Have a fresh crumpet on a brisk morning--you'll learn that their reputation as 'dainty' fare is completely unjustified. In Seattle, "The Crumpet Shop" has been a family-run institution in Pike Place Market for more than three decades. Get some tea (bottomless mugs!) and sit by the window for a view of the kitchen action while having breakfast...or lunch.

It might sound like an unlikely combination, but go with it. Envision: a big yeasty roll, slightly sweet, browned just to perfection, soft and filled with Chinese barbeque pork--"hom bow!" Get some at Mee Sum Pastry in Seattle's Pike Place Market. It's literally a hole-in-the-wall. In fact, it has been voted Seattle's "best hole-in-the-wall." Sweet. Savory. Bread. Meat. On an overcast day with a salty wind coming off Elliott Bay--Pacific NW/Chinese comfort food. On my first visit, and then during the decade that I called Seattle home, I was a regular at Mee sum. Have a taste, and you'll become one too... [For those familiar with dim sum--think of 'hom bow' as 'char siu bao' on steroids!]

From a hilltop high enough to be above the fog on a fall morning, looking south toward Mt. Rainier; when "The Mountain is out," as Puget Sound residents say, everything else pales...This glacier-covered volcanic giant presides over the entire landscape. When the fog blankets the valleys, urban and suburban sprawl disappear--enjoy the feeling of being alone with sky and mountain, on top of the world, even if only for a morning. (With Seattle's undulating topography, there's no shortage of hilltop vantage points--try the cliffs above Puget Sound in Discovery Park, the top of the Water Tower in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, or Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill, not to mention the top of the Space Needle or the observation deck of the Columbia Center, the tallest skyscraper in the city.)

One of Seattle's landmark buildings, the downtown Public Library is a dramatically asymmetrical 11-story-tall glass-and-steel 'sculpture' that takes up an entire city block. Designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, the interior features a continuous 'book spiral' that allows access to the collections. With a coffee-cart and natural daylight pouring in, it's the perfect place to spend part of a rainy day... 1000 Fourth Avenue, downtown Seattle

Some of the best ways to see Seattle are from up high! Whether it's the Space Needle, the Columbia Tower or a downtown hotel, you will get a great view of the architecture, Mt. Rainier (on a sunny day!) and the water ways. This city has a great cityscape, so get up high to see it!

Seattle has become a cupcake town; you can (and I have) had entire conversations debating the merits of various cupcake shops. Cupcake Royale is one of the best, and definitely worth a visit. They have rotating monthly flavors (pictured is the Velvet Elvis peanut butter and banana), good coffee, and amazingly rich cake-flavored ice cream — sample a few to find your favorite. They also have a wide range of cute t-shirts, travel mugs, stickers, and even baby clothes with snappy sayings that make great gifts for folks back home. Cupcake Royale has a bunch of locations around Seattle, but this downtown one will be the easiest to get to if you're near Pike Place Market or Pioneer Square.

In Seattle, coffeeshops are for both ritual and rendezvous, a refuge from the dripping grey: caffeination, conversation, insulation, motivation, introspection, observation...

A local neighborhood 'map' in the windowfront of one of my favorite stores anywhere: Metsker Maps in downtown Seattle. "Without geography, we're nowhere," proclaims a bumper sticker from what's been a family-run institution for over six decades. ALL kinds of maps, globes, grography-related books, etc. Just a couple of doors down: The Crumpet Shop. Maps and a mug of tea--fuel for the traveler's soul! Located on First Avenue between Pike and Pine. Its location in Pike Place Market might make one suspicious, but worry not--this is NOT a kitschy tourist trap.

Locals may get a twinge of nostalgia remembering Lunchbox Laboratory's original, tiny shack in Ballard, where vintage lunchboxes covered the walls and they closed up when they ran out of meat. Fortunately, their new South Lake Union location is much more spacious, if a little more slick and polished. You can still get enormous, super-customized burgers, tater tots with a variety of seasoning blends, and amazingly delicious milkshakes. Try the "dork" (duck + pork) patty. Happy hour features $4 drinks, plus discounted burgers, fries, and milkshakes. Prices are a little higher than your typical burger joint (about $10-15 per burger), but it's an unforgettable experience — and you probably won't want to eat again that day. (Pictured: the Truffle Love.)

