Go Seahawks!!!!

Given that I have been following American Football and the NFL (National Football League) for 20+ years, one of the things that I really wanted to do since I arrived in the US was to go to a game. Although I support the New England Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks has also become a team very close to my heart (no prizes for guessing why). Unless you are a season ticket holder it would be near impossible to get tickets for a regular season game, but they are easier to get tickets for pre-season games. The last pre-season game before the season starts for the Seahawks on the 9th September was the game against the Oakland Raiders today at Qwest Field. Fortunately, me and my colleague managed to get some tickets. Originally we were going to be sitting at one of the seats at the top of the stadium (yep, a mountain top view), but my colleague knew someone who worked there so managed to get us seats in the club level. These seats were so much better with better views and also more comfortable. The game itself was good but as it was a friendly, we did not see some of the big named players and the atmosphere was so relaxed and not as tense. Overall, it was a very good experience and being able to shout, scream and abuse the opposition was a great laugh. I will definitely go to another game, but maybe try to go to one of the regular season ones to experience that atmosphere. Oh, just in case you were wondering, the Seahawks won the game 19-14 and no, I did not have a good view of the cheerleaders :-)

Before the crowds arrive

Our original seats were five rows from the top!!!!

Filling up...

During the game

Day trip to Portland, Oregon

After working over the past several weekend, last Sunday I decided to reserve a train ticket for Portland thus forcing me to go out and start enjoying my weekends again.

So today was the day of the trip and from it, I made several observations:

1. 4 hours train trip each way is a very long time. Thinking about it, in 4 to 5 hours I could have flown to New York.
   
2. This is the first time that I have traveled on an Amtrak train. Apart from it looking like a tin of sardines due to its metal shell, the interior is no different from a British Rail train.
   
3. I always get old women sitting next to me. Although, they have lots of free seat to choose from but they more often than not, they pick the seat next to me. Having said that the lady today was pleasant and we did have a good chat (and no, having headphone in your ears does not stop them from starting a conversation with you).
   
4. The train stations that we stopped at were very basic and to get to the station itself, you may have to walk across other tracks.
   
5. Never trust the weather forecasters. It was supposed to be mostly cloudy but it ended up being hot and sunny (although I am not complaining). I was just a bit overdressed.
   
6. There is always a Union Station wherever you go to in the US.
   
7. The people in Portland are really nice. Two independent individuals came up to me and asked me if I needed an assistance while I was just looking at a map. Both gave good advice as well.
   
8. There are quite a few beggars and homeless people around many parts of the city.
   
9. Preparation and research is important. This is something that I did not do on this trip so not surprisingly I got lost trying to found the Visitors Center (luckily for internet access of my phone so I can look up address and ask people).
   
10. Although I walked most of it (and my feet are still suffering), the transportation (buses, streetcar and light rail) are very easy to use and convenient.

As I was only there for 5 hours, I had to be selective to the sights that I could visit. In the end, I chose:

1. Downtown District
   
2. Portland Aerial Tram
   
3. The Saturday Market
   
4. The Waterfront
   
5. Portland Classical Chinese Garden
   
6. Pearl District
   
7. The Apple Store (come on, it is tax free shopping in Oregon State - did not buy anything from there though but I did buy a couple of Wii games from the GameStop next door)

Downtown District - this is the area where the Tourist Information Center is so this was the first port of call. After getting a much needed map and suggestions to where to go, I was fortunate to come across an Festa Italiana (Italian Festival) at the Pioneer Courthouse Square. As I had limited time, I did not stay too long but just enough time to get some snacks and catch some entertainment.

The Portland Aerial Tram is Portland's newest public transportation link connecting the city's South Waterfront district and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the Marquam Hill neighborhood. Although intended for students, staff and patients of OHSU, the 3 minute ride also provides the views of the forests, Mount St. Helens, Mount Hood and downtown Portland so it does get a fair share of tourist like me. For me, although the views from the capsule were good, I did not manage to get a clear view of the mountains due to the clouds. You can also see that Portland is slowly developing and not as built up as cities like Seattle.

View of Downtown Portland from the Aerial Tram

The Saturday Market is the number one attraction that was recommended to me by the Tourist Information Center and I could see why. The market was not like the normal weekly street market (well, it is open on Saturdays and Sundays), but one that you typically find at an annual festival. The market was spaced out across multiple streets and contains lots of stalls for shopping (clothes, jewelry, crafts etc), food and drinks as well as street entertainers and artists. The best thing was the atmosphere. There were just lots of people there having lots of fun.

Shopping, food and entertainment

After a quick walk by the Waterfront, the next stop was the Portland Classical Chinese Garden. I have always loved the old Chinese architecture so for me, this Suzhou-style walled garden was a must see. Admittedly, I was somewhat smaller than others that I have been to, but it was good to just sit and relax over a cup of Chinese tea looking as if you have been transported back to Ancient China.

Ancient China in modern Portland

My final stop was the Pearl District. Several colleagues recommended this to me for the restaurants and shops, so I decided to check it out although I was not planning to buy anything or have a meal). The problem about districts is that there span across blocks and blocks so I really don't think I found the heart of it. I did come across the Powell's Books though which I was told was the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world. Truthfully, it did not look that big to me :-)

In general, although most of the time was taken up on the train there and back, Portland is a nice little city to explore. I think that I will go back again in the future and maybe have the time to visit Washington Park with the Oregon Zoo and Portland Japanese Garden there.

Working too much......

We are already in mid August and since going to the Seattle's Chinatown-International District Summer Festival, I have been mostly at home working during the weekends. Deadlines have been coming thick and fast at work so no time to go out and have fun. The weather has not been great either which makes working at home less painful. Having said that, I did manage to pop out for a hour or so to the Bite of Seattle on the 21st July and also the Ballard SeafoodFest on the 28th July. Both have a food theme, but don't let the name of the SeafoodFest fool you. The seafood it is referring to is salmon, crab and shrimps/prawns (the Pacific Northwest is famous for these). As I have been there for several years now I knew what to expect but it is still disappointing that there isn't more different types of seafood on offer. I miss the seafood, like whelks, that we could get at any English seaside. Oh well, looks like I need to pay a visit back home for that :-(