Seattle – Day Two: Underground Tour & Pike Place Market

Pioneer Square

I don’t sleep well again, seeming to be awake a lot. Eventually I get up at 8 am, and after showering and dressing I eat the remains of yesterday’s breakfast. It’s a bit stodgy but OK. I leave the hotel at 10 am and head to Westlake Station. I get off at Pioneer Square but the exit signs give no clue as to which road you come out on. So I just take the nearest and use Google Maps on the street to direct me to the actual Pioneer Square.

Strangely the station is not next to the Square and in fact it’s a good 5 minutes walk away. In the Square I find the Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour entrance. I’m a bit early but go in just to check this is the place – it is. The guy on the desk says to come back at 10.55 am for the 11 o’clock tour I’ve booked.

I set off for a walk around the area guided by the GPS My City app I discovered pre-trip. There is a Pioneer Square self-guided walking tour. I see the Maynard Building, Occidental Park, Waterfall Garden Park and Smith Tower. And of course Pioneer Square Park. It’s not the full tour but these are the nearest points of interest I can walk to before the Underground Tour.

Underground Tour

Back on time at the Tour, we descend to a large room underground where we are briefed by our guide for the day. I had no real idea what the Tour was about just that it got excellent reviews on Tripadvisor and regularly came up as one the ‘things to see’ when in Seattle. And pretty amazing it is too.

To cut a long story short, the original settlement of Seattle was built on the beach of Elliott Bay. Successive city councils then washed their hands of the multitude of problems created, the lack of public sanitation being the most prominent.

After the Great Fire of 1889, a council did decide to do something. They raised the height of the land around the beach settlement and re-built the city ‘on top of itself’. Years later they then told the beach settlement that they were going to extend over and above their houses and shops! I kid you not. They really did entomb the beach settlement. The Underground Tour takes you under some current city centre buildings and into the original homes and shops that still exist underneath the streets of modern day Seattle.

Sky View Observatory

The Tour ends on time at 12.15 pm whereupon I walk up Cherry Street to the Sky View Observatory in the Columbia Center. It’s very quiet in the Observatory, there’s only a handful of people inside. The Space Needle by contrast was quite busy. The Observatory is 300 feet taller than the Needle but at the end of the day it’s still the same views of Seattle, just from a different location in the city. There’s nothing wrong with that, but in hindsight I wonder if one needs to do two high-rise views of Seattle.

Pike Place Public Market

I have some lunch in the cafeteria before departing on a 15 minute walk downtown to the Pike Place Public Market. It is an iconic and historic Seattle landmark, which when all said and done, is just a bunch of shops. Granted it’s a big market, with almost anything you might want: food, trinkets, books, flowers, clothing and lots more.

Now I’m not really an impulsive shopper and there’s nothing I want or need in Pike Place. So after seeing everything, I’m done for my visits today… at 2.30 pm! I took notes from websites as to the time to be spent at the places today. My original planning had me finishing the day around 5.30 pm, but sometimes things go quicker than others. Today is one of those. But with some free time now, there is nowhere else in Seattle that I wanted to see anyway. So it’s back to the hotel for a rest before the evening’s activity.

Rested, I leave the hotel at 6.45 pm and head to the Westlake Link Light Rail station. After researching my options, I buy a return to Stadium station.

A Nice Chat On The Plane

On the flight over I was sat next to an elderly gentleman and an hour or so into the flight, we started to chat. Now it’s not usually my way or style to chat to other passengers. Over the course of 40+ years of air travel and 100s of flights, on only a handful of occasions have I engaged in chat, and then mostly only a few words here and there.

There have been times when the person next to me wants to bore me to death or as happened many years ago – and I kid you not – wanted to show me his playing card tricks. He got the message I wasn’t interested after a while. Unfortunately Mr Card Trick turned to the guy on his other side. That guy just didn’t know how to tell the card idiot to get lost. He spent the rest of the 10 hours to San Francisco being abused by card tricks!

Anyway, Anthony and I start chatting. And instead of it petering out as it usually does on a plane with me, we continued talking. And did so for the next two hours! It was at this point, after dinner and a few glasses of wine, that we decided to spend a couple of hours dozing before landing.

Anthony was a really, really nice guy. We talked about all sorts. He is 82 and amazingly lucid and friendly. He was on the flight because his son is playing a concert in Seattle on Wednesday. The son paid for Anthony to be there. In fact he’s seen his son play in many places all over the world. On this trip he’s going to Seattle first, then a concert in Vancouver and finally one in San Diego.

