Now that Air France has that daily nonstop from Paris, Seattle is on the French radar screen. Le Monde, the largest French daily (circ. about 500,000), takes aim with a travel piece this weekend, full of helpful advice for French travelers.
(Parenthetically, today's Wall Street Journal profiles a French couple who've retired to the Atlantic coast of Morocco, where French is widely spoken and the livin' is easy.)
As the salmon fly overhead, Tom Douglas is on hand to remind Le Monde's reporter that Americans aren't used to shopping in public markets; Seattle's an exception. One of the market vendors is a French guy, Pierre-Louis Montheillet, who points out that he didn't need a diploma to sell the goat cheese he makes in eastern Washington. Though Starbucks is acknowledged, Le Monde prefers Caffè Umbria in Pioneer Square.
Other tips: for lodging, the Alexis ("closest to the ocean"). Recommended at the Market: lunch at Lowell's ("everybody eats there"). For those who have an extra hour or so, Le Monde suggests taking the water taxi to Alki to "eat at Sally's on the Beach [sic], a little West Seattle restaurant with great views of downtown."
After reading (and even writing) oh-so-many mealy-mouthed paeans to the bistros and brasseries of Paris, it's refreshing to see the tables turned, as it were.
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