The past two days I had my usual round of good-bye’s in Seattle, to the city, the places I visited, and the people I met.

I am getting nostalgic as usual a few days before, when I try to juggle all possible meetings, maximizing the time and trying to see everyone.

It mostly works out, though I realize the monthly rhythm of good-byes to people I just met and started to get to know starts to get to me.

The last few days when I walked into the bars, I met people I knew on several occasions, and that makes you start to feel at home. You know you’re taking root in a place when that happens.

If I had moved to Seattle for a job and would stay here indefinitely, this would be the moment I’m starting to become a local.

Alas, my flight to San Francisco is tomorrow.

So, Friday I went to see Haim, and then had drinks with Daniel at the Eagle, which was packed.

We had fun, met some friends, and at 2 am headed home with a stop at the Taco Place, with roughly 40 other people in the queue.

The streets in Seattle are buzzing at night on weekend’s they’re busier than ever during the work day.

I got a cold unfortunately that night, so the rest of the weekend was slower than anticipated.

Still I managed to meet Robert, a friend of my friend Heike, on my last day in Seattle. He’s a real fun guy, and the author of this fun blog Lunch with Grandma, about the snippets of wisdom his grandma shares with him during their lunches.

We headed to Bellevue, where he grew up, and I got a whirlwind tour of the town on the other side of Lake Washington, before setting into a great Ramen restaurant Santouka.

For coffee, he showed me the renowned Volunteer Park Café, famous for its cookies. I really had a great time, and I regret not meeting him earlier. He was so much fun to talk to.

From there, a final stint into Volunteer Park with my friend Joe, a painter (more on him coming up soon), to snooze in the sun with drinks (and hot tea for me).

Later we finished watching that Lauren Bacall movie we had started, and then it was time to say good-bye, too.

Over to Daniel, to bring back Henri the bike, and bid farewell to this friend. We have had a great time together in Seattle, he showed me all the bars and restaurants he liked and, as he’s a traveller himself, I might see him pop up somewhere during the rest of this trip.

Walking home uphill to go pack, I was really nostalgic, as the sun set over Capitol Hill, and I got another view at that great sky over Seattle, the sound, the lush green tree lined streets…

I was surprised to see a really BIG cat cross my way… just to realize that this striped tail belonged to no cat. A huge raccoon just strutted by, undisturbed by my presence, over the street and into the next garden, on the search for some unlocked garbage container…