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Portland - Part 1
Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino
Photography by: Margherita Miserandino
A weekend jump to Portland leads them learning that Portland is a city to consider moving to.
Portland is one of the few cities we’ve ever visited which overwhelmed us with a feeling that we’d move there as soon as could find an available house. It wasn’t a quantifiable feeling but it was the little things that crept up on us. Maybe it’s the fact that the train ride from the airport to downtown cost less than a $1.50 a person. On the other hand, it could be the abundance of trees downtown and the lack of annoyingly large billboard signs. Having art on most street corners and free transportation through the downtown didn’t hurt. Or it could have been the fact that the public was friendly. It was this combination of these subliminal elements that had us fantasizing about moving to Portland and avoiding the reality that we were far from ready to move anywhere.
In spite of a general nice feeling about the city, the only news I’ve heard about Portland involved the fact that the city seems to be overcast and that they have no major landmark for their postcards. Even the friends and family who’ve visited Portland seemed to have that overall feeling it was nice, but nothing concrete about it. Yes, they were accurate in the overcast condition but it wasn’t as bad as described. The skies weren’t that bright and were a bit mistier. As for the landmark (or lack thereof), maybe the lack of a large and unique tower for the postcards hurt it a bit but it seems more likely that it would change the town’s feel to have a large tower, statue or other memorable object in the middle.
Anyway, back to the chronology as my gushing about the town isn’t becoming and might come across as a obsessed teen crush.
After landing at the airport, we boarded the MAX Light Rail and in forty minutes arrived at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Pioneer Courthouse Square is the center of downtown where every major transportation line seems to converge. All of the buses, trains, tours, everything zips through here. To encourage you to hang out more, there’s free internet and food vendors in the square. Stay awhile, grab a burrito and get some work done. In the middle of the square is the most photographed landmark in the city, a statue of a businessman with his umbrella. That said, the free internet and free transportation is much more impressive to brag about.
We were in Portland for only a quick two nights as we were jumping on the Columbia Queen, and we were staying at the Hilton Portland Executive Tower to depart with the group straight for the ship. Two nights is far from enough.
Portland is called the “City of Roses” but that was too limiting criteria in the world of plants, as it seemed to be a city of gardens. There are more gardens than you can cover in two days which was the impossible mission that we set out to do. That said, our first stop was the new Chinese Garden in Old Town.
The Portland Classical Chinese Garden is about ten years old, but it looks as if it’s been there forever. They converted an old parking lot into a new Chinese garden which looks like an old Chinese garden for the new residents who’ve now moved downtown. Follow that new and old theme?
Simply put, the Chinese Garden looks like what one would expect a Chinese Garden to look like. That description is simple, but I think it’s what’s most striking. It’s not like a theme park where every element seems real but it’s obvious that you’re in a theme park. You would expect nothing less after they transported the materials, the workers and the designers. Fortunately, Portland has a sister relationship with Suzhou China so with a little cross border cooperation, they sent the workers and Portland sent over a Rose Garden. Besides the buildings of Portland in the background, every angle looks like you’ve been transported to China. That also is what makes a Chinese garden so unique... the view changes from every angle.
Within the garden, is an authentic Chinese tea house transports you to another place. Don’t expect Lipton or Tetley here -- this is the real stuff. We sampled the tea offerings which was quite a learning experience. This is the place to learn abut tea – from green to white to every other variant.
Departing from the garden feel, we headed up to the Pearl District and stopped in a book store. In Portland, this is not merely a bookstore though, but a landmark -- a virtual Mecca for booklovers.
Powel’s City of Books is a name which you might not have taken heed of at first. The accuracy is what makes it unique. In fact, the store, is a city block made up of various buildings that seemed to live their lonely existence until the store swallowed each one up with its ravenous appetite. The result is a building you can get lost inside of and just like a city can wander around aimlessly. One “street” is travel, another path of tomes is filled with “medicine” and make a left turn by politics and you might end up in cartoons. Name a book and it’s there -- and there are thousand more coming in and out every day. Most of the patrons are there with an actual literary purpose, however there was a demographic like ourselves who wandered Powell’s City and book shopping.
Down the block is a great example of a popular trend in Portland dining. The Microbrewery. To fight the angst brought on by an overcast sky with intoxication, Portland became a microbrewery capital. I’m not a beer connoisseur but it’s a great adventure to try the varying brews so we headed over to Henry’s 12th Street Tavern. I fell in love with the Wyder’s Dry Pear Cider while Margherita fell in love with the.… well she fell in love with the Wyder’s and I helped her finish the drink.
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The crowds of the Pearl District |
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Anyway, the fare at Henry’s is tavern fare done at a higher class level but at burger joint prices. The décor is high end club and the quality is top notch. Come for the appetizer special where you can fill up on tidbits and taste every possible beer there is within the city limits. Of course, if you taste that many beers you might hit some problems but that’s another issue.
Anyway, it’s at this point that we were ready to participate in “First Thursday”. First Thursday is a declaration of the fact that it was the day before Friday and the first one of these to occur within the calendar month. Not only that, it’s a brilliant marketing idea that transformed the Pearl District. “The Pearl” as locals call it, is a factory district transformed by art galleries. The Art Galleries introduced the concept of “First Thursday” when they opened their doors late. Now every gallery has wine and cheese and a few thousand twenty and thirty somethings wander the streets and party. If you’re not into art, people-watching is an intriguing alternative. You might see a business man in the three piece suit right next to a woman with over 42 piercings discussing which painting they’ll buy.
Part 1
Part 2
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