Seattle really knows how to do tourism right. Streets are clean, downtown is safe, and public transportation is foolproof. From the airport you can hop on the light rail for $2.75, and in about 35 minutes, at the Westlake terminus, you are downtown. There’s plenty of shopping to do here…

Speaking of shopping, with this page ripped out from Elle magazine in my purse,

I pop into the Chanel boutique at the flagship Nordstrom store to see if I couldn’t drool over the jacket up close and personal. Grrr, it’s as nice as I thought…

though I think the version I tried on has the longer sleeves. Price tag is unhappy. Very. And we’re still months away from sale season. No instant gratification today.

Just outside of Nordstrom is the Seattle Center Monorail:

A one-way ticket costs $2.50; it’s worth the price of admission just for the view as you approach the Center:

Yes, it’s all about the Space Needle here. It was built for the 1962 World’s Fair and has an observation deck at 160 meters.

Like every other tourist I probably took 100 shots of this structure. But I’m really here to see some magic… of the glass kind.

The Chihuly Garden and Glass broke ground in August 2011. The structure includes an exhibition hall…

glasshouse…

and garden…

It would be an understatement for me to say that once you walk from the very dark exhibition hall into the blindingly bright glass house, you have the sensation of entering a heaven on earth. You don’t have to be a Chihuly fan or art lover to appreciate this space. It is simply a human reaction to want to bask in this glasshouse for as long as time permits.

I only wish I had enough time to come back here for the night tour and to loiter at the other sites at the Seattle Center:

But it’s on to Portland and tax-free shopping!