Portland, Oregon

"Portland, Oregon and sloe gin fizz, if that ain't love then tell me what is." - Loretta Lynn

This weekend we went down to Portland, which has now firmly solidified its place on my short list of cities I'd ever consider living in.

On Saturday we had lunch on Nob Hill at Papa Haydn, an excellent restaurant with great desserts (Question: Why does every town feel compelled to have a Nob Hill? Was there a great explorer named Nob who had a propensity for discovering hills or does every city just want to be San Francisco?). We then spent the evening shopping at Powell's City of Books, a 4-story bookstore the size of a city block, and the largest independent bookstore in the United States! After shopping we ate dinner at Plainfields Mayur, hands down the best Indian restaurant I've ever eaten at. I had the Royal Biryani which is a festive Indian dish that is usually reserved for special occasions and comes topped with an edible silver leaf!

We stayed at the Heathman Hotel right in the heart of downtown. After making the reservations I found out the hotel is supposed to be haunted, but fortunately it turned out to just be a charming old hotel with great service.

On Sunday we had a delightful vegan breakfast (Biscuits and Almond Gravy!) at Paradox Palace Cafe and then headed over to Stumptown Coffee for a much needed caffeine kick. It was nice to see that the good folks in Portland take their coffee as seriously as we Seattlites do. After coffee we went shopping on Hawthorne Boulevard which had lots of good boutiques, a smaller Powell's and several CD stores. We ended the day by walking around the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park.

Portland - City of Roses