Happy May! I love May, it's always such a rush of activity before summer begins. Hooray for May!
As promised, details from my trip to Portland....
A few months back when my mom said let's go to Portland I think I looked at her blankly and said "As in, Oregon?"My limited knowledge of the Pacific Northwest being what it was I instantly thought of this...
As promised, details from my trip to Portland....
A few months back when my mom said let's go to Portland I think I looked at her blankly and said "As in, Oregon?"My limited knowledge of the Pacific Northwest being what it was I instantly thought of this...
or this...
As it turns out, Portland was way cooler than either of those examples would suggest.
We stayed at the Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland. The Heathman Hotel is located on Broadway, a street divides the city east and west, which made it easy to get around. The rooms were clean and spacious and we really enjoyed eating at the hotel restaurant.
Doggie water fountain outside the Heathman Hotel
My mom in the lobby of the Heathman Hotel
Our first day out and about we went to the Japanese Gardens. They are said to be the most authentic example of Japanese Gardens outside of Japan and are located right next to the Portland Rose Garden, which is convenient. I suggest you tour both. The roses are most abundant in June and August, but we enjoyed walking the grounds even without so many roses to look at.
At the entrance to the Japanese Gardens
The Pavillion at the Japanese Gardens
Haiku stone markings at the Japanese Gardens
Waterfall at the Japanese Gardens
Japanese Gardens
My mom on a bridge at the Japanese Gardens
We loved visiting Nob Hill and all of the cute shops there.
Further west from Nob Hill we visited the historic Pittock Mansion, build by Henry and Georgiana Pittock, both of whom traveled across the United States frontier to settle in Portland in the late 1800s. Henry Pittock eventually bought the Daily Oregonian newspaper and had other businesses in Portland.
Pittock Mansion
In front of the immaculate grounds of Pittock Mansion
Main staircase in Pittock Mansion
Silver ceiling in Pittock Mansion, I need this in my house....
Turkish smoking room ceiling in Pittock Mansion
Rubber floor in the kitchen of Pittock Mansion
The house is owned by the City of Portland and is kept in excellent condition. It reminded me of Downton Abbey so much. In fact, the servants at the Pittock Mansion had their own floor and a similar wash room to the fictional servants of Downton Abbey.
Other things we liked...
Voodoo Doughnuts, a late-night haunt for many who venture out in the Chinatown section of Portland, was a quirky surprise. If you like doughnuts with a bunch of stuff on them, this place is for you. It was featured on the Food Network, my husband later informed me, and you can get married there if you are so inclined. Yes, seriously, they have wedding packages complete with coffee and doughnuts for your guests.
The "Old Dirty Bastard" doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts
We also enjoyed the non-doughnut food in Portland. There were several Thai restaurants. We ate at Thai Noon on trendy North East Alberta Street and at Thai Peacock near downtown, both were excellent and extremely reasonably priced.
Guava juice and an egg roll at Thai Noon
Also of note for design-minded folk, the Portlandia statue. It rests atop a Michael Graves-designed building. Constructed in the 1980s, the building was and remains controversial and very, very 80s looking.
Portlandia
As I mentioned yesterday, we also really enjoyed the Portland Art Museum. This statue is outside the museum, and I loved it because it reminded me of my own little wolf dog, Luke.
Dog outside the Portland Art Museum
Luke, with what I can only guess is part of our fence
All in all, we very much enjoyed our first trip to Portland. A wonderful, inexpensive weekend getaway that should not be missed.
xo,
The Canary Diaries
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