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...