We had organised a private walking tour of Seattle and met our guide at 9 in the morning. Right next to our hotel is the first train station built in Seattle and it was reminiscent of an old colonial library or bank. Seattle has a complex history which includes a gold rush in the 19th century, native american settlements, Spanish and British influence as well as more modern impacts like earthquakes. The guide stopped by to show us a totem pole that was brought down from Alaska over a 100 years ago and now adorns a park in downtown. We also tried some fruit growing wild in the park which looked like tiny blueberries but were bright red inside – the kids found them to be quite bitter.

We walked along the foreshore and the ferry terminal. It was a picture perfect day with clear skies and we learnt about the history of the barges and waterfronts and how they have been modified to support the salmon population as they migrate every year from the river to the ocean. We also packed along Gum Alley which was disgusting and disturbing to say the least. It is an entire street where people have stuck chewed gum to the walls for decades.

We caught a monorail to the space needle which was a short 90 second ride but saved from having to walk all the way. Alongside the space needle was a giant water fountain that was built for the international fair. We then took a bus up the hill to have a great view of the city and Mount Rainer.

The tour ended at Pike Place Markets and we just had enough time for a coffee before our next tour began. We found a robot coffee shop with no staff. We ordered via an app and then robot arms made the coffee, frothed the milk and served it to us. We also walked past the original Starbucks and took a photo near the entrance.

Our second tour was a Chef Guided food tour of Pike Place Markets. We visited a handful of places with a variety of samples of different foods. We learnt that Pike Place Markets was set up to allow local independent producers an ability to sell directly to the public. It is the longest continuously running markets in the world and has a rule that only a businesses first shop can exist here. This means that if you already have a shop anywhere else in the US, you can’t then open one at Pike Place Markets.

Some of the highlights included

– the best class chowder in the US from a little hole-in-the-wall that has won every major competition

– truffle paste and salt from a shop that has truffles shipped over once a week from Italy

– African lamb pockets

– 18 got slow cooked pork

– and ice cream/sorbet from an Australian/Greek entrepreneur.