An Offer I Can’t Refuse

Just before we settle down for the nap, Anthony says “I’ll arrange for a ticket for you on Wednesday, if you’d like.” I’m flabbergasted but of course reply, “That would be great, thank you.” He asks me to write down my name, email and phone, which I hand to him. His son’s PA, Poppy, will sort out the ticket he tells me. He also says there will be pre-show hospitality and a post-show party…

When he first got on the plane Anthony started talking to the guy on his left. Some time later I overheard him offer this guy – I find out later he’s called Louis – some tickets for a concert. At the time I assumed Anthony was maybe an orchestra conductor or similar. Anyway, within 30 minutes of Louis giving his details to Anthony, I heard him lean over and say “Anthony, the tickets have come through already, thanks a lot.” That was whilst we were on the ground, delayed on take-off.

Now being a bit of a cynic, I thought I’ll believe this ticket for me when I see it. I thought if it was going to happen then I’d get the ticket email in the morning, given how quick Louis got his. But no. As the day of Tuesday wore on, no ticket email had arrived. By 4 pm I was convinced it wasn’t going to happen and was somewhat pissed off to be honest.

True To His Word

Then, I checked email again at 5 pm – and I have an email from ‘VIP Ticketing’ with details of how to get my ticket. There was however no mention of anything else, just a ticket. So I replied asking if there was any hospitality and was told “no”. Oh well, can’t have everything.

The concert was at Lumen Field, home of the Seahawks, so I’d get to see 49ers enemy territory. On the train to the stadium there were lots of fans wearing T-shirts of the band. Two stops before the Stadium stop – where I thought I needed to get off – they all get off. They must know something, I think to myself. So I follow and get off the train. Lo and behold, once up the escalator and into the street, Lumen Field is just over the road. The walk from the Stadium stop to Lumen was 15 minutes but from this stop I’m there in just 5. Result!

And I’m at the right end of the stadium for the Will Call window, where my ticket awaits. From Stadium station I’d have had to walk all around Lumen Field. I present my photo ID and get given my ticket. And guess what? Along with the concert entry ticket is an invitation to ‘Friends & Family’ – the pre-show hospitality!

Lumen Field

I ask the Will Call guy where my seat is and he shows me a seating plan. It’s in a block right by the stage… The F&F room is however at the other end of the stadium. So I set off to try and find it but eventually reach a dead end. I ask an event person where it is but she doesn’t know, but goes to find out.

She returns and I need to go through a door just opposite where we are. However I need to be escorted by another event person. Eventually I arrive at a small-ish, windowless room in the bowels of Lumen Field. I am in the inner sanctum of Friends & Family.

Frankly, the ‘hospitality’ wasn’t very good. The wine had run out. Ditto the beer. The ‘food’ is nuts and chips (crisps in the UK). I spot Louis on the other side of the room but I was never introduced on the plane. Moving around, I find Anthony: “Glad you made it”, he says. I tell him the tale of ‘no hospitality’ from VIP Ticketing (who are a third party handling tickets for the band) and he asks if I was given an envelope at Will Call about the post-show party. “No”, I reply. “Let me get that sorted then”, he says and off he trots to find Poppy, his son’s PA.  She services all Anthony’s requests as well.

Five minutes later he’s back with a post-show party wristband and directions as to where it is (I had another wristband to gain entry to F&F). So kudos to Anthony, I’m sorry I doubted him, or the ‘process’. His promises fulfilled, he goes off to socialise with others in the room.

Oh, by the way – Anthony’s surname is Martin. His son is called Chris. Who is the lead singer of Coldplay. I am at Lumen Field to see Coldplay live in concert on their Music of the Spheres world tour.

Coldplay In Concert

Friends & Family wristband

Friends & Family invite

I asked Anthony when he gave me the post-show invite about getting to the hotel where the party will be. It becomes clear that Anthony is Coldplay royalty: “I have special arrangements” he tells me. These include him being driven to the hotel. He makes it clear – very nicely – that I will need to make my own way there. I will worry about that later I think to myself. He did say though that most people in the F&F room had walked to the stadium from downtown.

It’s gig time. Time to leave our window-less hovel. Naturally Anthony, and the three ladies he’s with, friends I believe, has two event ladies to escort him to his seat. The rest of us have to make do with a single bloke whom we follow, conga-like, through the stadium concourse to our seats.

I cannot believe it when we arrive at our block. My seat is in the front row, Row A, just above the playing field, which is standing only. However there are some twats from a Coldplay supplier – as I find out later – who are sitting in my seat. Eventually they move to where they should be.

Lumen Field panorama

Best Seat In The House

Coldplay ticket

My seat number is officially #3. I work out later that seats #1-3 are reserved for Anthony. For some reason he arrives after me, despite having left the F&F room before. When he does finally turn up, I have surreptitiously manoeuvred myself into seat #1, so I let him by me and he settles into seat #2. So I’m on the end of the row. The best seat in the house! His other seat went unused.

