Seattle, Washington with author, Mary Buckham!

Welcome to Seattle, Washington!!!

With award-winning author Mary Buckham.Mary has worked with thousands of writers both on-line and in live workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is the co-author of BREAK INTOFICTION®, a must-have craft book for your bookshelf and is co-founder of www.WriterUniv.com, an online learning resource for writers of all genres.

As the continental United States’ northwestern largest city, Seattle anchors the Pacific Rim with sweeping panorama views of Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, the Olympic mountain range and majestic14,441 foot Mount Rainier.

Why Seattle, Washington?

While I currently live north and west of Seattle, this city has enchanted me since my first visit as a child. Today I take day and overnight jaunts to visit as often as possible because there’s always something to see and experience. After living all over the world and the US, I still think of Seattle as the home of my heart!

Three restaurants from low to high priced a local would know and frequent

Lowell’s Restaurant & Bar –

Pike Place Market

1519 Pike Place (Pike Street)
Seattle, WA 98101

(206) 462-4541

For over 100 years Lowell’s Restaurant & Bar, located in the Main Arcade of the Pike Place Market, has been serving tourists and locals some of the greatest basic meals – fish & chips, hamburgers,crab omelets – and one of the best, bar none, world class views of the Olympic Mountains and the Port of Seattle from any of its 3 floors of seating.On the main level – you place your order cafeteria style to eat on the first or third floors. Or, if you want, stop at the second level for traditional sit down table service. Watch the ferries cruise Puget Sound, the snow dot the Olympic Mountains to the west, and the container ships from China and worldwide ports ply their trade. Casual enough for families, quick enough for a fast bite, situated central enough to shop the Market or nearby downtown stores, or romantic enough to watch the sun set with that special someone.

Café Paloma – www.cafepaloma.com

93 Yesler Way
Seattle, WA 98104-2530
(206) 405-1920

Located in Pioneer Square, they offer lunches and light dinners with a Mediterranean flair. Within walking distance of the Bainbridge/Bremerton Ferry Terminal this intimate and bohemian spot delights with a warm atmosphere and excellent sandwiches, soups, salads and appetizers which are attractively presented, but above all very flavorful and satisfying. Eat inside or when weather permits, at the outdoor tables for great people watching. Open for lunch and dinner, moderately priced.

Piatti – www.piatti.com/

University Village

2695 NE Village Lane
Seattle, WA 98105

206-524-9088

Discover Italy the minute you walk into the Piatti Restaurant with its open kitchen wafting mouth-watering aromas, stone pizza hearths, white cloth tablecloths and warm ochre and golden walls. Piatti’s feels like a traditional Italian trattoria only more upscale. With indoor and outdoors eating spots Piatti’s fills up for lunch and dinner fast on weekends, for special events or whenever there’s a football game at the nearby University of Washington’s Husky stadium, so plan ahead. You’ll be glad you did.

A local hot topic

Traffic J

With only one north-south freeway I-5 intersecting a city squeezed between two bodies of water [Puget Sound and Lake Washington], and one east-west freeway I-90 that has to travel across a Floating Bridge [many Washington lakes and fiords are so deep a floating bridge is the only option to span the length and depth – thus Washington is home to more floating bridges than anywhere else in the U.S.] and the only north-south major highway SR 99, being a viaduct damaged by recent earthquakes, how to avoid gridlock is a daily concern to Seattelites.

What is Seattle known for that is not stereotypical?

Seattle screams coffee, Microsoft and the birth of grunge rock, but there’s lots more in the Emerald City.The Seattle area makes up the 13th largest metropolitan area in the United States, with 3.3 million peopleand while it’s know for its rain but the truth is, it rains less in Seattle and is milder rain than it does in New York, Washington, D. C and a number of other East Coast cities. Seattle is the nation’s most educated city, with the highest percentage of college graduates.

How would you describe the general population of Seattle?

