoing journey to Seattle, we were not deterred by a sobering message on a church bulletin board which said`Things do not make you happy```Says who!`Kevin joked ``he that dies with the most stuff wins...``It sparked a big discussion. Though on our way to Seattle to do some shopping, the timing wasn`t the best! Just as well Kevin has a good sense of humour.

Seattle is where Starbucks began as well as Jimi Hendrix and Bill Gates. You can spock it and rock it at the science and music museums and view the clothes worn by the Star Trekkers and Jimi Hendrix. Real boytown energy...gadgets and gizmos, rock `n roll, guns and science fiction.

Microsoft money is very much in evidence around Seattle`s cultural hot spots, though there is nothing micro or soft about the millions that their famous son, Bill Gates, has poured into his native town. The Seattle Art Museum was definitely worth a visit and one of the best I`d seen in a long time, because of the variety of exhibits, from ancient religious artefacts dating back to the 1400`s to magnificent silverware, porcelain, native art, Dutch and French artists, modern art - the whole gamut. Not a boring second and I was kept constantly in surprise. A treat for busy minds.

Ditto the Seattle Symphony Hall which seats 2,500 people and cost $118 million dollars to build. Apparently it is regarded as one of the top 3 in the world, from an acoustic point of view. There was a hall dedicated to Bill and Melinda Gates. I guess at that rate, they wouldn`t want to divorce now because so many things around Seattle are in their honour!!

Huge money was also in evidence at the Aquarium which has to be the best in the world - Unreal! To be honest I wasn`t particularly excited at the thought of an Aquarium...it always puts me off eating my favourite food--fish! This time it was different. I befriended an amazing octopus named `Buster`. She was absolutely fascinating. People joked that she really liked me because she had hidden in a sulk under a rock for two months and then the two of us started smiling at each other and she began to do all sorts of tricks and changed her colour and pretended to devour a 3 ft eel and winked at me and turned on her many toes and I just couldn`t get enough of Buster. The others had to pull me away from her--literally! I suppose it is the piscean in me...

Apparently King Bill lives in a 66,000 sq. foot palace in Seattle and has a 40 car capacity garage--and I thought he lived modestly! He still cowers to his father, Bill Snr. an Attorney, who is 6 ft. 6 inches in height and works in the company with him. Bill jnr. was an only son and at the age of 12 he objected to his parent`s obsessive control so they brought him for some counselling. Now they all live happily together, Bill, his widowed dad Bill Snr. Melinda and his 3 children. Their enormous house is all computer operated--naturally! The things you learn in Seattle.

Other things I discovered - Seattle has 416 Starbucks outlets. Every second place is a coffee shop. The city began with the gold rush around 1807 (if I remember what the tour guide said!) and was just a few lads panning for gold, a pub and a brothel...You can really feel that male energy around Pioneer Square the oldest part of the city.

The best value in town is the city pass - it just costs $54 per person and well worth every penny. For that we had free entrance into the Seattle art museum, the aquarium, a cruise, the space needle, the science museum and the music museum - all terrific places to visit.

We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel on 6th Ave. bang in the middle of the action. A fantastic location but expensive for dining and not really that great. We had breakfast there one morning and it was rather tasteless and the orange juice did not taste freshly squeezed. I know `size matters`but Gawd! when they brought me out an omelette the size of an elephant`s trunk, it really put me off, even more so when it tasted of nothing. If you want food - take a trip to the Pike Market. Great fresh fruit and food on the go. Flowers at $5 a bunch which would easily be $30 here in Victoria. All the locals shop at the Pike Market, which is surely one of the MUST SEES in Seattle.

Family fun is all thrown together with adult fun, in a rather `couldn`t care less`manner around the market. As I waited for my DELICIOUS felafel at the Felafel King take-out, I was entertained by the bunting across the street `Showgirls with nothing on but a smile` and sex toys for sale only a few doors down from the toy shops selling proper toys in the original sense of the word - you know Curious George, etc.

So if you`re thinking of planning a trip to Seattle, I`ll throw in my penny`s worth...

MUST DO: City Pass

MUST GET: Hotel that is in a central location - they are all offering killer deals now as business is down due to the recession

BEST SHOP: Nordstrom Rack which sells designer stuff at a fraction of the cost elsewhere.

MOST FUN ACTIVITY:

Ride the ducks...This is a 90 mins. tour of Seattle by land and sea. The ducks are fully restored WW11 amphibious landing craft. They are driven by coast-guard certified Captains and they do as they promise which is to Quack-you-up with local folklore, historical information, funky music and it really is a lot of fun. We had a great Captain - Captain Hugo and it was really a travelling party as we sang party songs - 70`s disco music, Frank Sinatra and it was one of my most memorable experiences. I bought a plactic duck noisemaker and drove Kevin and the girls nuts blowing it all the time. I got great mileage out of it so every time I got lost, I blew it and they knew where to find me!!

That`s all the news about our Seattle Adventure...Definitely worth a visit!

Lotsa love for now...

Patricia Delisha

P.S. Somebody asked me ``so whatever happened to your resolution to live simply...I`m actually wondering the same thing myself!!