Friday, August 26, 2011

Portland

One of the coolest things about Portland is the system of public transportation.  It is possible to be far outside the city center and within a half an hour on the train you are dropped off right in the middle of the action.  We got a great price on a hotel near the airport of Portland with an awesome breakfast, shuttle service and pool included!  We could then take the shuttle to the train station and the train into town within a half an hour.  The first night we got there kinda late in the day so we decided to relax a little at the hotel and get settled before taking the car to go out to dinner.  The people that we had met at Olympic NP had recommended this restaurant called the Montage which is just at the southeast corner of the city.  Since it wasn’t downtown then we were able to park the car easily nearby.  If someone hadn’t told us about it, we never would have known about this place or even thought to stop here.  It was tucked under a highway overpass in the corner of a building filled with bars that were spilling out on the sidewalks all around.  When you walk in the door the first thing you see is a sign indicating ‘Please wait for your table in La Merde’ which I assumed was the name of the lounge area next door.  The restaurant was crowded, loud, and cluttered with all sorts of different people and styles.  The waiters were wearing white doctor looking overcoats with a red rose on the front and most of them had tattoos covering their arms.   Even though we arrived after 9 there was an hour wait to get a table in this tiny little restaurant.  The front of the restaurant was animated with people talking loudly with martinis in their hands.  There were people from all walks of life, including Portland’s hip 20 somethings, families with children, parents, and friends.  Everyone had one thing in common – they came here to have a good time with good food that didn’t cost a fortune!  We had a couple beers before finally settling into a table along the wall where there were a long string of tables all pushed together.  There was a group of 5 friends sitting next to us that enlightened us on what a ‘hushpuppy’ is on the menu.  They were a lot of fun and gave us one piece of advice that proved to be so true throughout our time visiting Portland: The best part of the city is not downtown.  The food was really good, fresh and surprisingly inexpensive, including the amazing frog legs as a starter!   We had a really good time talking about Portland and talking to our neighbors (If you guys are reading this – Portland was awesome, thanks for the advice!!!).



These were the restaurants crazy 'doggy bags', each individually designed....Elisabeth got a little kitty cat.



The next day was our big day to visit the city so we tried to get an early start and after breakfast we took the train into the city.  Since it was Saturday our first stop was at the famous Saturday Market.  It is not a farmer’s market (This is in a different part of the city) but it is a crazy maze of local vendors selling their handmade items, food, and crafts.  It was a lot of fun to see the street musicians and all of the different cool stuff to buy.  There is also an international food market where they sell different types of dishes from the kiosks.  The market ends at the riverfront where there are a wide variety of street performers and people picnicking in the park. 




The famous Voodoo Donuts...there was a line out the door (even if we didn't go there)!

Elisabeth joining in with the street musician

Apparently, today there were record high temperatures for Portland (in the high 90’s) and so all of the kids were running in the fountain that is near the river.  Elisabeth had fun running through there and ended up completely drenched!!  But it was it was a nice way to cool off on such a HOT day. 


We walked down to China town a few blocks down before deciding to go to the true downtown’s mall to cool off.  The mall was HUGE and very beautiful inside.  We didn’t spend much time here since shopping really isn’t in our budget, but we did enjoy walking around.  We stopped off at Starbucks for an ice coffee before heading to a MUST-SEE in Portland – Powell’s Books.  This is the largest independently owned book store in the world!!  And it doesn’t look like much from the outside but once you get in you have to literally use their printed maps to get around. 

It’s a cool place because they have both new and used books for sale so there are good deals to be found.  We found a whole section of books in French and bought a couple children’s books for Elisabeth and a Stephen King in French for Antoine.  Coming out of the store we ran across a vintage clothes stores that had a lot of resale clothes as well.  We found a few new things for Antoine and I, including his cool new hat!    We went back to the hotel to have a swim in the pool and freshen up before going out for dinner. 
We went to an area of the city called Alberta that was just outside the city center.  It was pretty hype and an up and coming area with lots of restaurants and bars.   We had a really tough time deciding where to go.  First we stopped at this sushi restaurant just to have a drink because they had a beautiful terrace.  Then we ended up going to this Sicilian pizzeria right off the strip.  I had one of their amazing salads and we split a pizza.  The food was delicious and the staff was really nice and we had a great time chatting with them. 


The next day was our last day in Portland before heading to Newburg to see Diana, Justin, and Gabriel.  We took a dip in the pool before packing it up to the southwest side of the city.  They have a whole section of the city here that are parks, the zoo, and the children’s museum.  Since it was again a very hot day then we decided to go to the children’s museum.  It was a lot of fun and Elisabeth had a lot of fun playing in the various make believe lands. 






After leaving here we went down to Newburg and had dinner with Diana, Justin, and Gabriel in their new home.  Elisabeth and Gabriel played really well together and it was a lot of fun to see them.  (Thanks again guys!!)  We stayed the night there and headed out not too late the next day to get an early start to our next destination…

2 comments:

  1. I cannot wait to check out the children's museum, zoo, Powell's book, and so much more around. We may be getting a group that does wine tastings in the area :)

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  2. That's cool Diana!! I love exploring new cities, you guys are going to love it! :) The wine tasting group sounds awesomwe!

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