In which Layla and Roz inadvertently attend a lesbian wedding and climb a mountain in heels

By Layla

Up bright and early - or rather dull-but-not-raining and early, we seized the importance of our last Seattle day by leaping up, dashing to Joe's for some breakfast granola (Roz) and oatmeal (me) - to counteract our days of decadent egg-and-avocado-based breakfasts of late - and dashed down the hill to catch a bus and deposit us by the water, where we caught the 11:20 ferry to Bainbridge Island. Taking ferries around the water surrounding Seattle, known as the Puget Sound, is a popular activity for Seattlites and tourists alike. We'd previously planned a 3 hour journey each way to the San Juan Islands, but as the wind picked up and the grey rain clouds mocked us, we thought 35 minutes was a better bet. And it was lovely - not only did we get to enjoy the Seattle skyline from the water and see various scenic views of island countryside, we also happened upon a lesbian wedding, and cheerily stood on the upper deck, teeth chattering, and watched them saying their vows and noting their goosebumps - a cardigan would not have gone amiss! 

When we got to the island, which was like a little 1960s seaside village, we walked down the quaint but unexciting high street, had a little browse in the quite extensive bookshop, and settled ourselves down for lunch at a cafe near the marina where we made up for our egg deficit and sampled the local Bainbridge beer while noting the clouds had burst during our meal and the rain was beating down steadily. It had settled to a sprinkle by the time we left in doomed pursuit of a 'Waterfront Path', but we did walk through some woods and eventually found our way back to the boat, just in time for its departure back to Seattle.

Back on dry land, we walked up a very steep hill with the aid of some salted caramel chocolates, and visited the library. Tis very impressive irregular glass building looks amazing from the outside, and while it was not quite as thrilling from the inside, we enjoyed a quick potter, before catching a bus to the Space Needle. This icon of Seattle was built for the world fair and was also the inspiration for the Jetsons' house (if you ever watched the cartoon, you'll have a vision). A pleasing lack of queues meant we zoomed straight to the top and had an unexpectedly lovely time strolling round the circular patio and taking in the views across the city, ocean, lake, and mountains (and rain clouds smiling benignly upon us - hooray!).

We took the bus home grudgingly back, then headed off on a half hour trek to Rover's, one of Seattle's very best restaurants which is sadly about to close down. Luckily we got in before it did, as the was a decadent and glorious vegetarian tasting menu with our name on it! We had a delicious and interesting meal with all sorts of impressive flavours and pretty presentations. Then, more than replete, we consulted Google Maps re our next destination. I'd planned a taxi but it was still early and my phone told me that a half hour stroll along Mercer Street would take us straight to our destination - the Harvard Exit Cinema for our final SIFF film. And so we set off. A few steps into our journey, we arrived at Mercer Street and started to laugh. Of all Seattle's impressively huge and steep hills, we had never yet encountered one like this. Stretching almost vertically into the sky, it looked like the sort of mountain you'd usually approach with ropes and crampons. Armed only with our little patent shoes (Roz's with a significant heel), we mounted the mountain. On and on we trekked, and every time we thought we were nearing the top, it turned out to be a momentary flat bit before an even steeper section. For the entire journey. By the time we popped out at Joe's for a sneaky pre-cinema glass of wine, we literally felt that we'd gone for a significant hike. But we'd probably worked off some of the courses of that tasting menu! 

The final film, Two Weddings and a Funeral, was a Korean gay sort-of-comedy and was interesting and obscure and quite good. It seemed a fitting end to our Seattle International Film Festival experience. We strolled home sadly, rather wishing it wasn't time for us to leave Seattle. At the start of our holiday we'd wanted to live there. The incessant rain that stops you doing most of the cool outdoor activities the city and environs has to offer (not to mention those terrifying hills and depressingly massive homeless population) has perhaps tempered our enthusiasm but we still loved the city, its coffee shops, its restaurants, its quirkiness, its local pride, its festivals, its scenery, its bike trails, its public transport, and its many variations on the egg and avocado dish. I hope we get to return soon. But now: on to New York!