Seattle: hiking, kayaking, skiing outdoor lovers meet book reading, writing, entrepreneurial intellectuals enjoying life every day!Whew! And that’s only the beginning J

Famous people from this location

Notables who’ve called Seattle home include Microsoft billionaires Bill Gates and Paul Allen, glass artist Dale Chihully, musician Curt Cobain and the late Jimi Hendrix, movie star Bruce Lee who is buried in Seattle and so many authors it’s hard to name them all – Jayne Ann Krentz, Stella Cameron, Lisa Kleypas, Christina Dodd,Julia Quinn, and many more.

Different communities around Seattle

Seattle is composed of a number of very distinct neighborhoods, each with their own specific flavor and history.

International District: Just south and east of downtown, was the home of immigrant Chinese laborers in the late 1800s who were followed by waves of Japanese and Filipinos and more recently byVietnamese, Koreans and Pacific Islanders. This neighborhood is said to be the only area in the continental United States where so many different Asian groups have formed a single neighborhood.

Ballard: a few miles north of downtown Seattle, retains a funky, working-class charm that hints strongly of its Scandinavian heritage. It’s a place for bistros, pubs and art galleries. Farther south, along the Ship Canal, are steel fishing boats, giant crab pots in huge stacks, and in off-season, much of the Alaska salmon fishing fleet rests dock-side at Fisherman’s Terminal.

Fremont: Located north of the Ballard Ship Canal that connects Lake Union to Puget Sound, Fremont is home to such curiosities as the giant Troll statue under the Aurora Bridge, the Slovakian sculpture of Vladimir I. Lenin on N 36th Street, the Freemont Solstice parade where many participants march naked and the weekend Freemont outdoor Market.

University District: Dubbed the“U” District and surrounding the campus of the University of Washington (known as “U Dub”) this area is an eclectic assortment of architectural styles, with stunning views of Mount Rainier, well-tended gardens, well-stocked libraries and two worthwhile museums (the Burke and Henry). University Avenue, “the Ave”, boasts ethnic restaurants, music shops, cafes, pubs and the University BookStore.

Capitol Hill: The original inhabitants of Seattle were wealthy citizens who lived in grand mansions – many of which still stand on Capitol Hill, easily the city’s most culturally diverse section and, along its main street, Broadway, its most energetic. Capitol Hill is home to a vibrant, diverse gay and lesbian community, and a magnet for young folks ranging from skateboarders to punk rockers, to serious book-toting students (three colleges are located here). Take a stroll through one of Seattle’s favorite urban escapes, Volunteer Park, also the home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum and a lush conservatory.

Other neighborhoods include Belltown, SoHo, Beacon Hill where Amazon.com is headquartered, West Seattle and Alki Point, Greenlake, Wallingford, Madrona, Queen Anne Hill and First Hill, also known as Pill Hill for the number of hospitals and medical facilities located there.

Something that might interest the Petit Fours type readers

Seattle is crazy about chocolate! In every neighborhood of Seattleyou’ll find a variety of specialty chocolate shops from Theo Chocolate www.theochocolate.com,Chocolopolis, www.chocolopolis.com , Chukar Cherries, www.chukar.com . Walk any downtown street and you’ll be a chocoholic for life!

Something that would catch the attention of Hot Tamales

The Seattle Space Needle noticeably defines the Seattle skyline, also hosting The Seattle Center, home to Paul Allen’s Experience Music Project – an homage to music history and Seattle musicians like native Jimmy Hendrix. Enjoy lots of interactive exhibits and then check out nearby Belltown for funky cafes, artist lofts and great night spots!

If there was one must see, can’t miss thing you would recommend to someone new to the city, what would that be?

World famous Pike Place Market is a must for visitors and hosts the original Starbuckscoffee store, the flying fish vendors, nine acres of unique stores and restaurants and on weekends, forty thousand visitors, so it’s the place to people watch. What’s not to love!

Want to read more about Seattle, Washington?Check out the following Web sites highlighting Seattle and the various things you could do when you get there.

http://seattlebyfoot.com/ – exploring the best of Seattle by foot

http://www.seattle.gov/tour/ – a virtual tour of the city

http://www.spaceneedle.com/ – all the trivia you’d ever want to know about the Space Needle

www.pikeplacemarket.org – includes a cyber tour of the 100 year old market