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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Day 17- Seattle, here comes the Couchsurfers!


This morning we ended up sleeping in a little later then we had planned, which is just what we needed after staying up until all hours of the night. As the morning progressed we said goodbye to our new friends form Czech Republic and Costa Rica, and 4 of us Couchsurfers decided to head out as a group into Seattle! The hour ferry ride over was just lovely. We all sat together conversing and laughing and talking about our lives, interests, and Couchsurfing in general. I learned so much about many different cultures, and it was only the beginning of the day!
Hello, Seattle!


After we landed in Seattle we headed to Pike Place Market. Now everyone had told me I had to go here, including my sister who was in Seattle just 3 months ago. So off we went, walking and talking and running people over. One of our new Couchsurfer friends was from New York, and is going to school for photography. We hit it off and I enjoyed talking photography stuff with her. As we talked we both mentioned how sometimes we just don’t feel inspired to take photos while on vacation. It is vacation after all. I also said that for me, most of the photos I have the opportunity to shoot are of more touristy things, and that is not really want I want a memory of. And honestly, the few memories of touristy things I do want to preserve, I can capture very easily with my Iphone. So that is just a small explanation to all of you out there who have been wondering why I don’t have many pictures in a lot of these posts. For those of you who followed me while I was in Hawaii in February, I find it much easier (and I am way more inspired) to take photos when I am photographing children. Children were always with me in Hawaii, children are never with me here.



Pike Place Market was just not what I expected. I thought it might be like a huge mall, with overprices tourist traps. Instead, it was a beautiful open air market that was similar to a very large flea-market. There was amazing fresh fruits and vegetables, every kind of noodle you could want (including dark chocolate1) There were also lots of cute little shops. After we had walked through, one of the Couchsurfer’s friends texted her and told her about an amazing place to get Mac and Cheese in Pike Place! We headed there for lunch, and boy was it good! Very rich, but delicious, and filled with cheese they make on-stie!




After that we split up so that there was just 4 of us, and we headed down towards something we wanted to do, but then realized that we wanted ice cream. My sister had recommend a place that was two blocks back, so off we went in the other direction. The ice cream was from Cupcake Royale, and it was just amazing. (Don’t you love my “diet” for the day?) I got the WA salted toffee with fudge swirls. (or something like that.)

Then we headed back in the other direction, and made our way to something we had heard about called the Underground tour. I was a 75 minute tour that I thought was overpriced, but I certainly learned TONS of information. The basic gist of it was just that in the late 1800’s Seattle was having some flooding problems, so they built the roads up so that everything reached the second stories of buildings. Therefore, there remains to this day, sidewalks and doors that are literally under the streets of Seattle. It was neat to see, but definitely not the best tour.

And this, lady and gentleman, is where I have exciting news! If you have been following Rebekah over at lovingforreal.blogspot.com then you will be pleased to hear that the rest of the day is different on each of our blogs! I ended up going back to our host’s house with two surfers, and Rebekah went to see a few more sights with 2 other surfers.


The ferry ride back was again wonderful, and I really enjoyed getting to know the couple from New York. Once we got back to the house we discovered that there were four more surfers for the night, and they were from France! They had cooked a dinner for us, called Tartiflette, which is basically a brie, potato and bacon dish. It was just wonderful, and I enjoyed every bite!



After that the New York surfers and I headed out for some grocery shopping and enjoyed more wonderful time getting to know each other!

Now I sit here, enjoying Trader Joes’s mints, a cup of Tazo Calm tea, and writing this post. It has been an amazing day, and enjoyed every second!




Before, I go, I want to give you a quick blurb on Couchsurfing. If you have not done it, DO IT. If you have not been able to tell how amazing and wonderful Couchsurfing is from my posts, well, you must not be reading them. I understand that it will not fit every personality type, but I really do think that it fits a lot! You get to meet so many new wonderful people, learn about them, their culture, their lives, their traditions, and also teach them about you and your life! It had presented so many wonderful experiences (and no negative ones!) and I will never for get all the wonderful friends I have made through it. If you get the chance, TRY IT. (Go to www.couchsurfing.com ) for more info.


~Rebekah

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