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PIKE PLACE MARKET
I wasn't in Seattle to go sightseeing but what would a trip here be without catching a few sights? I met up with my childhood friend Matt and we went down to the Pike Place Market which is one of the premier farmers' market in the U.S. They have the usual fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables but here, the specialty is seafood. The main attraction is watching the fishermen do the famous fish toss (see this video). For more information, surf to the Pike Place Market website to learn about their 100-year history. Hours of operation: Monday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm; Sunday, 11am to 5pm. FYI: Directly across the street is the very first Starbucks, which opened in 1971.

THE SPACE NEEDLE
Seattle has an incredible art and music scene and one fascinating place to learn more about it is the Experience Music Project. The funky building was designed by Frank Gehry and founded and funded by billionaire Paul Allen. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to take a tour but I did manage to go next door and enjoy Seattle's main attraction, The Space Needle. The Space Needle is one of the most recognizable structures in the country and it was built in 1962 for the World's Fair. At the time, it was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River but these days it's not even the tallest building in Seattle; it's the seventh. It's 605 feet (184 meters) high and the elevator takes 42 seconds to whisk you to the top. There's an indoor and outdoor observation desk and one floor below is a restaurant that spins. You can't just go for drinks as it's a full-service restaurant. Admission rates at The Space Needle are: $16 for adults, youths (ages 4-13) $8, and $14 for seniors (ages 65+). Being up there sure reminded me a lot of the Macau Tower.

DINING IN SEATTLE
I wasn't even going to mention the places where I ate because they don't reflect the incredible food the city has to offer. But just so you can get a feel for the experience, I'll give you a few details. I dined at a variety of places. One was Palace Kitchen (2030 Fifth Ave, Tel: 206-448-2001), which was about a 15 block walk from the Arctic Club Hotel. I had fried corn on the cob pieces served with chili, lime butter and Parmesan butter ($8).

Next I had a Romaine lettuce and Parmesan dressing salad with an enormous garlic crouton ($8). For lunch one afternoon, I ate three blocks away at the Cherry Street Coffee House. It's a little shop that serves tasty, inexpensive sandwiches. I had the fresh mozzarella with Roma tomatoes ($6.45). Tutto Bella (4411 Stone Way North, Tel: 206-633-3800) near the University of Washington. It's about a 15-minute drive from downtown and it's a large, family eatery that serves creative and surprisingly authentic, fire-roasted Napoli-style pizzas. I went with my cousins and their friends/family and we split a bunch of pies. The Salad Pizza (salad on flat bread, $10) was filling enough. But I had to try the Margherita ($10.50) and the Giovanni (Extra virgin olive oil, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomato halves, prosciutto di Parma, fresh arugula, shaved parmigiano reggiano, Grana Padano!) They even have the Neapolitan pizzaiolis Seal of Authenticity.

KERRY PARK
After dinner, we cruise over to Kerry Park in Queen Anne for the best view of Seattle -- especially on a clear night. The site is just spectacular and afterwards, we indulge at Simply Desserts (3421 Fremont Ave North, Tel: 206-633-2671). It's small – kind of a hole in the wall as well, but a slice of cake ($4) or a brownie ($2.10) will hit the spot.

VASHON ISLAND
My buddy Matt talked me into going out to see his summerhouse on Vashon Island. I'm glad I spent the time to take the 30-minute car ferry (here's the Vashon Ferry website) over the Pugent Sound to the island. It costs $18.50 to bring a car and $5.20 for passengers. The good news is that there's no fee leaving the island so you just pay once. BTW: I took the passenger ferry, which takes you right to downtown, about a five-minute walk from the Arctic Club Hotel. Matt will be writing a story about Vashon for JohnnyJet.com so for now, I'll just tell you that there really is something magical about being on this island that's approximately 13 miles long and eight miles at its widest point. There's 45 miles of shoreline and the year-round population is roughly 11,000. The pace is slower, the people friendlier, there's an abundance of fruit. I picked the most delicious apples from his trees as well as plums and blackberries. We took a walk down to the beach, that had clear, clean water and the vistas of Mount Rainier were just breathtaking.

DID YOU KNOW? Mount Rainier is 14,411 feet high and is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) southeast of Seattle.

RICK STEVES
My colleague Rick Steves (you know, the Europe travel guru who's all over public television?) invited me to be on his weekly radio show which he does out of his amazing Travel Center in Edmonds, Washington. Edmonds is a quaint little town that's about a 25-minute drive from Seattle and reminded me of Solvang, though not as touristy. I'm glad we didn't do the show over the phone because there's no real flow that way. It's difficult to get a feel for the show or anticipate whose turn it is to talk. Overall, I think the show went well and instead of just taping one segment, we ended up doing a few that will create a show and a half over 70 minutes of airtime. They're not sure when it will air but probably in the next couple of months. A list of stations can be found here, or you can listen to the archive podcast once they post it. If you do make it to Seattle, then you'll want to visit Rick's Travel Center -- the store is stocked with travel bags, books, maps, DVDs and accessories and they offer free travel classes every week (I might teach one in the future).

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
If you want to save some money, check out the Seattle Tour Saver. It's from the same folks as the Alaska Tour Saver and there are tons of two-for-one deals in there. If you want to pre-book any Seattle tours, log on to Viator.com. They have bus tours, cruises, and even a Boeing plant tour, which I wish I'd known about while I was up there.

VIDEO
Here's a four-minute Johnny Jet video of my trip to Seattle. We also have all the Johnny Jet videos ever made on YouTube.

NEXT WEEK
Next Week I'm thinking somewhere remote and exotic but we'll see ... Stay tuned to find out where we end up next.

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