Seattle

Introducing Seattle

It’s raining again, but you don’t mind. This is your cue to duck inside for another latte. Maybe you’ll chase it with a local beer, then tackle the Space Needle before rocking the Crocodile Café.

Welcome to Seattle, whose perpetually cloudy skies mean that if the sun peeks out for a second, everyone drops whatever they’re doing and gears up to take their kayaks or bicycles out. They can do this because they’re part-time baristas, freelance IT consultants, club bookers or chefs at all-organic small-plates restaurants. They’re as likely to drink PBR as IPA, but they’d rather die than sip truck-stop coffee or down a Quarter Pounder with cheese. They always recycle. They’ve been on skid road, and they know Alki has nothing to do with the drinking habits of barflies in Pioneer Square. If you ask them, they’ll tell you it really doesn’t rain that much around here. They might also tell you to watch the ‘flying fish’ at Pike Place Market early in the morning, visit the brand-new Olympic Sculpture Garden on a sunny afternoon and take an evening ferry ride to Bainbridge Island. Most likely they’ll say not to bother with the Space Needle unless the weather is brilliant. If you’re game for a bar crawl, they might take you to Georgetown, the neighborhood for drinkers in the know. If you’re arty, it might be an opening at an edgy Belltown gallery instead.

Last updated: Nov 5, 2008