During a trip to Seattle this past week my husband and I stopped to try some 'stumptown coffee'. Every morning we go to our local coffee shop... And we had to keep the tradition on our vacation and get some tasty coffee

I'm hesitant to even put "food court" and "sushi" into the same sentence, because that summons up a mental picture that hardly does Sushi Kudasai justice. This friendly, unpretentious mom-and-pop sushi shop is located in the heart of the downtown shopping district, one block down from Westlake Center (skip the sushi joint in that food court and come here). Their lunch specials are a good deal, like the salad and 5-piece nigiri shown here ($10), and it includes miso and green tea. You'll see them make your sushi fresh to order, dispelling any doubts about the admittedly lacking food-court ambience, but service is fast and seating is plentiful. Kudasai has another downtown location, and also makes party platters by special order (or if you're just reaaally hungry).

Look, I'll be honest. I'd heard the Spur was a great place to eat and drink, but when we got there, the prices on the menu did scare me a little ($30 for lamb, $12 for artichokes). Then we realised that, thanks to jet lag, we had turned up early enough for happy hour. A small but smart bar-cum-bistro in Seattle's trendy Belltown, the Spur has a good reputation for cocktails but we went instead for the Old Seattle Lager which was served by the knowledgeable and genial barman. As soon as he spotted us poring over a map he was keen to make sure we knew about all the other good bars in the area too. But best of all were the snacks. We ordered the sliders from the Happy Hour menu and they were literally melt in the mouth - not a surprise, since they contained Wagyu beef. The wasabi aioli had a lovely kick to it, and the fries were crisply delicious. Highly recommended.

On a pier over a century old, Elliott's Oyster House has been one of Seattle's best places for seafood for over three decades. All of the iconic tastes of the Pacific Northwest are here: Dungeness crab, wild salmon, and, of course, oysters. The varieties of the rocky bivalves are reliably fresh--all local and sustainable...and if you don't like to slurp them au naturel, try them "Rockefeller"--baked with spinach, pernod and bacon, topped with hollandaise. With skyscrapers behind you, water below you, and mountains across the Sound, a meal on this pier is one of the highlights of a stay in Seattle...

For decades, Elliott Bay Books has been one of Seattle's best bookstores...So, a few years ago, when it was announced that the venerable institution was going to leave its historic Pioneer Square neighborhood digs, there was lots of worry--would the store survive the move up to Capitol Hill? YES--it survived, and Elliott Bay Books still feels like...Elliott Bay Books. Creaky wooden floors in a century-old building, readings by today's best writers, an in-store café, the eclectic employees' picks...In one of America's most literate cities, this bookstore remains a haven. Online behemoth Amazon may be building its new headquarters downtown, but Elliott Bay is still a beacon for book lovers in the Pacific Northwest...

Far and away Seattle's most iconic structure, the Space Needle really isn't that old — built in 1962 for the World's Fair (along with several other buildings like the Pacific Science Center and Key Arena), it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012. If you're lucky enough to catch it on a sunny day, the views really are outstanding, and the interesting interactive time-lapse video screens on the observation deck let you see Seattle's skyline at any hour. And, of course, a gigantic gift shop on the ground floor will take care of all your souvenir needs... for a price. The Space Needle is located directly in front of the Experience Music Project/Sci-fi Museum, so if you're feeling ambitious, you can get in a full day of sightseeing right here at the Seattle Center. The Pacific Science Center is a great spot for families, too. At $19 per adult, it isn't cheap, but few can resist the pull of this quintessential Seattle attraction (shown here from inside Chihuly Garden and Glass, also in the Seattle Center). For a better deal, eat lunch in the revolving restaurant; entrees run $25-30 and the elevator ride and admission to the observation deck are included.

