2023 USA – Seattle
As we wanted to go to Mexico this year it was a good opportunity to stay with our son and his family in Seattle at Christmas.
Check-in went smoothly and as always, the time went quickly before boarding the plane. It had been a while since we flew with British Airways and whilst it was a new plane, the food had got worse. I didn’t normally mind aeroplane food but on that flight, it was practically inedible. Wine made dinner slightly more palatable but when Federika woke me from a deep sleep to have breakfast, I wished she hadn’t. Normally I can eat any old crap but this was some kind of hot sandwich which I had to spit out and make do with the glass of orange.
Our son met us at the airport and as soon as we got to the car park there was a blast of cold air which came as a shock as it was a long time since I was in such temperatures. We had arrived in Seattle at around 7 p.m. so by the time we had something to eat and a chat it was time to go to bed. I suppose it was due to the flight times, but neither of us suffered from jet lag. We expected it to catch up with us during the day but both of us escaped it. [sg_popup id=”18050″ event=”inherit”]
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Over the next few days we went on the usual shopping trips and had a great dinner at the amazing Crab Factory although there was a noticeable reduction in portion size since our last visit six years ago. Many of the houses in the area had elaborate lights which spread out onto the trees and shrubbery giving a warm Christmassy feel. One day we went to the enormous Goodwill shop which was their version of a charity shop. Federika loved to potter around these places but for me, it sounded like a good idea but after ten minutes I got bored. We agreed to meet in a coffee shop across the road and after getting my coffee I sat at a row of high tables. I was surrounded by three high tables with two women sitting on each of them and being quite loud I could hear every word they said. That didn’t bother me but although I could put up with the café being cold, the chairs being uncomfortable and even the continual upspeak from my neighbours (turning every sentence into a question) I couldn’t handle the never-ending use of the word “like.”
“Yesterday I like went to a like restaurant with like, Jenny and I really like, liked the pasta.” It was unbearable so I left the café screaming with my hands over my ears. I read somewhere that in one episode of Love Island the word “like” was used 76 times in a five-minute conversation and got so bad that many people stopped watching it. Federika was far more tolerant than me and said it was just the modern way of talking but I said it was a disease that had to be stamped out at all cost. Maybe develop a vaccine or enforce a 14-day self-isolation rule for anyone who says it in public.
The almost compulsory giving of a huge tip always amused me. I asked our daughter-in-law how much she usually gave as a tip.
“If the service is good I give 20% but if it is bad I only give 15%. The idea of giving a tip for bad service seems weird to me but “when in Rome” and all that. When paying the bill by phone I would be presented with a card reader which offered a choice of tips to include with “No Tip” not being on the list. I liked that because it saved me from having to do any sums in my head but I was even shown the tip option in self-service outlets. Fearing that a bolt of lightning might shoot from the card reader I always tipped 10%. In some self-service places, the french fries were salted by robotic arms so was I really supposed to tip the robots?
Our granddaughter got us hooked on some songs while we were there and it became impossible for me to clean my teeth without singing The Brushy Brush song. Then came the brilliant. Shake Your Sillies song just before bedtime. The whole family joined in, shaking small scarves, jumping and jawning and doing all the other things required for a good night’s sleep.
2023 Mexico
