Seattle - the largest city in the state of Washington and around the Northwestern United States, and one of the most progressive cities in the state that gave the world "Boeing", "Microsoft", "Starbucks", "Amazon" and "Nirvana".

He came to Seattle "cascade" of Portland - the train arrives at a local station, Steyshen King Street, right in the center of the city.

The first thing you see at the exit from the station - construction of "Century Link Field" stadium of one of the leading teams in the NFL, "Seattle Seahawks".

"Seahawks" is the most popular team in the city, the windows of the different institutions are constantly catches the eye of the number "12" - the symbol of the fans, "Seahawks" (12th player). Surprisingly, second place in popularity in the city with baseball, "Seattle Mariners" divides football (which soccer) "Seattle Sounders" - it is noticeable and T-shirts with a cap, and on Sunday night at the ferry terminal, the crowd of fans, "Saunders" is directed to match his team was quite comparable with the crowd of fans returning from the match, "Mariners". Seattle stretches from north to south, between the Pacific Puget Sound and Lake Washington. The terrain is hilly - as befits any self-respecting city, Seattle is on seven hills. Ups, downs are not as cool as in San Francisco (with the exception of Queen Anne hill).

Oriented, as in most other American cities with a grid of intersecting at right angles Avenue and Street easily. Avenue of the number, and straights have their own names.
The climate is very, very choppy sea, the sun was shining in the morning and in the evening already all covered with clouds and drizzle drizzle. Or vice versa.
More seagulls over the city and in the abundance of fly shit on the heads of passers-by :) lived in "Green Tortes" - the best hostel on the Pacific coast of the US, in an old building directly across from the main building of Pike Place Market. Place in a cozy Dorma - $ 32, breakfast included, although pancakes or eggs should be the oven itself. The waterfront or Westlake Sentra - a few minutes walk to the ferry terminal - 10 minutes, next to the supermarket more "City" and a pub / brewery "Pike" ($ 6 per gallon). The sales tax in the state of Washington is quite high - 9.6% . Around Westlake Sentra - a three-story department store on Pine Street - focused local urban transport. On the 3rd floor of the Westlake monorail goes. Nearby, on the 2nd and 3rd Avenue - buses and trolleybuses "King County Transit", reaching to all corners of the city. In a couple of escalators down - Downtown Transit Tunnel, built in 1990, on which the run as buses, as Light and Riley. For the department store - the final tram.

The main type of urban transport are just buses and trolley buses, routes of several hundred. There are the usual bass - bottom yellow, blue or green top, with a two- or three-digit numbers. And there is a rapid rapid speeds - a red top with a letter designation of routes.

The only line of light Ryle (Metrotram of a pair of long and wide carriages) leads to the airport, and the only tram line (a pair of narrow wagons) - in South Lake Union. But the construction of new lines, the second line of the tram is almost ready and will be opened later this year. In the vicinity of the train go Saundera.

Local transport card is called Orc is $ 10 (5 - on the account), purchased from vending machines at stations of light Ryle, with the sequence of steps in the machine of the most tricky encountered in the United States. Surrender gives automatic dollar coins - just the ticket machines, and met them in the United States.
Travel by tram costs 2.25 dollars, on light Riley - from 2.25 to $ 3 (depending on the distance), the buses depending on the route is 2.25, or 2.5 dollars. ORKA gives 2 hours of free transit during transitions between buses / trams. In conventional buses it's simple - the entrance through the front door with a card swipe to the reader or throwing coins without delivery. At Rapid, trams and light Railay has a system of "conscience - the best Controller ". This is when there are no turnstiles, just before boarding the transport is necessary to make a one-time purchased at a ticket machine or the card to stop standing on the validator. Controllers met for three days only once.

Walk around the city is better to start with The Pioneer Square - a small square with a park within walking distance from the station. There is installed and a bust of the leader of the local Indians Siatlya, after which the city got its name.