Anthony told me on the plane that despite his age, and some poor health in previous years, that whilst he’s still fit and able to travel the world and watch Chris perform to 1000s of people, he will continue to do so. Damn right! Long may he continue. And also in spreading joy to people like me and Louis – who brought his wife and three daughters with him – by inviting us into his Coldplay world, if only for a night. He also clearly enjoys Coldplay’s music and the show. Most of the time he was on his feet, doing a little dance shuffle every now and again, clapping along and even singing along at times. As we all were…

So I spent an evening standing and sitting next to Chris Martin’s Dad, watching Coldplay perform live, gratis. Who’d have believed that on the way to Heathrow on Monday?

It was a good concert. The light-emitting wristbands everyone wears create a great concert spectacle. The crowd made a great noise, singing along to most songs. Chris himself is in good humour and seems to appreciate the crowd responses.

Watch some clips from the concert on YouTube: Paradise #1, Paradise #2, Yellow and Clocks.

The concert ends and Anthony is whisked away by his escorts before the encores begin. I guess he’s seen the encores a few times by now… he says “See you there” as he departs. He’s taken down onto the playing field and around the back of the stage, to where I assume his car is waiting.

Just before the encores begin, an elderly event guy comes over to me. “I’ll take you around the back when it’s over”, he says, pointing to the way Anthony was just escorted out around the back of the stage. “How many of you are there?”

“He’s with the band”

I have no idea who he is or what he is talking about. But I guess he saw me with Anthony and that, for some special treatment, he will take me out back to exit the stadium more quickly rather than me leaving with the mass hordes. “It’s just me” I reply.

When the encores end, this guy is just standing around. He doesn’t come over to me so I go to him and say, “I’m ready to go now.” So we too descend onto the field as the standing gig-goers start to come up the steps to leave. We approach a barrier at the side of the stage. Event guy is stopped by two security guards. He says something I don’t hear. One of the guards asks me, “Do you know where you’re going?” No I reply. Then to the event guy: “You’ll have to take him if he doesn’t know where he’s going.”

Event guy to security guard: “He’s with the band.” WTF? Where did he get that from? Whatever, the barrier is opened and we walk through. I walk at normal pace but half way round the back of the stage, the elderly event guy is lagging way behind me. I stop to wait for him. When he catches up he says, “Do you know where you’re going now?”

Er, no, I think to myself but obviously don’t say. I do however reply “Yes”. At which point, without another word, he just turns around and starts walking back the way we came…

So I’m now abandoned backstage with no idea where to go. But it’s certainly not to try and “see the band” obviously. And I do need to get out of the stadium somehow. I see an opening at the corner of the stadium. I walk towards it. Coming through are fork-lift trucks and other vehicles to begin the set breakdown. I exit the stadium into a parking lot I passed on the way in. It contains the fleet of about 30 or so semi-trailer trucks that transport the set between gigs. The problem however is that when I walked past it I could see that the trucks were fenced in on the lot to prevent people getting near them. Which means I cannot get out.

Continuing to walk amongst the trucks, I don’t know how I’m going to get out of the caged lot. I get to the other end – amazingly no-one challenged or stopped me – and see a guy in a hi-vis jacket who has just opened one of the fence panels to let someone out. I quicken my pace. He sees me coming and keeps the panel open. As I pass him I say, “Thanks mate”. I am free. Why on earth did the event guy think I was “with the band”? I will never know.

After The Show

Coldplay after-show party wristband

Coldplay after-show party invite

I decided to walk to the Thompson Hotel as there was no public transport near that I could see. The walk takes me about 25 minutes, thankfully I’m not too knackered on arrival. I’m actually one of the first to get there. The party is in The Nest, the hotel’s rooftop bar and outdoor entertainment area that overlooks Elliott Bay. It’s still reasonably warm for 11.15 pm.

There’s a selection of free beer and wine at the bar plus some basic nibbles. Out on the terrace, Anthony spots me and gets up to chat. “Glad you made it”, he says. We talk for a good five minutes or so before he decides to return to his guests. The conversation closes with sincere thanks from me: “I’m glad you enjoyed it” he replies. He wishes me well on my upcoming travels. We warmly shake hands, I thank him profusely again and we part company.

After hanging around for a few minutes more, I can’t see any of the people I talked to at F&F earlier. The Nest is gradually filling up with lots of groups of people, who clearly all know each other, and they settle into their own groups, chatting away.

Nearing 11.45 pm, I decide to take my leave. It’s clear there are no opportunities to engage or talk to folks, they are all in their own little worlds tonight. Looking back out onto the terrace one last time, I see Anthony sitting on a sofa with his guests around him. As I walk out of The Nest, I realise I’ll probably never see or talk to him again. He’s a really nice guy. I wish him well.

It’s a short five minute walk to the Mayflower. Around midnight, it’s lights out. What an evening to remember, one to never forget, and one I’ll probably never come close to repeating again in my lifetime. Thanks Anthony.