We had a vibrant introduction to Portland with our arrival at our Airbnb, The Sunshine House. Hosted by the lovely Grace, we moved into our new home for three nights and were ready to explore the The City of Roses.
We began our Portland tour with a visit to Washington Park, a sprawling 159 acre public park that offers something for everyone from the gardens to a zoo to memorials to walking trails as well as a great view of Mt Hood in the distance. We managed to spend hours wandering around here, taking in the sun and the scent of roses alongside tourists and locals alike.
Founded in 1917, the International Rose Test Garden covers 4.5 acres and is a kaleidoscope of color with literally thousands of rose bushes in full bloom. In contrast, the Portland Japanese Garden immediately enveloped us in a Zen-type atmosphere as we ambled amongst the different trees and landscaped gardens. The Japanese garden opened to the public in 1967 and covers 12 acres of tranquility.
We cannot let our Portland post slip by without two specific cuisine mentions: Voodoo Doughnuts and the Portland food trucks.
Voodoo Doughnuts is a Portland institution that we had to experience if for no other reason than everyone who has ever been to Portland told us we had to. We arrived at 10.30am on a Thursday morning to find the queue to get into the shop lined up along the side of the building. The array of doughnuts on offer are fantastically diverse and our choices, The Maple Bacon and The Loop (covered in Fruitloops) are just a tiny sample of the crazy menu. Was the wait worth it? Yes. Do we need to eat another doughnut in a hurry? Most definitely not. 😂
Portland is also famous for its food trucks, scattered all over the city in what are known as pods. We visited a few, including Cartopia and Hawthorne Asylum, and joined the crowds for al fresco dining which was diverse and very satisfying.
A visit to Powell’s City of Books is a must. Spread over an entire city block, Powell’s has nine different colour-coded rooms and well over 3000 sections and claims to be the largest independent bookstore in the world. It was a sight to behold from our very first step into the shop and it was brilliant to see so many people throughout the shop poring over the shelves, reading books in the aisles and walking out laden with bags of books.
We finished our stay in Portland with the famous Saturday Market. Founded in 1974, this market is the largest continually running outdoor arts and crafts market in America. Local handcrafts abound, if you cannot find something to buy at this market, you are simply not looking hard enough. From clothing to jewellery, candles to chopping boards, artwork to food, you can easily lose an entire day here.
A special shout out has to be made to Oregonians and their love of dogs. We have seen happy contented dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds out and about with their owners throughout the city and we love all the shops selling doggy apparel and accessories alongside human being shops.
Oregon, we leave you with happy bellies and our faith in nature restored. Onwards to Washington we go.
S&P