Come as you are – to Seattle

As some people say, go to Seattle and you’ll know why Kurt Cobain killed himself. It really is a very grey city. Our entire stay was shrouded in a mist which would be more at home in the UK, and the streets have a certain quietness that goes with such weather.

But I think it’s fairer to say you’ll know why Nirvana wrote the music they did. It’s a city for book reading, movie watching, music making and discussions over coffee. Whenever the weather got too much for us – too cold or too drizzly – it was an excuse to stop at a cafe for chilli soup, for crumpets, or for coffee and a cookie; or an excuse to pop into the wonderful Elliot Bay Books to buy heavy hardcover things we never realised we needed; or an excuse to pop into yet another record store over-flowing with new and used CDs in all imaginable genres.

So I can imagine it would be a good place to hang out in a shed with a few mates and make some melancholy rock music. Although this grey weather = melancholy music theory doesn’t stack up when you think about Glasgow’s twee pop masters, Belle & Sebastian.

Seattle Center

My list of things to check out in Seattle:

Georgetown. Unless you’re into Fantagraphics Comics there’s no real reason to come here, but this area known as the wild west has an abandoned industrial town feel to it – and in a good way. Cute cafes and bars are popping up around here too.

Capitol Hill. I think this is the swankier part of town. Suddenly there were people dressed in coats rather than in waterproof North Face jackets and sneakers (the uniform for the rest of the city). Pike Fish Fry is an excellent place for all your deep fried needs – even the vegetables are fried. The fish and chips were the best I can remember but there’s also pulled pork and hanger steak for the non-fish lovers out there.

Pioneer Square. Pretty area of downtown where Elliot Bay Books is located.

Pike Place Market. The tourist epi-centre. Buy some donuts because you want something warm and comforting then regret it later. On 1st Ave but still part of the markets is The Crumpet Shop. It’s probably the only place to go for decent tea, not to mention home-made crumpets.

Seattle Centre. More touristy-ness which is probably an equivalent to Sydney’s Darling Harbour but the lack of sunshine gives it an abandoned theme park feel, in a good way though (I’ve really got a soft spot for neon signs glowing in the mist now).

The Experience Music Project is in the Seattle Centre Park. Go there to check out more garishly shiny work of Frank Gehry and then stay to learn how to play the chord progression from Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’.

Coffee places other than Starbucks. I’m confused that Starbucks (the worst coffee in the world) comes from a place known for having good coffee. Did Starbucks once make good coffee but the standards went down as they expanded across the globe? It’s the white elephant in the room so I didn’t dare ask but instead found some places with a menu I recognised and espresso machines rather than drip coffee sitting bitter in the corner. A tiny hole in the wall, Cafe Bambino in Ballard just down from The Sneakery, served the real stuff, and the cafe underneath Elliot Bay Books did too.