Seattle

We caught the train at Emeryville station which is over the Bay Bridge from SF at about 6pm. Found out little sleeper room. It was the cutest thing with a long couch which made into a double bed (plus another single bed which folded down). It also has a comfy chair, a basin and a table that folded up between the couch and chair. The bathroom was very small with a toilet and shower. We settled in and made ourselves at home pretty quickly.

We were able to order dinner in our room and because at this stage I was feeling pretty ordinary with a cold etc. we decided to eat there rather than inflict my coughing and sneezing on everyone else. It was great food and Russ really enjoyed his steak.

We settled down to sleep for the night and were rocked off to sleep with the movement of the train.

I woke up quite early (especially for me!!!). I looked out the window to be greeted by the most amazing mountains topped withn snow. It was sooo beautiful. The scenery was just as stunning all the way to Seattle. We arrived early in the morning, dumped our bags at the hotel and walked, walked and walked some more. We checked out the main city area but I started to feel a bit unwell so we went back to the hotel and I slept for ages.

Next morning poor Russ was woken with the sounds of my coughing. Rotten timing but what can you do? So we caught a tourist bus and explored the city further. We saw the seaport which was full of converted warehouses used for events and entertainment. There was a big fun park area as well. Seattle has an old reputation as a rough and industrial area but it has moved on from that and is a really interesting place. We went into the areas where grunge music had its start. If we had had more time, there was a huge exhibition on the history of music in the area but we had to move on.

The bus then took us to the Seattle needle. As it is the 50th anniversary of the World Expo in Seattle there was lots of information on the Expo and construction of the needle. We then took the lift up and spent a lot of time appreciating the amazing views from the top and taking photos.

By then I was feeling pretty awful so we headed back to the hotel for some comforting soup, washing some clothes and huge rest. Next morning Russ went out for another exploratory walk while I was sleeping, we packed up and headed back for the station for the next step on our exciting journey.