SEATTLE — What does Seattle mean to an outsider?
"A place for dreamers," said Elsa Libeux, a Paris-born TV producer who works for the European cultural channel, "Arte."
"Boeing, 'Jet City,'" Ukrainian TV host Anton Ptushkin said.
"What do you call it?" asked Mexican actor Jaime Camil. "The North Pacific West? That's what you call Portland and Seattle?"
Over the last couple of years, we checked in with journalists and storytellers visiting from other countries, to get a fresh look at ourselves.
"I think this part of the world is definitely seen by French people as the heart of invention, especially in tech, and they really admire Seattle for that," said Libeux.
"Something that really surprised me is how different it is from other cities on the West Coast," Libeux added.
Hard to believe, but not every European person has even heard of us.
"A city that is not very well known," Libeux said, "so it has this mystery around it that people love."
The stories Libeux has told in the form of mini-documentaries make full use of that mysterious quality, including the search for DB Cooper, and the century-old deaths at Olalla's "Starvation Heights."
Before the war in Ukraine, we met up with Ukrainian TV host Ptushkin, who wore a handcrafted Seattle hoodie that he made at home in Ukraine.
Ptushkin and his cohost were visiting MoPOP while filming a travel show for a Ukrainian and Russian audience, many of whom don't know that we exist.
"More well known," he admitted, "New York, Los Angeles, maybe Miami."
You might know Camil from his heartthrob roles in Schmigadoon and Jane the Virgin, but he's also a popular YouTuber south of the border.
"So my friend was like, 'Just grab your camera, and people will be interested in following you every day,'" Camil said, "I'm like, 'I don't know. I don't know how to do it.' And then all of a sudden I have 150,000 subscribers. Only God knows why.'"
One of his episodes was filmed here in Seattle.
"I loved it," said Camil.
He hit up the usual tourist sites, from Pike Place Market to the Space Needle. And the region left him muy impresionada.
"It's so beautiful!" Camil said. "Washington state is gorgeous."
We're glad these strangers came to visit and hope they remember us fondly.
"People are just friendly, welcoming, laid back," Libeux said.
"It was amazing. Amazing," said Camil.
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