Nau speak: Seattle: Sunset on the Waterfront

When it comes to the Emerald City (in this particular case we're talking Seattle, not Oz), there are no shortages of places to take in stunning views of the varied and vibrantly vivacious greenery, but perhaps the abundance of waterways available would surprise you...or perhaps this abundance of aquatic resources is no surprise- after all, all those trees and gardens need hydration, and Seattle is certainly well-endowed with water. Whether you're taking in the scenic views of the Puget Sound, or enjoying a leisurely picnic at Gasworks Park over Lake Union, or simply taking a stroll alongside any number of smaller or residential lakes, ponds, water constitutes roughly 40% of the overall city's footprint and that's not counting the long months of drizzle or occasional snow. Of course, Seattle is a city that is ever-changing and ever-growing, so that balance of land to water is likely to change as time goes on, and the city's not afraid to utilise the waterfront spaces to reclaim land and literally build their own ground upon the seafloor, as they did around Occidental Square and nearby sports stadiums.

All this water, however, is absolutely wonderful for desert-born and raised weirdos like Antho and I, so we rarely grump about this abundance. When we had the opportunity to make our way down to the beautiful, scenic walkways alongside the Waterfront, we went for it! You can easily access it from Pike's Place Market, so if you're visiting there you could squeeze in a walk along the water and take in an array of sights, snacks and scenery. Now that the Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed up for good, the Waterfront is going to change and expand immensely over the next decade as an ambitious redevelopment plan sweeps through the area. During this particular visit, however, the Viaduct was still operational, so this preserves a snapshot of a bygone era. Crazy how these things can happen, one day a familiar icon and the next it's being deconstructed to pave the way for bigger, purportedly brighter, things. Whether all this change will end up being for the greater good, or simply result in the pockets of several developers getting fatter, is up to time to determine, but given that the Alaskan Way Viaduct was a known safety hazard in the event of a serious earthquake, I'm actually leaning towards the former option. I know, a bit of a shockingly optimistic view coming from me, right? I guess all this sunshine has me feeling some sort of way.