Destination: Lisa.
So I’ve been practicing my tour guide skills on out of town guests and trust me, my smile is stretched so tight my teeth are bared. But I went to a lot of fun places, some old favorites and some all-new, in just a few days’ time.
I had friends in from Cincinnati this weekend, also a friend in from Washington for a day or two and then another round of guests starts this weekend. Next month a friend has said he might visit and countless other friends, one who is expecting, all promised to visit over the next few months. And everyone else is just trying to jockey for my time.
Ah, the life you live when you reside in a destination city.
Places to go when you’re visiting Portland, Oregon include:
The Portland Rose Garden features yup, acres of roses in all colors and sizes, one of Portland’s classic fountains and many lovely walking paths, all set against a backdrop that has breathtaking views of the city.
The Portland Saturday Market, open until 5 on Saturdays and until 4:30 on Sundays, is a worthwhile stop. Especially around lunchtime. I grew up going to the Saturday Market in Eugene. My next door neighbor’s dad had a booth at the open air market and he’d scoop us up and take us with him before the market opened. We got a behind the scenes peek at how things work at the Saturday Market and then ran wild all day, drinking lemonade and noshing on the amazing food. The Portland Saturday Market is just as good.
Powell’s bookstore, as everyone knows, set the stage for all of the other chain bookstores to steal their ideas and to create homogenized versions of the Portland bookstore. My friends, upon seeing Powell’s for the first time, liked the bookstore’s vintage “library or schoolhouse” feel.
Rogue, or any of the many breweries around town, offer great food and oh yeah, they also have beer. I always go for Dead Guy Ale but one friend tried a sampler and the rich, dark brews seemed to go down pretty easily.
Good eats that are very, very convenient when you visit in or near downtown Portland include:
Greek Cusina- We sat outside and dined here on Saturday and it was quite good. I’m waiting until Ann visits to try to the Lebanese restaurant. If I can wait that long.
Mamma Mia’s had the biggest antipasti plate ever and a jovial staff. We arrived very, very early so had no problem getting seated but the Italian restaurant filled up quickly.
Huber’s, the oldest bar and restaurant in Portland, is a classy joint with a friendly staff. Hopefully someone will order the over the shoulder/behind the back-prepared Spanish coffee when you visit.
I’ll keep updating the rose city journal with ideas of places to go in Portland as new visitors- with varying ideas of a good time- arrive in town. There are so many fun neighborhoods and so many things to do in Portland that it’s hard to decide where to take people. Thankfully, Google Maps makes finding everything easy. And alcohol makes playing hostess a lot easier.
I had friends in from Cincinnati this weekend, also a friend in from Washington for a day or two and then another round of guests starts this weekend. Next month a friend has said he might visit and countless other friends, one who is expecting, all promised to visit over the next few months. And everyone else is just trying to jockey for my time.
Ah, the life you live when you reside in a destination city.
Places to go when you’re visiting Portland, Oregon include:
The Portland Rose Garden features yup, acres of roses in all colors and sizes, one of Portland’s classic fountains and many lovely walking paths, all set against a backdrop that has breathtaking views of the city.
The Portland Saturday Market, open until 5 on Saturdays and until 4:30 on Sundays, is a worthwhile stop. Especially around lunchtime. I grew up going to the Saturday Market in Eugene. My next door neighbor’s dad had a booth at the open air market and he’d scoop us up and take us with him before the market opened. We got a behind the scenes peek at how things work at the Saturday Market and then ran wild all day, drinking lemonade and noshing on the amazing food. The Portland Saturday Market is just as good.
Powell’s bookstore, as everyone knows, set the stage for all of the other chain bookstores to steal their ideas and to create homogenized versions of the Portland bookstore. My friends, upon seeing Powell’s for the first time, liked the bookstore’s vintage “library or schoolhouse” feel.
Rogue, or any of the many breweries around town, offer great food and oh yeah, they also have beer. I always go for Dead Guy Ale but one friend tried a sampler and the rich, dark brews seemed to go down pretty easily.
Good eats that are very, very convenient when you visit in or near downtown Portland include:
Greek Cusina- We sat outside and dined here on Saturday and it was quite good. I’m waiting until Ann visits to try to the Lebanese restaurant. If I can wait that long.
Mamma Mia’s had the biggest antipasti plate ever and a jovial staff. We arrived very, very early so had no problem getting seated but the Italian restaurant filled up quickly.
Huber’s, the oldest bar and restaurant in Portland, is a classy joint with a friendly staff. Hopefully someone will order the over the shoulder/behind the back-prepared Spanish coffee when you visit.
I’ll keep updating the rose city journal with ideas of places to go in Portland as new visitors- with varying ideas of a good time- arrive in town. There are so many fun neighborhoods and so many things to do in Portland that it’s hard to decide where to take people. Thankfully, Google Maps makes finding everything easy. And alcohol makes playing hostess a lot easier.
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