Portland Explorations

Hello,

Wednesday was gorgeous here in Portland. Our first stop was the International Rose Test Garden: 4.5 Acres of roses in a multitude of colors and sizes. As you walked around the corner into the park you are delightfully surrounded by the scent of roses. It was beautiful and serene. We walked around and took quite a number of pictures.

We then visited the grounds at Pittock Mansion. The Mansion was commissioned by Henry and Georgiana Pittock, who moved into it in 1914. The couple is well known for their community service. Henry took over ownership of the weekly Oregonian newspaper in the 1860’s and was involved in banking, real estate, railroads, steamboats, ranching, mining and the paper industry.

Johanna was craving a deli sandwich and so we went in search of a deli. A quick search of the AAA tour book listed Elephant’s Delicatessen. Having noted seeing someone at the rose garden with a picnic lunch from there we decided to give it a try. What a delightful surprise (and that’s an understatement)! It was, to date, the BEST meal we have had during our trip (and unequivocally one of the best meals we’ve both ever eaten). It is difficult to equate the deli to anything we have at home. You can get all kinds of fresh breads, baked goodies, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, burgers, cheeses, beverages and oh so much more. Think of it as a Trader Joe’s or Henry’s except that the majority of items are prepared foods. We could not decide on just one item and so got a little of this and that. We ordered a turkey club on homemade wheat, broccoli salad, tomato and cucumber salad, capresse pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, bistro burgers (sliders with grilled onions and bleu cheese), vanilla crème brulee and a local brew. We cannot even begin to describe how wonderful this lunch was! Johanna made George promise to go back on our way out of town (mostly because eating there for every meal would not be conducive to getting to know Portland) to pick up some goodies to eat on the way to Grant’s Pass.

Our next stop was Powell’s City of Books. If you have any sort of love affair with books, then this bookstore is your Nirvana. Imagine a three-to-four story Costco full of nothing but books and magazines, that sells both new and used, mixed-in together on the shelves. The store is organized by color, number, and subject, and is so big it offers maps to get around. You will find history books in the Purple Room (each room could be a bookstore on its own, literally), literature is in the Blue Room and novels are in the Gold room and Coffee Room (this is not even half the rooms). And yes we each bought a couple of books!

After Powell’s we walked down to Voodoo Doughnuts, but the line was long and our parking was about to expire. So we walked back to the car and drove to Voodoo Doughnuts Too across the river. We ordered a Voodoo Dozen, which consists of 13 doughnuts that are selected for you. The doughnuts were good (not great) but their uniqueness makes them worth the try.

Because the day before had been so long we headed back to the hotel and called it a night. Our hotel offers a free evening reception where you can get a free beer, wine or soda and munchies. We each enjoyed a pint of beer and shared a plate of veggies with dip. We fell asleep watching Planet 51…

Love,
George and Johanna