Above them already towering skyscrapers of the modern downtown.
Although the first clearly visible cute white tower Smith Tower. Built in 1914, the famous industrialist L.S.Smitom (which "Smith & Wesson") 38-story skyscraper height of 149 meters was the first on the Pacific Coast.

Above and to the right of Smith Tower, the 4th Avenue will present number 2 of the Pacific coast - 76-story Columbia Center (1985), the height of 287 meters. On the 73 th floor will be viewing platform, is 12.5 dollars, you can pay the card.

Skyscrapers of downtown buildings thinned various museums and other cultural sites, often very avant-garde type. As it is the main building of the Seattle Public Library, built in 2004.

One of the main attractions are the Seattle Pike Place Market - a market on the waterfront. The most common market.

Behind him there is a descent to the Elliott Bay waterfront. Along the Gulf of Alaska Highway viaduct passes, which is now replaced by an underground tunnel.
So the whole promenade is a construction site, through which paved the path to numerous piers.

At Pier 59, and 60 is a local aquarium, and on the pier 57 - Ferris wheel and various restaurants.

From Pier 58 between cruise ships are floating around the bay.

The symbol of Seattle is the Space Needle ("Space Needle") - a futuristic tower 184 meters, built for the World's Fair in 1962.

The right thing to go for it on the monorail, built at the same time. Now it goes from the top floor Vestlayk Sentra - climb the escalator to the 3rd floor and passes to the left.

The fare at this futuristic transport different wildest archaic - orc it does not work, do not take credit cards, there are no ticket machines.
Onley cache uncle sitting at the box office - $ 2.25 one way. Train wagons of a pair of runs every 10 minutes to go to one side for 3-4 minutes on the overpass above the city streets.
Space Needle is a center built for the World Fair in 1962, "the city of the XXI century" - Seattle Center.

There are different around (now retro) futuristic buildings, which housed a museum, a children oriented.

There are interesting places - like an open park in the midst of restructuring the world, was paired in the twin city of Tashkent.

Tram from Vestleyk Sentra dovozit to Oser South Union.

On its southern shore is a vast field (Park), where stands the Museum of the History of Industry.

And the wooden quay moored several ancient ships.

More to the north of Queen Anne hill with steep ascents and descents - to go to the 3rd Avenue bass 2,13 and 29 where a quarter of an hour. On top of the hill - different old buildings.
And most importantly - an observation platform above the park Kerry, a panoramic view of downtown and Elliott Bay, on a clear day and Mt Rainier is visible.

Just south of downtown has a local Chinatown, called more tolerant Aidi, ie International Affiliates District.

Districts, in principle, does not particularly different from the neighbor is not, well, except that the street names are duplicated characters on the plates, and a couple of hramikov and boards hanging in the national style.

Especially the abundance of Asian people on the streets of Aidi is not observed - the same percentage as the average in the city. A face in the crowd vostochnoazitskoe sietlyan most ordinary thing.
Above are the poorer areas, nicknamed Little Saigon. There are several cheap rynochke, which bought local hostess. More areas have an abundance of massage parlors.

For the new tram line Aidi enters Furst Hill - a hill from which the city and started. Green quiet streets of ordinary houses and other low-rise buildings.

At the top stands the impressive bulk of the Catholic Cathedral of St. James (1907), it takes the whole quarter, the residence of the archbishop and the Catholic school. In the Seattle area there are lots of interesting places. In Everett 25 miles north of Seattle is the plant of "Boeing", which can be accessed on a tour (without a camera and other things than can take pictures). On the other side of the Gulf of Seattle is Peninsula Kitsap. From Pier 52 in Seattle all day on the Kitsap swim large ferries "Washington State Ferry" - the largest ferry carrier in all states. They swim to the island Bembridzh (half an hour on the way) and the main town of Kitsap County, Bremerton (hour journey), and there and there is US $ 7.85 (return ride free).

