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Published: July 11th 2011
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If you find yourself in Seattle and are looking for something interesting to do, go and see the
“Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses” exhibition that is currently on at the Experience Music Project (EMP) set in a Frank Gehry designed building. And here’s how to do it for free avoiding the hefty $17.00 entry fee. Outside the building there are ticket booths selling tickets, but bypass these and head directly to the main entrance and walk boldly in, and chances are no one will stop you. Noone stopped us, and before we realised we needed a ticket we were firmly inside the exhibition! It has loads of artifacts and photography from the band and traces the history of Seattle grunge in a beautifully curated and interactive way. Would’ve been well worth the $17.00 had we paid it.
Seattle
We entered Seattle by boat coming through the Puget sound enroute from Victoria on Vancouver Island. We had hoped to catch a glimpse of some whales and possibly even a dolphin but sadly they eluded us. In Seattle we stayed with awesome hosts Ben and Laura who made us feel so welcome and comfortable and kept us busy all weekend meeting
their friends, and attending various events such as karaoke, and a graduation party BBQ. Together we headed to the annual
Georgetown Carnival that hosts live music and art installations across Georgetown. The bulk is taken up with food and market stalls, and includes a trailer park and a ‘market of curiosities’.
We ventured out for a Cuban inspired meal (Ben assuring us that the food won’t be this good in actual Cuba), and to the various lookouts over the city and to the famous urban sculptures of the famous Fremont Troll, and Waiting for the Interurban. Ben even cooked a delicious steak meal for us! Yum!! Laura had recently acquired a box of those old wooden Cuisenaire rods in tens and units that we remember learning to count with as children. Now as adults we used them to construct tall and complex jenga-style towers before destroying them karate-style.
As Dave and I wandered through the downtown we encountered promoters who were giving away free packets of pita chips and tubs of hummos, so after a brief interlude in true backpacker style, we went back for seconds. Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch? We found
it in Seattle.
At the
Pike Place Market we watched as the mounted policeman and his horse stood idly by, posing for photos with tourists, while a few doors down, deros sat smoking crack and weed in a doorway. At the fish market we saw the “flying fish” demonstration which involved the fish mongers hurtling fish through the air at each other under while tourists happily snapped the spectacle. You can watch Dave’s brief
Flying Fish video here.
Portland
It came time to bid farewell to our new friends, and head south to Portland. We opted for the train, which provided to be a thoroughly enjoyable way to travel.
Amtrak’s Cascades train had large plush seats with ample legroom, clean toilets, super-friendly attendants, an onboard restaurant, observation car (with narrated commentary) and stunning coastal scenery. It was cheap too - we paid just $31 for the 3.5 hour trip.
As an urban planner with a focus on transport I have long been interested in Portland. Hailed as America’s bike city, and rich in public transportation, it’s a model for sustainable city development. The urban regeneration projects, urban design, and new MAX (a lightrail), streetcars, and dedicated bus and cycling lanes didn’t
disappoint.
Rose and Scott our CS hosts in Portland are avid cyclists and were able to provide us with information and their insight into the cycling culture here. Armed with cycling maps, we took to the streets by bike in order to suss it all out. We made the arduous uphill ride (which soon deteriorated into a slow walk and pushing the bike) to the city’s massive urban park, aptly named
Forest Park. Whilst we were there Portland was mid-Pedalpalooza - 2 weeks of bike related events culminating in the famous Naked Bike Ride where cyclist pedal clothed in various states of costume, or undress, bodies covered in paint. Sadly we missed the spectacle.
In Portland’s downtown we saw the remnants of the
Rose Festival – a world map constructed entirely out of flowerpots, with various colours demarcating the different countries. Off to the far right lurked Australia (missing Tasmania) and New Zealand sans Stuart Island. I did the patriotic thing and deftly moved a flowerpot to create the illusion of Stuart Island, but nothing could be done to remedy the Tasmanian situation. We lunched from one of the many food carts that are clustered in ‘villages’ around
the downtown, and found it to satisfy our two most important food criteria: cheap and delicious.
We visited Portland’s
Powells bookstore which is the largest independent bookstore in the world. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when visiting City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, but here in Powells I reached nirvana. And yes I did think of you Miss McManus. It has over 4 levels of books and other reading and writing related paraphernalia, and one could easily while away the hours in the aisles of literature. Heeding the warnings from Dave about increased weight in an already heavily laden backpack, we left the store with just one Mexican guidebook and a blank journal.
Portland is also famous for it’s micro-breweries so on our first night Rose and Scott took us out to their local Micro-brewery which served tasty brews and hearty meals. Staying out in an inner suburb it was great to see a lot of the urban greening and gardening projects underway. Many residents have converted their nature strips into productive food producing gardens and we saw many rows of beans, lettuces and tomatoes growing next to the roadside, and guerrilla art projects
including street intersections painted in brightly coloured designs. It’s one cool city.
So Portland marked the end of our US trip. Both of us were presently surprised by the US – the people and the places, and will definitely return.
Here’s our top US travel trips:
• Get out of the cities. The US has some of the most unique, stunning and pristine natural scenery we’ve ever seen . Strangely the US doesn’t market these natural features abroad, but to us the national parks and natural wonders were the highlight of our US trip – the cities (even the cool ones) paled in comparison.
• Road trip – In order to get beyond the city limits, it has to be done, and camping along the way not only offers a great way to connect with nature (squirrels in particular), it is cheap and you can self cater. Most campsites come with a picnic table and chairs. Don’t buy your tent from Walmart.
• Visit the cool cities: San Francisco, Portland and Seattle and live like a local. Walk a lot. Get on a bike. Ride public transport and talk to randomers. Find out where the
hipsters are.
• When in Vegas, quit while you’re ahead.
• The meals are huge, so buy one and share. And note that “Mexican food” in California does not resemble Mexican food in Mexico. But that’s OK. And you’ll find good espresso in Northern California (though not as good as in Canada). Sample from the local indie breweries - beer never tasted so good.
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Stephanie and Andras
Stephanie
Glad you got to spend some time in one of my favorite places in the U.S - Pike Place Market! The drugs and thugs problem used to be a lot worse on 1st Ave and Western; I suppose if they were keeping it to a doorway and not the public park on the water that's an accomplishment. Hope you got to try some of the salmon on offer from Pike Place Fish - it might be a show but it's not just for tourists! The guys there are just genuinely friendly. I still get my fish there every time I go back, and purchased there for years when I lived downtown. Looks like fun! You're blog made me miss the PNW.