The longer someone can spend in Seattle, the better. I lived there for almost ten years, love it all, and still want more.

Each scene in my memory is a source of affection for me: the floating bridges to the Eastside; Randy's diner on East Marginal Way; the Burke-Gilman Trail (once a railroad, now a pedestrian-and-bicycle track tracing miles through the city); pubs such as the Duchess, the Big Time and the College Inn in the U District, Murphy's in Wallingford and The Fiddler's Inn in Wedgwood; steep-sided Ravenna Park...

Nor is the pleasure confined to city limits. An hour's drive east takes one over Snoqualmie mountain pass. Tending north leads to Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, Edmonds, and eventually Vancouver B.C.

Certainly there is the fun of Seattle landmarks such as the Space Needle and Alki beach, but taking a Metro bus or rental car to one or two of the many neighborhoods leads the visitor to a terrific choice of pubs, cafes, bookstores, lakes and walks.

So here is my tip. Stay as long as you can, buy a few dollars' worth of Metro tickets, and head to a couple of the local villages for a pint of Northwest stout; an hour's stroll in a fir-thick local park; and a natter with a cat dozing on the fiction overstock of a second-hand book place while KPLU plays drowsy jazz over the store radio.

Lovely Seattle.