Portland, Oregon

Yes, I realize I take the most extreme blog hiatuses. When you travel around the world and back in a mere ten days, a lot of things go out the window when you get back to reality.

You would think one would also take an extreme hiatus from traveling after that too. Although I have made a personal vow to stay in the country for at least a few months, of course I jumped on top of taking a weekend trip to a city I had never been to before. 

Good food, good music, good booze and good company was all I needed to hop a plane to Portland, Oregon. I imagine that Marie may have thought I wouldn't actually buy a ticket when she invited me…. she has obviously learned her lesson for next time.

For those of you who have been to Portland, you realize that a weekend trip is laughable considering the copious amounts of things to do in Portland. For those of you who haven't been to Portland, here is a guide to one of ten weekend trips that are required to conquer a great town.

Since we had to work on Friday, Marie and I took off from Oakland around 5pm and arrived in Portland a mere hour and a half later. Got a car, ran to the hotel and, of course, quickly made a food choice.

On the way to food, we got a glimpse of heaven… Powell's Books.

For all of you who know me, follow me on instagram, or who pay attention to the percentage of food pictures that appear on this blog…. I LOVE FOOD. My favorite pizza place is Monza in Charleston. Oven and Shaker may have jumped to number one…

The atmosphere was great, the out of the box drinks were awesome and the pizza was amazing. It is a must eat in Portland.

The next morning we woke up and hit the ground running. With more breweries per capita than any other city in the world, we had some work to do. First stop was Deschutes.

After passing Powell's Books twice, it was the next stop. You walk in and the first thing you must do is grab a map. With three stories taking up an entire city block, getting lost is an understatement. Yes, I kept my map. It will forever be the book mark in the two books I bought; both were travel fiction of course.

Sipping on a double macchioto, Marie and I made our way through all three floors. A feat in my opinion. I spent time in the art section…

Marie in the "Rare Books" collection…

I bought a tshirt. No one is surprised. Pretty sure Marie and I both could have spent days in Powell's. 

Next was the record store. I bought three. Again, no one is surprised.

Pit stop at the hotel to lay on the bed for two seconds. Of course, Portland could have not been complete without a detour to see a giant metal elephant in the middle of a park. 

Apparently a picture with the elephant was also necessary…

We headed to dinner at Rogue Brewery. One must multi task when in Portland: brewery and food.

On the way, we caught quite a view of the city..

I love art. I love churches. It was a magical view of the city. My next trip to Portland may have to include a tour of churches.

Rogue Brewery

Rogue has a beer called Hazelnut Brown Nectar. So naturally, it was one of my choices.

Yes, you read correctly. I have yet to mention brunch. After an exhausting Friday and limited time, brunch didn't seem like the best choice on Saturday. Again, you read correctly; I did just say brunch wasn't the best choice. But there was always Sunday…

We went to The Parish. 

An entire bottle of champagne for Sunday mimosas was necessary.

Somewhere along the way I lost the picture of my crab cake benedict with squash and house made bread. It was perfect. Marie ordered a biscuit; it was the first time I had a biscuit since I left Alabama.

We did a little shopping in the Pearl District. I could have bought everything in sight. The best purchase however was a candle: Paddywax Apothecary Tobacco and Patchouli. One would guess that it would smell awful; one would be wrong. It smells just like my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Gary's house. So I bought a little piece of home right there in Portland.

Our last stop before heading to the airport was Hopworks Urban Brewery. The best description of this place was Dad's mecca: beer and bikes. With over 10 beers to sample on a platter made from a bicycle rim, who could hate this place?

Portland is an amazing city. I definitely fell in love. Like I said, good food, good music, good booze, and good company makes any trip worth while.

Until next time...

Jaipur

I apologize for this being over a week late. After 22 hours of flight time not including lay overs and time changes, I have been exhausted. I have finally gotten over jet lag and back to my California life and schedule. A huge and heartfelt thank you to Marie for rescuing Duff and I from the San Francisco airport on Sunday. It is good to bring my boy home. More to come on my overall thoughts of India.

On our last full day in India, we traveled to Jaipur and back. The trip back is where it gets tricky. We will save the best for last...

We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to catch the first train from Delhi to Jaipur. I was truly shocked when we got to the station because it was almost like a step back in time.

The views from the entire trip..

I had never seen anything like that before. It isn't the greatest picture but I don't think a great picture still would not have done it justice.

Shots from the past...

Best seats in the house?

Those eyes... do you see them?

The boys are back in town.

We finally made it to Jaipur.

Stairway to heaven...

The age of technology is truly making us more dumb... When is the last time something this brilliant and beautiful was created in the 21st century?

I rest my case.

Dad, the snake charmer... Apparently this was on the bucket list. One more off the list.

Hand carved.

Getting my Mendhi. 

Castle on the Lake.

And then you make it to the real castle...

There was a moving being shot inside. Alana didn't understand why Bollywood was shooting without her since she is their newest star.

Of course I shot a few of the ceilings and columns..

And of the locals...

There is poverty everywhere you look in India and then you see this...

Another off the bucket list... Riding an elephant. I won't even begin to describe how big of idiots Alana and I acted to make this happen. I distinctly remember saying, "I will give this elephant all my rupies to let Dad ride."

Elephant parking lot...

One for the frame and wall.

No worries, we took a ride too.

The day in Jaipur was wonderful. The ride home... not so much. We took a car ride home expecting something similar to the ride to and from Agra. We were mistaken. This was 6 hours of hell on wheels. At one point Dr. Kramer said, "I wouldn't even drive an ATV on these roads." I have never truly feared my life until that car ride. All I could think is that I had drug my Dad and sister to the other side of the road and put their lives in danger on a stupid need to visit the Golden Triangle. Thankfully, we made it back to Delhi AFTER we all almost pooped our pants, cried a little, and clenched the seat we were sitting in a little too hard.

Jaipur, you were fun but, that may be a one time deal. It was..... one for the books.

Thoughts on India overall another time.

The only rule? Don't hit the car in front of you.

Today was spent taking the grand tour of Old and New Delhi. Thanks to Anoop's wife, Kavita, we literally got the grand tour. A few quick facts about Delhi, India:

There are 17 million people in Delhi.

7.5 million cars.

80,000 tuk tuks.

60% of the population is Hindu, 30% Muslim, 7% Sikh, and 3% Christian.

2% divorce rate.

And you need four things to drive in India:

    1. A good brake.

    2. A good horn.

    3. A good mind.

    4. And good luck.

    The last is the most important.

For the light readers, just stop now. I took right under 800 pictures today. So here we go....

The first stop was Jami Masjid.

 The required wardrobe was.... interesting. They made the best of it.

The obsession with ceilings continues..

I have always been very interested in people and culture. It is also turning in to a photography interest as well.

We took a rickshaw through Chandni Chowk.

Visited the spice and tea shop.

Visited... no experienced the place where Ghandi was cremated. His last words were "Oh god."

Then did what Alana does best. Shop. "I love to shop. I love to buy things."

Humayun's Tomb

Buildings that I can't remember their names... 

Qutb Minar

Shots of a different life...

Do you ever wonder what your life would have been if you had been born in a different country? To different parents? Different circumstances? Another life in another world.