Many consider breakfast the most important meal of the day, so it has to be big, good or both. The innovative approach Lola takes in redefining breakfast classics manages to catapult it into the later. Something as simple as a doughnut becomes novel in this environment. Hash browns are transformed into smashed, encrusted fried potato wedges. Eggs Benedict borders on sublime. You really can't miss on the "good." And the "big" part of these offerings has little to do with portions - it's flavor that commands the table. The Ginger Mint Spritzer drink inspired us to come home and create our own version. It's that kind of place. Inspiring and accessible. The menu spans all three meals continuing the same culinary craft long after the doughnuts are GONE. Lola is part of the Tom Douglas Dirty Dozen Dynasty in Seattle restaurants. I am currently eating (and writing) my way through all of them and hope to finish before climate change raises the Puget Sound; flooding Tom's lower elevation locations. Pleasant staff and conveniently (for the moment) located, Lola is a favorite downtown spot for us.

From the skyscrapers of downtown Seattle, you look out over Puget Sound--beyond this arm of the sea, the snowcapped Olympic Mountains beckon...Few cities are as easy to escape from as Seattle. Get to the downtown ferry terminal, and you'll be on the Olympic Peninsula in just over half-an-hour. Walk on or drive on; the boats are frequent. Writer Jonathan Raban has discussed at length "the interesting paradox that Seattle is the first big city to which people have swarmed in order to get closer to nature." A few other cities might also fit that description, but few have the ferries to go along with it.

It's an uphill walk to get to Glo's and once you get there you have to wait because it's pocket sized. But let's say you wait it out on the benches outside, watching the busy intersection under grey stormy skies (the only kind you get in Seattle). But 15 (20... 30...) minutes later your table's ready and the buttery hashbrown/bacon/coffee smelling warmth hits you as you walk in the door to a room so bright and alive with those yellow tables. Your tattooed bearded waiter says "coffee?" and you say "definitely" and then as you settle in with a menu and a steaming cup of local joe, you think "I could stay here all afternoon." And maybe you should.

I didn't expect to like the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit because it seemed like yet another overpriced Seattle attraction. But I was pleasantly surprised by this colorful, photography-friendly collection of the one-eyed glass artist's work. The Northwest room, with its ceramics, textile art, Pendleton blankets, and photography of Native Americans, is a nod to the traditional arts that inspired Chihuly's work. Playful, brightly colored glass is everywhere: oversized spheres piled into a rowboat, sea creatures and undulating glass ribbons that evoke the movement of the ocean, and fanciful "flowers" in the outdoor garden. The gift shop is large, with a nice selection of gifts, novelties, and Pendleton blankets. And King County residents get a discounted rate of $15! Great for vistors, residents, and anyone who has nice digital camera they're itching to try out.

There is an initial stir walking into blueacre. It's just a little too perfect. The raw bar, split seating areas, private dining room, the art, the simplicity. Maybe just a little over-thought on ticking all the design boxes. That all fades upon first staff contact with a smart, friendly welcome. In a town drowning in seafood restaurants, blueacre rises above the tide with a commitment to locally-sourced, sustainable catches that are wonderfully prepared and served. Start at the raw bar and sample the array of fresh oysters from beds along the Washington Coast. Lunch always has specials to delight your taste buds and your budget. Dinner is a balanced mix of surf and turf with a veggie main tossed in for NW correctness. Starters and salads reflect a seaworthiness one would expect. Local craft beers and wines are covered. Cocktails don't disappoint. The owners have a great history with the space and solid experience in the Seattle restaurant scene. Their attention to detail cuts across all aspects of the visit at blueacre. This clean plate initiative stop included a round of Willapa Bay oysters, asparagus and cambozola fritters, mizuna and ruby grapefruit salad, wonderfully encrusted halibut and a sesame seared tombo tuna. Top it all off with a walk down to the waterfront to catch the last vestige of sunset and put a check mark next to another day well lived in the Emerald City.