Spellbound in Seattle

I got to visit Seattle for the first time when I went to my self-compassion seminar last month and I fell in love. The clouds! The market! The Sound!

Did you know that Seattle is host to a huge, noisy, crazy-cool-shops filled Public Market Center? I may be the only visitor not to know this (or the fact that Dale Chihuly has one of his biggest permanent public displays over by the Space Needle, but we'll get to that later) and I think my joy in discovering it, completely without expectation, made the whole thing even more delightful.

I was jumping up and down and would have been running ahead yelling at

my friends to follow, but I was solo, so I had to restrain myself to just beaming madly at all the fishmongers, jewelry sellers and market-stall owners. The guy who sold me my postcards surely thought I was a little unstable, I was so excited and grateful for my $1 worth of memorabilia. Then again, he's never seen me at work, getting all overjoyed at someone on our staff dressing up for a holiday or really wowing a customer - my threshold for giddy excitement is lower than that of most normal adults.

I must have spent nearly three hours wandering around, discovering a Native American jewelry store with an incredible pink sapphire that was about eight carats, set in white gold with diamonds. It was only $6500 (I showed considerable restraint - not to mention I didn't have that kind of money to spend on a sapphire). I did indulge in some lovely, handmade, organic, local lavender products from All Things Lavender- if you enjoy lavender and don'thave a local supplier, check them out. I stocked my hotel room with fresh fruit and some delicious Bumble Bars. I found my way down an incredibly old, wooden gangway into the underground part of the market with great local art; a thrift shop with the best selection of handkerchiefs and tea towels I've seen since I was in the Midwest; a bookstore, an architect's office with a stellar water-front view, a record store (with people in it!) and a fortune teller who was un-fortunately closed for the day.

- Jocelyn Lovelle