Please excuse our lack of updates, but internet connectivity in the wilds of Montana and Washington State is less than abundant.

I'm writing this entry from the kitchen/lounge of our hostel in Seattle, which, like the rest of the city, has a very laid back, 'alternative' feel. You can see why a lot of good bands have come out of this city, as it's clearly open to and encourages all sorts of creativity.

However, even more exciting than the city is the way we got here.

On Sunday afternoon we boarded the mighty 'Empire Builder' Amtrak train in Chicago. After being shown to our upstairs 'roomette' by our car attendant, Gul, we settled in before being treated to champagne and chocolates, complementary of course. As the train got underway, we enjoyed the views of Chicago, giving way to suburbs, followed by classic Mid-western American farmland, complete with giant fields, traditional barns and farmhouses and huge empty skies. After enjoying more free drinks, we headed through to the dinner car as the sun was setting, where we were seated with another couple, Russ and Cristina, who we ended up spending much of our time on the 46 hour trip with. Medical students from Kentucky, the pair were on their way to Seattle to stay with an old friend and couldn't have been nicer, or provided better travelling companions.

After enjoying our free steaks, salad and cheesecake for dinner, Lucy and I retired to our cabin and watched the Wisconsin scenery slide by until it was time for bed.

The following day, after breakfast in our cabin, we made our way to the observation lounge on the train, which featured huge windows and a partly glass ceiling, as well as outward facing lounge seats, to take in the epic North Dakota scenery. The endless yellow-brown, gently rolling plains with their infinite horizons were punctuated by patches of as-yet unmelted snow and covered with large expanses of flood water. Somehow the skies seemed even bigger and more empty than the previous day, and although fairly bleak, the scenery was quite compelling, but remained much the same for most of the day as we crossed the border into Montana.

We met up with Russ and Cristina for lunch and enjoyed another great meal, before whiling away the afternoon playing Backpacker in the lounge car. In the afternoon there was a (free) cheese and wine tasting with local produce from Oregon and Washington. We managed to win a bottle of wine at the trivia quiz which came in handy at dinner that evening.

As evening approached, the endless prairie began to seem less endless, as the foothills of the Rockies suddenly sprang out of nowhere. Over the course of just a few miles we entered much more hilly country, with trees covering those hillsides, and we started climbing into the snowy mountain passes of Glacier National Park we had all been waiting for since Chicago.

Sadly, it was just approaching sunset, so we only got to enjoy a small part of the breathtaking scenery from the dinner car whilst eating another delicious free steak (Salmon in Lucy's case). After dinner the 4 of us spent the rest of the evening in the observation car, trying to make out what we could of the mountains we were passing through, while sampling some of Kentucky's finest bourbon, courtesy of Russ and Cristina. A late but very enjoyable night ensued before our final sleep on the train.

We woke early, to the completely different scenery of the Cascade mountains as we descended through Washington State. We enjoyed breakfast in the dinner car whilst moving through the steep, lushly forested hillsides I associate with the Pacific Northwest of America, crossing turbulent blue rivers and passing huge apple orchards, with snow-capped mountains in the distance. Eventually the train reached Puget Sound and we snaked our way along this inlet of the Pacific before eventually arriving in Seattle.

After saying our goodbyes to Russ and Cristina at the station, we made our way to the hostel via the free downtown bus and dumped our bags, before heading out to check out the city. We spent our time exploring Pike Place Market, with its famous fresh fish stalls among numerous other food and souvenir vendors, before grabbing a coffee from the original Starbucks and walking through the compact downtown area to check out the immense city library. We then headed up to the 73rd floor of the Columbia Centre and for a very reasonable $3 were treated to breathtaking panoramic views of Seattle (including the much smaller and more expensive to ascend Space Needle), Puget Sound and miles upon miles of the lush green islands and countryside surrounding the city.

After seeing what a nice day it had turned into, we decided to hop on a ferry for a round trip to get a view of the city from Puget Sound, and it was a good move, giving us great views and a nice bit of fresh air out on the water. After arriving back in the city we wandered up towards the hostel, grabbing some 1/2 price happy hour food and beer at a restaurant on the way, before checking in properly and settling down to chill out for a bit.

Speaking of chilling, I think my fingers could do with a rest so I'll end this monster post here!