This is my second hostel of the US trip, and the first Hostelling International hostel, so it’s the first time my HI card has actually gotten any use.

The level of luxury isn’t up to the Freehand Chicago, but I didn’t expect it to be.

They have a system that’s new on me, where there’s a poker chip with your bed ‘letter’, in the this case “A”, which you stick onto the bed frame to indicate that it’s taken. Given that they also have very specific signs about only using your bunk, and what to do if someone’s using your bunk, I’m going to guess they’ve had problems.

The lockers didn’t look it at first, but I can fit both of the Reds in there, with some wiggle room.

As seems to be my system, I did a lot of wandering around, which means that I have photographs of odd things.

The hostel is right beside the International District/Chinatown station, which is itself next to King Street station, where Amtrak are based, so transport’s pretty easy.
Also, this is what you walk through to get to the hostel from the station, though the photo’s taken from the hostel side, so you can see the station through the arch.

Most of the station is underground – there’s a tunnel under the world, through which the buses & light rail runs, which is kind of fun. It eventually goes above ground as you head towards the airport; Not sure what happens in the other direction.

There are also many pigeons, who appreciate a good Chinatown bakery.

And there are Dragons hanging around, keeping an eye on things.

Interior of what was once … Well, a railway station. The acoustics are awesome, in that every chair-scrape resonates through the whole space.
This isn’t King Street, that’s on the other side of the road; This is Union Station, formerly Oregon and Washington Station.
The trains don’t come here anymore, though the offices of the folks who run the Seattle Public Transport system are here.

My wanderings over a few days took me to Pike Place Market, on multiple days because I’d not realised how big it was & missed the bits under street level; There’s a multilevel assortment of stores linked by ramps and stairways, and the vibe is similar to those bookstores where there are more staircases than floors, and you’re not sure exactly how they all connect.
It’s pretty fun to wander around.

And I ‘found’, by wandering down Post Alley, the Gum Wall.

No, it’s not just an odd name.

The Green Tortoise was recommended to me by a roommate at the Freehand in Chicago, but the timing didn’t work out, sadly.
It’s right at the entrance, or at least one of the entrances, to the market.

And this I spotted on my wanderings, somewhere between 1st & 2nd avenues, I think.

One of the few things I really like about the Auckland CBD is that, sometimes, you can look down a street and see a bloody great ship at the end of the road.
Seattle has some of that happening too.