Tuesday was a very important day; there was a tense mixture of excitement and apprehension everywhere - on the bus, at the gym, at work, even walking around Seattle in the early evening where Amy and I planned to meet for dinner.
After a fine main course at Palomino, I couldn’t resist but to check the count on my phone and it was right there: 333 electoral votes. All over before 9pm and I couldn’t resist a subtle high-five.
As we made our way over to the Westin where the local Democrats were camped out watching the gubernatorial race, cars were honking horns driving up fifth avenue and people openly cheering in the street. We arrived just in time to be swept up into the excited crowd that filled the main ballroom to watch Obama’s speech. And a great speech it was.
Making our way out through the lobby, there was a great contrast of ecstatic supporters and exhausted, passed out campaign staff. While the crowds were spilling out into the street with more shouting and celebration, I think deep down everyone realizes this is only the first step in a monumental task. But it has to begin somewhere.
The last week has been a blur. Just one week ago I woke up in a small hotel in Farnham, Surrey yet I’ve also spend quite a number of days here in Seattle. This is how it went down.
Wind the clock back to last Thursday morning and a 5am town car to the airport. I pounded through some unfinished business at the gate and boarded the plane to Chicago. For those of us at 6′4″ I can definitely recommend the United Economy Plus; I felt like a sucker for buying it (at $100) on the way out but definitely missed it on the way back. A 6am arrival in Heathrow and the body is ready to sleep, not embrace the day ahead.
Heathrow Express into Paddington and I started off in search of some food. I wandered aimlessly for about 20 minutes until it started to rain so I stepped into the restaurant at a nearby Hilton Hotel. For the next hour, I gorged on all the British breakfast food I miss - beans, pork sausages, grilled tomatoes, particular hash browns, real bacon. Mmmmm.
I planned to spend the day with my mum who was coming down by train. I figured I could at least drop off my bags at the hotel before she arrived and they did one better, letting me check in at 8am giving me time for a shower and shave.
We met at Euston and decided to head to the British Museum. The atrium is a very impressive structure, huge sweeping room over a main central exhibit with so much off to the sides too. Unfortunately we had the attention level of uninterested school children and headed straight for the coffee shop to catch up, incidentally glancing at a few mummies on the way. After a good chat, we walked through a small exhibit of American art (impressive woodcuts) and then decided we had had our fill of culture. Definitely a place to go back to, perhaps with a little more focus.
Next we caught to tube to Embankment, walked down the river to Parliament, through some back streets and through St James Park in a torrential downpour. All-Bar-One in Leicester Square for lunch and then we visited a place I’ve long wanted to go: the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Closed shortly after the war, they provide a fascinating insight into the conditions and epic struggle of the time. Having read Roy Jenkin’s biography of Churchill a few years ago, I found a number of parts of the Churchill Museum to be quite familiar too. Highly recommended.
By the end of that tour, I was tired and fading fast. We parted ways and I got an early start on the night’s sleep.
Anyone in Seattle knows the Space Needle, downtown monorail and a few other things were built for the 1962 World’s Fair. The World’s Fair is an extravagant event that throughout history has left several major cities across the US with large, oddly-shaped landmarks and a legacy to tell to children for generations.
Asking around, I’d not been able to find anyone who has the slightest recollection of any World’s Fairs since the early 1980s. It turns out that since Vancouver, BC in 1986, all subsequent fairs have been in other parts of the world. The World’s Fair Museum site at expomuseum.com has the full details.
A trip to Shanghai in 2010 does sound rather tempting.
I have too much time on my hands this morning. The following script makes it easy to get and set Twitter status. I’ve seen similar ones elsewhere but they all seemed to have external dependencies, this one does not.
Posted by apoakley
Posted by apoakley
Posted by apoakley
