Having had the best nights sleep of the entire trip, we were up and raring to go. A quick Starbucks coffee for breakfast and we checked in to our Clipper Vacations ferry down to Seattle. We managed to get ourselves an excellent window spot and enjoyed the 3 hour journey. By the time we reached Seattle and got through customs, we were able to check straight into our room at HI - The American Hotel, which thankfully was far nicer than the hostel room from the previous day! After freshening up we set off to join Bill Speidel's Underground Tour, taken around by the lovely Sarah. We learnt about the history of the city, the history of the tunnels that can be found under Pioneer Square and what the tunnels have been used for over time. The city had to be rebuilt after the Great Seattle Fire in 1889 however it was required to be elevated as the city regularly flooded. Initially the city didn't have enough money to do both at the same time so all local businesses agreed to rebuild first and then in time they would raise the sidewalks. The original ground floors of the buildings would then become basements interconnected by the old, lower sidewalks, therefore these tunnels have been left behind. They have had many uses over the years including shopping malls and speakeasies however now are mostly used as a tourist attraction or storage. Once we finished the hour long tour we headed to the Pike Brewing Company for a quick dinner and then an early night ahead of our busy Sunday ahead! With an early alarm we made our way to Utah Avenue for the Hawk Alley Tailgate, a charity tailgate organisation run by fans to raise money for local charities in Seattle. We had an absolute blast making the most of the free flowing beer, margaritas, bourbon and we were certainly ready for the barbecue spread put on by the Cadillac Grille to soak up some of the alcohol! After having our fill, we set off to Centurylink Stadium to see the Seattle Seahawks vs the Cincinnati Bengals. We got to our seats in time for Craig to see the Sea-Gals (Seattle's cheerleading squad) before kick off. Following a very quiet anthem (apparently American's don't sing along to their anthem the same we we do, we were thoroughly confused!) the stadium absolutely erupted as the F-16's flew overhead. We truly have never heard noise like it, and it continued for the entire game! With great play from both teams the Seahawks just managed to beat the Bengals 21-20. Feeling the affects of a few too many margaritas coupled with the early start we were ready for a post-game nap (Katy) before heading to the Hard Rock Cafe for a quick dinner. The next morning we had a slow start and grabbed a quick pastry at 85C Bakery to set us up for the day. Next stop was the Pike Place Market where we enjoyed watching the theatrics of the Pike Place Fish Market whose staff throw the fish around the shopping area when a customer places an order. Katy particularly loved the flower stalls with their gorgeous arrangements of sunflowers. We had planned to pay the original Starbucks a visit however the queue was ridiculously long so we snapped a few pictures and carried on with our sightseeing. We headed to the Seattle Center next to wander the park and take in the sights including the Space Needle and the International Fountain. However we felt the actual attractions were overpriced so we decided against them having blown the budget on our night in Victoria! Having skipped out on our Starbucks visit in the morning we headed to their Reserve Roastery where we shared a flight of coffee which included a Rwandan coffee, Peruvian coffee and a new blend called the Pantheon which were all paired perfectly with truffles from the locally owned Fran's Chocolates. Having had our fill of coffee, we grabbed ourselves some lunch from the The Alibi Room which was the perfect place to grab a sandwich and it also gave us a chance to see possibly the grossest tourist attraction we have ever seen - the Gum Wall. The tradition of sticking gum to the wall started in 1993 and it was declared a 'tourist attraction' in 1999 and it is one of the "germiest" tourist attractions - second only to the Blarney Stone. After a busy day of sightseeing it was time to grab a quick dinner at Fuel and watch the Broncos game. Bags packed and ready to move onto our final Canadian destination - Vancouver here we come!
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