Portland, Oregon

This past week v and I took Amtrak to Portland, Oregon to visit his daughter. She's going to school up there, but it has also become her home.  We fell in love with the city ourselves.  It was so easy to get around to wherever we wanted to go on the light rail.  We visited a few of the "must see" sites.

The Saturday Market

Powell's Books is a four-story building that fills an entire city block.  It is a warren of rooms and departments that require a map to negotiate.  Each floor has several information desks set up just to guide the customers.  Here in the Monterey area we have lost our bookstores.  There are a couple of small bookshops trying to make a success, but we miss our larger stores with the in-house coffee shops.  Powell's has a really nice coffee shop within.

I like that the used books

are shelved alongside the new.  That saves so much in the browsing mileage.

Voodoo Doughnuts is another place everyone seems to go to. There is a line all day long.  They have cordons to guide the crowds. It's  unbelievable, but a lot of fun. They're open 24 hours a day! Well, as a good doughnut shop ought to be...

Another thing we really enjoyed were the excellent street musicians, they are such a joy.

We don't get away very often, but Portland is such an easy trip we are considering a return within the next six months.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v