I initially requested the week off from work for the possibility of a week long international vacation with one of my girlfriends, but that got postponed and so “Nike Shoe” (the shoe in my Insta-Stories) and I decided to head out to Portland for the weekend. I’ve heard so many amazing things about Portland so was extremely excited for this trip. We packed as much as we can in one weekend, but there is so much one can do, that a re-visit to this beautiful city will have to happen again.
For the first time I had no itinerary planned for a trip. I’ve been taking more of a “laissez a faire” approach to traveling lately and it has been such a liberating experience to wake up and go, rather than rushing to one planned activity onto the next. It made traveling with “Nike Shoe” spontaneous, adventurous, and fun. Since nothing was officially organized and to keep this blog post simple, I will outline the highlights from my Portlandia adventure.
Hiking: Once we landed in Portland, we decided a hike to the famous Multonomah Falls was priority. It was the perfect opportunity to get blood flowing in our legs after the 3 hour flight. The Columbia Gorge is absolutely breath taking. I’m originally from Vancouver, Canada, so the greenery made me reminisce about my youthful days. Oregon’s beauty gave me the chance to live in the past for a moment and made me realize how I took the outdoors for granted as a child. My eyes sparkled throughout the whole trail as we hiked to several beautiful waterfalls that day. I absolutely can’t wait to return. Multonomah Falls is only a 45 minute drive away from the city, so renting a car is a must. However, if you want to stick to the city and to do some outdoor hiking, I recommend visiting the Forest Park, which was just as stunning and literally minutes away from Portland. They offer several hiking/running trails, it the perfect place that gives you the feeling of being away from the city, but still near the city.
Running/Biking: We stayed at the Marriott Waterfront and it is literally steps away from a biking and running path. SWEET! I love the ability to lace up my running shoes and explore any city with my own two feet. Since “Nike Shoe” doesn’t run, I woke up early one morning to explore the path on my own. It’s such a fun way to explore a city. After my run, I wanted to venture further along the path, so “Nike” and I rented City bikes from Biketownpdx. I’d recommend downloading the Biketown app on your phone when you get a chance, so you can map out your adventure for the day. They have several stations around the city where you can easily pick up a bike, ride, then park your bike and go. When I return to Portland, I’ll be taking full advantage of this mode of transportation again. Here’s a link to easily plan your biking adventure: https://www.biketownpdx.com/
Wining & Dining:
Now this list is endless. One of my friends recommended watching a Day of Gluttony in Portland which gave us a list of 24 hot spots: coffee, juice, burgers, pasta, wings, beers and desserts; You name it, these guys packed absolutely everything in 24 hours. Here’s the link if you are interested: https://youtu.be/IVW8UTBbu1I . We used this youtube as a guide along with several other recommendations from our friends. It was the perfect way to structure our spontaneous food adventure.
A few places to name that we had the opportunity to visit :
Water Avenue Coffee & Kitchen : We visited this joint twice for their delicious coffee.
Kure : “Nike shoe” has never had an Acai bowl before and it was literally love at first bite. We had to re-visit this juice bar again the next day to get Nike’s Acai bowl fix.
Cheese & Crack: We venture to this joint prior to an afternoon of wine tasting. I’d call it a cheese lover’s joint.
Four Graces, Stoller Estate Wines & Basecamp: Oregon is known for their breweries, but I’m known to be a wino. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to check out a winery minutes away from the city. But Basecamp’s marshmallow stout was definitely something I didn’t want to miss out on either, so we chose two wineries and a brewery to fulfill our minimum alcohol requirements for the weekend.
We also checked out Pine States Biscuits, Moberi, Tabor Tavern, Pok Pok, Grassa, and the famous Portland Food Carts. If I had more time and room in my stomach, I would have loved to visit all the recommendations suggested, but I will have to save that for another visit in the near future.
I loved everything about Portland. From the hiking, running, biking to the eating and drinking. Everything was so easily accessible. It was a perfect way to spend a weekend away from LA. So until my next exciting adventure … thank you for reading.
With Love,
Beverley – xoxo
Three-E-Beverley 