Disturbing Video from France

The following video has been suppressed from all servers in France:



Here's one account of the incident and here's another.

Visit to America: Day 1

My mom & I embarked on our big trip today! We caught the Quick Shuttle around 9:20am, though it was supposed to be there 15 minutes earlier.

Unlike times past, the bus was absolutely full. When we got to the U.S. border my heart sank when I saw how many buses were ahead of us. It took over an hour to get through when normally it would take less than 15 minutes.

I kept hoping that we'd make up the lost time but it was not to be. In fact, we had to stop at every location along the way: Bellingham Airport, Tulalip Mall, and downtown Seattle too.

We were supposed to arrive at SeaTac at 1:20pm but didn't get there until 3:00pm, just a few minutes before our scheduled departure. So getting to Dallas today was not to be. With the help of my friend, Mike, he helped us book a nearby hotel using Hotwire. We're safe & sound now, but it has been a really long day.

The Journey Back Down

The walk down was clearly a lot easier than the hike up. But the sun kept on beating down on us and by the time we got to the base my Mom was absolutely exhausted. So rather than walk the extra distance down to the public bus stop, we instead waited for a smaller private bus to arrive. It took about 20 minutes but was well worth the $5 ride back to Waikiki.
The driver was absolutely hilarious, throwing random trivia at us - in both English & Japanese. When he found out we were from Vancouver, he said, "Vancouver, Washington?" My response was immediate: "No, the real one!" He thought this was the funniest thing he had heard all day.

On The Road To Seattle

I woke up at 5:30am, thirty minutes before my alarm was set to get me up. Had my regular large coffee and made the transition from semi-conscious to, well, a tiny bit more conscious. My friend, Ravena, came by to pick me up at 7:30. The drive to the train station was fast - less than 10 minutes. I often tease Ravena about her driving but she's actually a very safe driver!

There's no morning train to Seattle so one must take a bus instead. This one was absolutely packed. I'd never seen this before but perhaps it was because it was a Friday. I could also tell from accents that there were a lot of tourists on board.

Here's a strange sign that was in the bathroom at the rear of the bus. Any guess as to what it's trying to communicate?


Much of Metro Vancouver was covered in fog; not so much a blanket, but more akin to a grey umbrella blocking out the sun. The delay at the border was quite long. There were several other buses there, plus some sort of souped up motorhome was in front of us. It had no less than 4 air conditioners on the roof! I think there were musicians inside and it took a long time for inspection.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and we arrived, as scheduled, at 12:30pm. Union Station in Seattle sits on the far south side of downtown, right beside the magnificent QWest baseball field.


As we were arriving, my stomach commanded my eyes to be on the lookout for a place where a fill-up could occur. I spotted an interesting looking Vietnamese restaurant just 2 blocks away from the train station. I strolled past a deli and an upscale convenience store but decided to try out the restaurant I had seen earlier. I'm glad I did! It's called Cafe Hue and is located at 312 2nd Avenue South.


I consider myself to be quite a connoisseur of Vietnamese food, having tried it at many places in Vancouver. Cafe Hue didn't let me down! I ordered 2 seafood egg rolls and a large soup with wontons, plus a strong cup of Vietnamese coffee. Everything was incredibly delicious!

To help you locate the place, go to my favourite building in Seattle, The Smith Tower, and then walk 2 blocks south. You won't be disappointed!

Willkommen!

Shown here are a trio of German flight attendants that we met yesterday on the bus going downtown. They were part of a group of 10 staff from LTU Airlines that had a 2-day layover in Vancouver. For many, it was their first time here.

As my mom works for Tourism Vancouver, her and I gave them all kinds of good advice about what to see. And Danny spoke with the beautiful brunette en Espanol.

Then today, guess who showed up at Tourism Vancouver and sought more advice from my mom?! Yup, it was the same trio! I asked my mom if she obtained the e-mail address of the pretty flight attendant. Sadly, the answer was "Nein"! :-(