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Pike Place Market in Seattle

© Jerri Brooker

Wander around Pike Place Market in Seattle for hours and you will get caught up in the cosmopolitan culture. Listen to the banter, stroll to the drums or guitar strings, smell the fresh-baked buttered bread hot out of the oven and see the colorful customers and shopkeepers as they buy and sell the wares of the community and the world.

What once was a beginning in August, 1907, of a group of farmers protesting middleman rising costs has since become a jewel in the Seattle retail landscape, teeming with activity and tantalizing wares for the visitor.

Watch the fishmongers throw a fish better than former Mariner's player Randy Johnson throws a baseball as you order a salmon to go. Stand back so you don't have to catch one yourself; the vendors have been known to surprise a few customers here and there with a surprise throw. Here it comes, watch out!!

Jaws drop, eyes twinkle, ears get a fill of whatever is on the tab for the day. Espresso stands beckon, chocolate wafts through the air, you can almost taste the butter in the fresh bread and the comforting clam chowder as the smell of Seattle foods blend like the neighborhood deli.

Somewhere on Pike Street there is bound to be an orator hoping to catch your attention while extolling the virtues of whatever they believe you need to hear. You may even see a panhandler or two.

Be sure to drop a dollar in the guitar case of the musician setting up residence for the day on the street corner if you choose. Look at the collections of ocarinas and flutes at one of the craft vendor sites and see the beautiful produce and plant life in this international marketplace.

All around the hustle and bustle, sights and smells take you to places you don't see or sense every day. It's a magical place, with fish looking you in the eye or flying across the aisle in front of you, shopkeepers vying for your attention, and tourists and locals setting the stage for a one-day comedy/tragedy replaying anew every day. Gather handloads of produce, take home a totem pole carving, a handmade drum or whatever the local vendors have in store for you the day you visit.

The vegetables are the biggest and best. The fruit, meat and deli items are to die for. Smell the aromas of fresh-cooked chili, dim sum, clam chowder or baguettes fresh out of the oven. Espresso aromas fill in where they may. Jewelry, clothing, wood products and art adorn rustic and upscale shops.