I had just returned from a two-week trip to Bordeaux and Normandy and I was now headed to the Northwest, visiting the affluent artist colony of Kirkland, Wash. Little did I know that it would be like returning to France.

I arrived on the weekend of the 2nd Annual Kirkland Uncorked wine festival which coincided with an Art Show, the Seattle Boat Show held at Marina Park next to the festival site and the 6th Annual Kirkland Classic Car exhibit, with more than 300 automobiles parked on the downtown streets.

Sixty thousand had descended on this upscale suburb of Seattle, a town of about 47,000. It sits on Lake Washington and thumbs its nose at Seattle, whose skyline ascends across the water, 14 miles away.

It's a young comfortable town with mostly modern, well-designed buildings and plenty of large sailing vessels in its harbors and marinas. It's also Costco's original home, hence the Kirkland brand, Microsoft's headquarters are just down the road and Bill Gates lives nearby in a sprawling compound built into the lakeside hill.

It's an international destination. I took two taxi rides while in town. One driver was from Moscow the other from Somalia.

At the car show I started talking with Peter Hageman, who has a 1961 Bentley entered in the competition. He's also the Consul General for the Netherlands.

My seatmate on the flight from Los Angeles to Seattle was the editor of a computer games magazine who was making his yearly pilgrimage to the electronic gaming Mecca of the world.

The place is lousy with engineers, tourists and foreigners. Everybody's from someplace else coming to Kirkland in search of the good life. The only person I met who was a native was 2 years old.

I knew about the area's reputation for great coffee, so I asked the concierge at the Heathman Hotel, where I was staying in downtown Kirkland, to recommend a good local coffee house. She told me to try the French Bakery across the street.

It's an unassuming shop in a little strip mall owned by a French couple from Nice, Frederic Courteau and his wife Vanlee, who is the pastry chef. I was served by Delia from Uzbekistan and Vladimir, also of Russian descent. And I was served the best ?clair I ever tasted.

Over the weekend I made several return trips to try their other tarts, cakes, creme brulee, croissants and breads. Delia also gave me a cookie for the Russian taxi driver.

This is the best pastry/bakery shop I've ever been in. The locals know this as well; the line is out the door on weekend mornings.

I also had the best meals of the past month, yes better than in France, in several Kirkland eateries. I started at the Bin Vivant restaurant inside the Woodmark Hotel, Yacht Club and Spa (look for the pet cockatoo perched on top of the computer screen at the check-in counter, but don't try to pet him, like many computer nerds he's asocial and bytes).

The high-tech restaurant/wine bar has an integrated menu matching food choices with wines, offering 80 wines and six champagnes by the glass. The hotel is located right on the water overlooking the lake, a view which becomes much more intimate if you take advantage of the 28-foot Chris-Craft boat built in 1956, which the hotel owns and operates.

The boat pilot takes you to Seattle and back around the freshwater lake network in 2 1/2 hours at speeds up to 25 knots ($10 per person). We saw the floating home filmed in "Sleepless in Seattle," Bill Gates' compound, the University Washington's football field and boathouse and lots of sailboats, pleasure crafts, kayakers, sculls, canoes and leisure lake activity. A great bargain but you must reserve a spot on board, they go quickly.

That night at dinner I had one of the great meals of my life at Yarrow Bay Grill on Carillon Point. It was an eight-course tasting menu that included wine, matching Washington State viognier and syrah (two Rhone varietals) with the French influenced menu.

It was so good I took pictures of the food presentations, which ranged from shellfish in a variety of sauces to duck confit and a trio of desserts. Chef Vicky McCaffree is a Northwest treasure who has twice been the guest chef at the James Beard House in New York City.

There are 14 wineries in the Kirkland area, the largest of which is Chateau Ste. Michelle, established in 1967. They are known for their Riesling varieties and we tried several in the tasting room at the

Chateau. Wine Spectator awarded their late harvest riesling 97 points and it's spectacular ($30).

I was later to taste over 60 wines, red, white and dessert, along with beers and liquors at the festival. We were treated to live jazz and classical music, 30 food stands offered everything from barbeque to Thai food and French crepes.

Some of my favorite wines were from Basel Cellars, Five Star, Hence, Maryhill, Terra Blanca and Vin du Lac. My favorite wine in the show was a big syrah from the nearby winery in Woodinville, Washington Wine Co. Unfortunately they only make about 400 cases a year of their "Big F'N Syrah," but you can find it at The Grape Choice wine shop in Kirkland, www.thegrapechoice.com ($23) or call up Stephanie Cuffel at the vineyard 425-444-1322 and place an order.

If you want to get some exercise so you can justify all the fine food and drink — not to mention French pastries — available in Kirkland, head out to Bridal Trails State Park, a 482-acre day-use park and equestrian center. There are 28 miles of trails into the old growth forests of towering evergreens, soaring over a hundred feet in the air. You can hike or enjoy the calm of the forest on horseback.

Our final evening we had diner at Trellis restaurant at the Heathman Hotel. The extensive wine list included more than 200 wines from Washington, Oregon and California.

Executive Chef Brian Scheehser practices sustainable farming at his nearby 3-acre garden, where greens and vegetables are harvested two hours before dinner for use at the restaurant that night. He has extensive training at a number of French restaurants, most notably L'Escargo in Chicago, and once again I had a meal superior to any served in France. Kirkland, when it comes to fine dining and pastries, it's better than being in France.

IF YOU GO

The City of Kirkland Tourism Office, www.explorekirkland.com, (425-587-3010), publish a number of free pamphlets and maps, information on special events, festivals, recreational activities and places to stay, from modern hotels to local inns. The free weekly newspaper, Kirkland Reporter, has an Out and About section that lists entertainment activities throughout the week.

John Blanchette is a freelance travel writer. To find out more about John Blanchette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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