Ferry with a large lounge, which has a cafe, vending machines, racks Tourist information. Wi-fi only paid. Well, it does not matter - still hang out all the time on the nose, admiring great views of neighborhoods. Unless, of course, lucky with the weather.
On the left hand in good weather you can see and the white cone of Mount Rainier (4392 meters) - the highest peak in the Northwest United States.

Ahead of the Kitsap Peninsula is.

Finally, after ¾ hour journey, after turning right at the exchange rate rises, and Bremerton on the background of the Olympic Mountains.

The ferry terminal is located in the city center, on the left clearly visible structures forming enterprises - Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Base Kitsap. With me, however, there was no aircraft carriers.

The town itself is small and pure white on the streets of ordinary people in uniform and camouflage.
From the ferry terminal run to different places of the peninsula buses "Kitsap Transit" and swim water taxis, ORKA they operate.
Left with terminal street leads to the main entrance yard.

Before entering the shipyard is the local naval museum in the old administration building shipyard.

Entrance to the museum is free, give bukletik at the entrance sits a couple of old men who, hearing that from Russia, uttered cherished phrase: "Kay-Gee-Bee". The first floor is dedicated to the history of the shipyard of Puget Sound, created in 1891 and still remains one of the major shipyards of the US Navy.
On the second floor is quite an interesting exhibition on the life and service to the nuclear aircraft carrier "John K.Stennis", put into operation in 1995. A colorful exhibition, the mass of wax figures in different forms, screens, which revolve documentaries and interviews with members of the crew, "Stennis".  

To the right of the terminal there is a local embankment with trees and lampposts.

At the end of the quay and the ship will be a museum - the destroyer "Turner Joy."

Log on board - in a souvenir shop, a girl in it sells, and sells tickets. $ 12, give small bukletik. Open from 10 am to 5 pm.
the influx of visitors is observed - in the morning on Monday it was the first and only one. Writing in the guest book, I noticed that even for a Sunday in her left only 4 entries.
On inspection nespeschnogo enough hours walking on the premises of the ship era of Vietnam and the Cold War.  

In the town of taqwa 8 miles south of downtown Seattle is one of the richest museums in the United States aircraft, in the collection of over 150 aircraft.
To go from the 3rd Avenue to 124th bus, they go every 15-20 minutes to drive half an hour to go stop "94th Street South."

The stop is located directly at the flyover that connects the different buildings of the museum. Climb the stairs or the elevator to the top, turn and go across the street to the main building of the museum.
The museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm. At the entrance you have to pass to the right and go to the booths, where to buy a ticket for $ 20, to which the scheme bukletik museum attached. By the way, no control in the museum is not observed. On the open area near the main building of the museum found a number of aircraft. From the Super Constellation Trans Canada Airlines -  

before the first instance of "Dreamliner".

As part of the aircraft allowed inside. The most interesting, of course, being extremely Boeing 707, the first jet "board number 1," who served as Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.

That presidential communications room -

In the main building are exposed the main exhibits of civil aviation and the military after the Second World War.

On the far side of the hall stand toe to toe fight in the skies of Korea "Sabre" and MiG-15.

In front of them opposed in the sky of Vietnam "Phantom" and MiG-21.

Also in the hall there are numerous simulators for those wishing to try himself as a pilot.
One of the side gallery leads to the part of the exhibition space, stands detail illuminate the history of space exploration -

Left of the entrance path leads to a separate building where the planes are placed two world wars.
The Second World presented at the 1st floor, machines mainly American and British. But there is a Soviet Yak-9 -

Machinery World on the 2nd floor are mainly represented by replicas -

To the main building of the museum is adjacent 2-story wooden Red Barn, where in 1917 William Boeing, and started to make airplanes.

  Seattle plane leaves. The international airport Seattle-Tacoma (SeaTac) is located 19 kilometers south of downtown, 40 minutes light Riley, $ 3. The airport itself I remember a fast, free and unlimited Wai-FEMA, US airports that meet infrequently.