I wandered right through the downtown area to the part of the city the locals call the far east side - this is where the harbour front is. Considering how many great things I'd heard about it from the receptionist at the hotel and other people I've spoken to over the last few weeks in America, the harbour was strangely difficult to get to. For a start, whoever worked out the layout of Seattle didn't seem to put a lot of thought into it as there was a huge freeway running right through the city which seemed to block me at every turn - every time I thought I'd found a road which looked as though it was heading in the direction of the waterfront, I'd suddenly find myself confronted by a huge road sign warning me that I was about to walk onto the freeway and should turn around immediately. American cities have a habit of building freeways right through the middle of town, which is obviously a great idea if you're in a car and want to turn off the motorway and drive straight onto your street but not so great if you're on foot. But then, we all know that nobody goes anywhere on foot in the USA, don't we?

At the harbour front, I made my way straight to the Farmers Market, which wasn't exactly difficult to find as it took up most of the water front all on its own. It was much like the famous farmers market in San Francisco, a huge collection of stalls selling food - mainly fish, of course - and trinkets for the tourists. The market stretches for quite a few blocks along the front, and I spent a while wandering between the stalls, looking at the strange catches on offer and holding my nose whenever the stink of fish got a little too much. I can honestly say that I couldn't identify anything I saw. The Farmers Market here is quite reminiscent of Covent Garden market in London, with the stalls being set out roughly in rows with brightly coloured souvenirs hanging from hooks or laid out in neat piles so that people can sort through them. Of course, the smell of fish is rather overpowering at this particular market, although I'm told that there are actually several similar markets throughout the city selling different types of produce so people here are obviously able to get their weeks shopping without ever having to set foot in a supermarket. I liked the atmosphere of the harbour front, and found it to be something of an entertainment venue in its own right. As I walked along the road next to the sea, there were people sitting on the cobbles painting caricatures for people, mimes making a general nuisance of themselves in that unique way that mimes like to do, and people standing around on boxes pretending to be a robot or standing perfectly still while painted gold from head to toe. Wherever you go in the world, street entertainment seems to be exactly the same, and yet I can still happily grab an ice cream and sit on a bench watching someone riding a unicycle and juggling tennis balls for as long as they are willing to do it. Mind you, lets face it, it was Sunday and there wouldn't have been much else to do even if I had been bored out of my skull.

Of course, the main attraction for thirsty travellers in Seattle is the coffee. Seattle manages to be the single largest coffee drinking city in the whole of the USA, and you only have to be on the streets here for a few minutes to see why. If you have to walk more than ten feet from anywhere to get to a branch of Starbucks, then you can be sure that a complaint has been filed with the council about it. The atmosphere in coffee shops is actually quite strange - or perhaps it's actually perfectly normal and it's me that's strange. Whichever, it took me a while to get used to the fact that coffee shops in Seattle are generally large lounge affairs with curved bars that look as though they would be more at home in a pub. In fact, that's exactly the impression you get - instead of people going down the pub for a beer, people in Seattle head for the nearest coffee shop where they sit around chatting to each other on sofas and politely handing cookies to each other, even late into the night. Back home, the only thing anybody is likely to hand you in a late night drinking establishment is a smack in the mouth for accidentally spilling their pint or "looking at my bird". Seattle seems to have single-handedly developed a whole new social scene, which is slowly starting to filter into society across the rest of the world, and I like it. Just stop for a moment before you dismiss the idea completely and consider something - would you rather sit around on a comfy sofa laughing and enjoying a relaxing evening with friends as depicted in any episode of "Friends", or go up the pub and come home with no memory of what you did, who you did it with and where the traffic cone came from? Yeah, okay, forget I asked.

A walk through downtown Seattle involves passing at least (and I counted) seventeen branches of Starbucks Coffee, thirteen of Tully's, and a countless multitude of places without brand names which just plain sell you coffee. Go up to the top of the Space Needle, 560 feet above ground level, and you'll find a branch of Starbucks. And just knowing which type of coffee you want isn't enough to get you by in Seattle. Many a tourist can be spotted at the coffee counter with a line of Seattleites (not satellites, that's a very important distinction) waiting patiently behind them, engaged in detailed conversation with the Barista - which is apparently the correct term for someone who prepares and serves coffee:

"A nice cup of coffee, please."

"Certainly, Sir. Regular, Cappuccino, Café-Latte, Espresso, Con Panna, Macchiato, Mocha, or Americano?"

"Oh, I'll have a Cappuccino today I think."

"Cappuccino it is. Would you like that short, tall, grande or Venti?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Long, short, grande or Venti. How large would you like the cup to be?"

"Oh. Just an ordinary cup, please."

"Short. That's fine. Would you like it wet or dry?"

"What?"

"Wet or dry. Would you like more foam and less milk, or more milk and less foam?"

"Um, more foam please."

"Dry. Right. Will that be Full, Half, Non-Fat or Cream?"

"That's the milk, right? I know that one. I'll have full fat please."

"Okay. Regular or Decaffeinated?"

"Regular please."

"With or without Syrup?"

"Ooh, that sounds nice. With, please."

"Which flavour Syrup? We have Mango, Peach, Wild berry, Peaches and Cream, Orange and Cream, or berries and cream."

"Mango please."

"Right. So that's a regular, short, fat, dry Cappuccino with Mango syrup?"

"I think so."

"Sorry, we've sold out. Next!"

I, myself, have spent many a fun filled moment watching people make total fools of themselves in these places. Make your own entertainment in Seattle - watch the tourists ordering coffee. Don't get me wrong, I fell for all this when I first arrived - but I soon learned the lingo. If you're really looking to make steam come out of somebody's ears while in town, simply walk into any Coffee shop and say to the man behind the counter: "I could really do with a nice cup of tea."

About Simon and Burfords Travels:

Simon Burford is a UK based travel writer. He will be re-publishing his travel blogs, chapters from his books and other miscellaneous rantings on these pages over the coming weeks and months, and the entry on this page may not necessarily reflect todays date.