We arrived at SeaTac on a direct Delta flight from Charles De Gaul Paris on Friday afternoon, our first time back in the US in almost two years. We stayed downtown for a few days to do a bit of shopping and adjust to jet lag rather than imposing our groggy bodies on friends and family.

Seattle has been changing for a long time, we were aware of that before we left, but our absence of 22 months made the toll that COVID and street people have taken on the city quite dramtic.

My first real impression happened at the airport. After clearing customs, which was quite easy, though slow, I stopped at les toilettes. In CDG airport the facilities are imaculate, at SeaTac it smelled like an outhouse and there were pieces of toilet paper all over, yuck. Not a good first impression.

American showers are a joy, spacious and water that maintains its temperature. This of course is from the perspective of someone who lives in a rural, 230 year old cottage with bad plumbing. Our water is scalding if someone else in the neighboring cottage is using water, it makes for exciting mornings.

In Seattle, at least this part, a lot of restaurants and shops are either closed or gone. Some did not survive COVID, others are victim to the unsafe environment. Many have closed rather than struggle with the rampent shoplifting. We went in a Bartells, which is closing in a week, it was awful. Tricia wanted nail-files, she had to get an employee to unlock a case where they were kept to prevent theft. We needed a gift bag. All of the bags on the rack had the backs cut out so they could not be used for theft, another employee had to go to the stockroom and find us one, it took him close to ten minutes – I almost felt bad for asking. It is a sad state of affairs.

We did get our shopping done. We ended up eating at the same restaurant a few times just because some of our old favorites are gone.

This part of Seattle seems tired. We started to walk to Pike Place Market but with all of the street-people it just did not seem inviting. We did not get to the waterfront which may be more vibrant as it is, or was, a big tourist area.

I hope somehow Seattle recovers, I have so many fond memories of the town.