Summit time #1

And so to Seattle. Reports so far:

People who travel World Traveller Plus get about 3 inches more room than cattle class. Stupid bints who get on board, recline their seats then take sleeping tablets and cannot be disturbed take all of this away. Additionally the tray does not come out so you end up eating your dinner off your lap - principally because everything rolls off the side.

Taxi drivers are physically unable to use two hands meaning that all bends are jerkily navigated.

A low rise Seattle building is under 20 floors tall.

It never stops raining.

No matter how late you stay awake (1am local) or how many pints you consume (erm...), you STILL wake up at 4am.

Old men who smell of wee who arrive 4 hours after parade started with poor excuses of having walked for hours with no sense of direction may not pass comment about the fullness of the beer stomach or the alleged earliness of hour.

Tiny Gloucestershirians are allowed two faux pas for the trip and have used them both.

The trip to the Gordon Biersch BREWERY at the top of Pacific Place shopping mall (see, I'm getting into the vernacular) has a referral system from the hotel. The hotel give you a card that entitles you to 10% off beverages and meals. On presenting said card to the guy, he informed us we were ineligible for this offer since we had only had beer.

Beer is both a beverage AND a food we insisted. Perhaps our subtle English sense of humour was lost on him?

After far too many hours up, awake, travelling and beering, the beds here allow you to really collapse into them. So much so that I felt like I'd been ironed into my mattress. Certainly it felt that way after I had been laid awake for so long I had to get up. Still, I can sleep on the plane next week. Now, where shall I have lunch?