Weekend in Seattle

Seattle, Wash., is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. Located between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, and overlooking Elliott Bay, Seattle is nicknamed The Emerald City. The city is a damp green gem, with an abundance of evergreen trees throughout and spectacular views of the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic mountains to the west. Known for being the home of the Space Needle, Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon.com and Starbucks, not to mention grunge music and fashion, Seattle is also the home of a vibrant arts scene and an excellent park system.

Seattle boasts a number of museums including the Seattle Art Museum, Museum of Flight, the interactive Pacific Science Center and Experience Music Project, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The city is also home to many parks from Golden Gardens Park on the Puget Sound, which offers spectacular views of the sun setting over the Olympic mountain range on clear days and still allows bonfires on the beach, to serene Volunteer Park in Capitol Hill, home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum and a conservatory, to the 20-acre Japanese style Kubota Garden in South Seattle.

The Hotel Vintage Park is a historic boutique hotel in downtown Seattle. Located across the street from the Seattle Public Library and within six blocks of shopping, theaters, and the Seattle Art Museum, the winery-themed hotel appeals to couples and leisure travelers. The hotel is six blocks from the Seattle waterfront area, where sailing, parasailing, scenic cruises, and fishing excursions are available (surcharge). The hotel's fine-dining restaurant, Tulio, specializes in regional Italian cuisine using fresh local ingredients. The parlor-like lobby hosts complimentary wine-tasting each evening and complimentary coffee and tea service each morning. Guests have access to a business center and fitness center at the Hotel Monaco, one block away, and discounted passes are available to a health club three blocks away. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available throughout the hotel. The complimentary Om Away From Home in-room yoga program includes the Yoga Channel and a basket of accessories for guest use. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available throughout the hotel. The guest rooms are named for Washington wineries. Deluxe rooms have the best views (including views of Mount Rainier), and although the bathrooms are small, they do have attractive granite counters. Standard rooms, though smaller and less luxuriously appointed, are still very comfortable, and surprisingly, the bathrooms are larger than those in the deluxe rooms. The environmental program, Kimpton Hotels EarthCare, supports a sustainable world by using non-intrusive, high quality, eco-friendly products and services, including In-Room recycling bins, non-toxic cleaners, organic honor bar items and water/energy efficient measures. Kimpton Hotels EarthCare products and practices are based on California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Lodging Guidelines.

Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame create one of the must interesting stops in Seattle. The Experience Music Project is a 140,000 square foot music museum at the Seattle Center. The museum takes you through music history by immersing you in nearly 80,000 artifacts including photos, sound archives, costumes and musical instruments from notable artists. The Science Fiction Museum & Hall honors the greatest minds in the genre. Here viewers can pay homage to the celebrities of science fiction while participation in interactive and educational exhibits.

Once a decaying stretch of soup kitchens, parking lots and warehouses, this northern half of downtown is now peppered with outposts of chic. Nightclubs like Crocodile Cafe and Sit 'n' Spin rival the noisy glory of Pioneer Square, and restaurants like Shiro's and Cascadia attract crowds of urban 30-somethings. Funky salons and furniture shops fill the old warehouses, and condo developments sprout over deserted lots. Also check out Speakeasy Cafe and 211 Billiard Club.

Recalling upper-crust New York in the 1940s, El Gaucho is not typical Seattle, but it is excellent. The waiters are tuxedoed. Live piano plays in the background. Candles flicker, shedding light over lots of dark wood. Perfectly prepared steak and seafood dishes fill the menu. Order Chateaubriand for two, carved table side, or an 18-ounce Australian Lobster Tail. The establishment also includes two cigar lounges and a full bar. Private rooms accommodate up to 45 people.

One of Seattle's most famous landmarks, this is the oldest continuously working public market in the country. Shop for fresh vegetables and fruits. Stop by Pike Place Fish to see fish fly. The market has numerous shops, including a health food and herb store, craft stores, and flower stands. Stop by Sur la Table, where you'll find tools with which to prepare your recently purchased ingredients. Don't forget to pick up fresh-baked pastries for dessert, and stop at one of the restaurants for lunch or an authentic Seattle latte before heading home.

Located on the waterfront, next to the Omnidome, this aquarium features exotic fishes, sea mammals and other ocean life. See the sea lions, harbor seals, incredibly cute sea otters and even come face to face with a shark. New exhibits are added often along with, special events and outings.

Visitors to Seattle are usually stunned by the abundance of water surrounding the city. Just north of downtown lies Lake Union. Surrounded by houseboat communities, marinas, shipbuilders and glitzy restaurants, the lake is a hub of activity. Seaplanes take off and land, sharing the 600-acre lake with kayaks, canoes, powerboats, sailboats and tugboats. While the lake can be explored any time of year, Fireworks Over Lake Union are an annual highlight, bringing thousands of people to the lake's shores. For a day out with children or friends, Lake Union never disappoints.

Conceived as soon as the first white settlers came in the 1850s and finished in the 1930s, Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (Ballard Locks) go up and down on a regular basis, letting pleasure craft, fishing boats and tour vessels through. Crowds come here to see the boats, to watch the salmon using the fish ladder; and the sea lions that come to eat them and to stroll through the adjacent gardens. The locks and gardens are open daily, but the visitor center is only open on weekends in the winter.

The cheery bright yellow entrance and the friendly greetings of the staff make patrons feel like welcome guests in this neighborhood bistro. They specialize in "cuisine traditionelle." The menu offers delicacies like roasted marrow bones and beef tartare, as well as the more mainstream duck confit and steak frites. Not sure what's what? The servers are happy to educate and make recommendations. The exclusively French wine list features several types of the namesake crémant– sparking wine from other-than-Champagne regions of France. Special prix-fixe dinners, made with seasonal items in the French tradition, are the best value. Reservations highly recommended.

Volunteer Park displays the Olmsted brothers' late-Victorian urban style of park design. Vistas of rolling lawns, carefully clumped shrubbery, tree-lined drives and carp ponds almost make you feel like you're strolling with top hat and cane in hand. The Kew Gardens-style glass conservatory, filled with humid tropical and arid desert environments, is free to all. At the southern end of the park stands a 75-foot brick water tower with a spiraling staircase and a 360-degree view of the Seattle area, from the Olympics to the Cascades. The view is a bit obstructed by the bars on the windows, but it's lovely in late afternoon sunlight. The park's name commemorates Seattleites who volunteered for the Spanish-American War. The park is also home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum.