The Travelling Celts

The very first Starbucks

by Michael Cameron

Seattle is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. It is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America, and ranks as the 15th-largest in the United States.

Logging was Seattle's first major industry, but by the late 19th century, the city had become a commercial and shipbuilding center as a gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. Growth after World War II was partially due to the local Boeing company, which established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The Seattle area developed into a technology center from the 1980s onwards with companies like Microsoft becoming established in the region; Microsoft founder Bill Gates is a Seattleite by birth. Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle in 1994.

We didn't find the city that inspiring, neat and tidy comes to mind to best describe the place. It rained the day we were there, mostly light, but one heavy shower saw us shelter in a local store - to be greeted by a sign where we could purchase a minature bottle of original Seattle Rainwater - the irony wan't lost on the owner who confirmed the bottles were a big seller!

We had of course to have dinner in the restaurant atop the Space Needle. It is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world and is apparently a treasured Seattle icon. Built for the 1962 World’s Fair—the Century 21 Exposition whose theme was “The Age of Space”—the tower’s futuristic design was inspired by the idea that the fair needed a structure to symbolize humanity’s Space Age aspirations.

Click the links below for the Seattle photos and/or videos