Our Stay in Seattle

Imagine a city which has mountains, oceans and fresh water lakes. A city with thriving businesses, fun activities and nightlife as well as forest areas and many hiking trails. Imagine a city where the people are genuinely friendly and not snobbish (even if they are rich) and where it’s not necessary to lock the doors of your house because it’s so safe. Imagine if every public restroom in the city not only has toilet paper every time, but also has automatically flushing toilets, automatic soap & water dispensers, and there are drinking fountains available in public areas. Imagine if parking lots in this city had allocated spaces for people who want to recharge their electric cars! What if this city also has water bowels for dogs available on the sidewalks and complimentary doggy treats in bars and shops to keep your best canine friend happy. Imagine if there are posters on many shop windows saying that jobs are available and they are currently recruiting people. Can you imagine a city with all this? It really does sound like a futuristic, imaginary city! But it’s a real city…. It’s Seattle, Washington state.

Seattle is what I pictured a first world city to look like. I was very impressed with the city and surrounding areas. Bill Gates and his family live in Medina. (Having the richest guy in the world choosing the city to live in must count for something, right!?) Apparently he’s a really nice person too and has donated a great deal of his earnings to various charities and research facilities.

We had awesome weather when we were there in Seattle but the rest of the year is, according to locals, usually rainy the whole time… So I suppose they don’t always have it all… And I know every place has its own issues… But they certainly look like they almost have it all…pretty close! To live there you have to earn good American dollars because it’s expensive, although not as expensive as some other USA cities.

We stayed with Babak and Donné’s parents, Parviz and Mahboobe in Bellevue. We could not have dreamed of better hosts! They were so accommodating, friendly and they’re just such fun people. We were there during the week and even though they were working they managed to prepare us feasts to eat and drive us around to see the city. We loved Parviz’s homemade kebabs! (Although Maboobe thinks it might be because he fed us some tequila shots before the meal. I still think it’s just because the kebabs were really that good.)

We were impressed by the public market with all it’s fresh foods and flowers. At Pike Place Fish Market it was amusing to watch the men who work there sing and throw big fish to one another. (Apparently they do sometimes miss or drop the fish which must be quite funny.) We walked along the waterfront to Sculpture Park and Myrtle Park and then up towards the Space Needle. In downtown Seattle theres an old, historical underground area where people lived and worked before the streets were elevated. It’s now only a tourist attraction and we didn’t go see it but the concept is quite fascinating.

One night we went to see the lights of Seattle from Admiral… It was real pretty. Parviz took us to The Locks to go see the salmon swimming upstream. The salmon swim from the salt water to the fresh water lakes to lay their eggs. They must be strong to swim against the powerful current towards the lake! We were lucky to see a lot of big salmon.

Tom and Jerry, the family’s chihuahuas, took us for a walk in the forest one morning. They both look like mice but they are all dog and very cute. I couldn’t believe that there is such a beautiful forest in the middle of a busy city.

Seattle is a very impressive and pretty place.

Thank you to Parviz and Mahboobe for your kindness!

“Think of all the beauty that is still left in and around you and be happy.”- Anne Frank