Putz around Portland’s Pearl District

Oregon is a delightfully weird and wonderful place.

My first three trips to Oregon were quick add ons to other trips, and I gave you some highlights here. Since Portland is considered a sister city to Austin, and a more budget friendly Seattle, it seemed worth spending some quality time to evaluate its potential as a place to call home. I booked a month long sit in the Pearl District, and not just because I had recently read a rom com series following the various members of a rock band based in the Pearl.

I found fabulous gems during my stay, but I can definitively say I’m not meant to live in downtown Portland. Maybe I could see myself living in the suburbs (in better weather,) but between the incessant rain and the nonstop barking of the dog I was watching, I was ready to run off to my next adventure. I wasn’t in the best headspace, and I was really struggling with the blahs between the weather and the mass shooting in Nashville. I lucked out on the loneliness front for this sit because a former coworker, friends from high school and college, some family from the east coast, and a new friend I made at dinner one night made excellent company and adventure companions.

Multnomah Falls is home to Oregon’s most iconic bridge, but Portland is famous for having 10 bridges. I could see 4 of them from a 4 minute walk from my home base, and I perked up every time I passed a new one. If you’re a bridge nerd like me, and you find yourself in Portland in early spring, you’ll spend a considerable amount of time at the Japanese American Historical Plaza. If the sun came out, I was there, and it never got old. You get great views of the bridges, a glorious display of cherry blossoms and various other flowering trees, the famous Portland Old Town sign, a lovely stroll through a couple parks and gardens, great food and the Makers Market on Saturdays.

Speaking of the Saturday Market, it is so wonderful, I’m pretty sure I went every single weekend I was there. There’s your usual suspects of craft fair standards, but I fell in love with Olander Earthworks and their mesmerizing orbs and wonderscapes. I bought several on the spot and ordered even more on their annual seconds sale. I’ve been bringing them to the beach and playing in a pan of sand and they bring me so much peace and zen. They are freakishly calming and I’ve become a lifelong fan of the charming husband and wife team behind them. I’d have taken these cool vintage record bags and silverware sculptures home with me too if I could have fit them in my suitcase. Portland is an artistic town and you’re going to have a hard time leaving without taking a part of it with you.

Back to the bridges :) The St John Bridge was my favorite bridge of the bunch, and a photographer friend I made in Seattle suggested a field trip to Cathedral Park for the best bridge views. The St. John neighborhood was filled with sweet shops and fanciful stops. Two River Bookstore was a curated combination craft/yarn/book/gift store. Wonderwood Springs might be the coolest coffee shop I’ve ever seen. I caught it in transition, but it’s usually a pop up experience/immersive art adventure, and it’ll be top of my wishlist if I find myself back in Portland.

The biggest surprise to me on my first trip to Portland was the massive amount of unhoused people pitching tents on every street corner. I’ve spent time in pretty much every major city in the US, and I’ve never see anything like the numbers Portland was experiencing 5 (or even 2) years ago, especially considering Portland’s propensity for crappy weather. The Pandemic has been profoundly hard on Portland. They still haven’t repaired protest damage, and many businesses never recovered from the lockdown. The fact that most people are still working from home means most of the local pop in shops are struggling to keep up with the decreased foot traffic. The city has done their best to create support systems for those struggling, but there is still a substantial number of people living on the streets. I felt relatively safe walking around during the day, but I didn’t love being out and about alone at night.

With that said, my favorite part of my stay was walking around and admiring the abundant street art. Old Town/ Chinatown were decked out in decorations. I discovered something clever, beautiful, poignant, inspiring, and lovely every time I walked out the door.

The locals told me numerous times that I would love the Alberta Arts District, so I hopped a bus to the burbs to check out the more suburban oasis of murals, coffee shops, boutiques and bars. It’s home to my favorite McMenamins Kennedy School, and I had to make a quick visit after venturing in and out of pretty much every storefront on the strip. Bar Cala makes a mean mocktail and feels like a glorious greenhouse. It has such a cheery vibe, draws a fun crowd and its a resplendent respite from the rain.

If you prefer your art hung from walls rather than painted directly on them, the Portland Art Museum is no slouch. Besides an excellent impressionist collection, they had a great modern art wing, and I was blown away by the Human Nature Japanese Landscape Print exhibit. Two of my favorite people consider the Hokusai The Great Wave painting their favorite work of art, so it was a wonderful surprise to catch it.

I took in art in all my favorite forms. From the street, galleries, theatre and books. My friend Kate and I hadn’t seen each other since high school but she invited me to join her friends to see Hairspray, and we had a wonderful time in an excellent venue. I sent my boss to see Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway in a NYC business trip. I was thrilled to see a production of the play in Portland on the same day, so I went to cut down on my FOMO. The performance and play were fantastic. My boss returned the recommendation favor by suggesting I stop by Dante’s Sinferno, a wild weekly cabaret that you have to see to believe. Honestly, watching a woman climb to the top of a pole and light her nipples on fire is something I just didn’t know I needed in my life- but it was an incredible spectacle! Bring lots of cash to tip the performers because there is a mind blowing lineup every Sunday night.

I didn’t think it could be topped, but as Portland has more strip clubs per capita than any other city in the US- there’s no shortage of adult entertainment. I got served an ad for the inaugural Booklovers Burlesque Festival, and decided it was something I just had to see for myself. I was only able to make one of three nights, but it rocked my world. There were dramatic readings of literary gems and personal poems paired to themed burlesque performances. You honestly haven’t lived until you’ve seen someone read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow followed by someone wearing a Jack o’Lantern on their head and glittery pumpkin pasties performing on a stick horse to “Heads Will Roll.” The whole show was empowering and wonderful. I signed up for updates on the next one, because it is worth traveling to see.

If you are into books, you can’t go wrong with a field trip to arguably the most famous independent bookstore on the west coast. Powell’s has the most thoughtfully curated book features and author events nearly every night of the week. I was a huge fan of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, so I went to the Laurel Breitman book reading to watch Rebecca Skloot moderate. I absolutely fell in love with Laurel and her story, and had a wonderful time. I just finished Laurel’s memoire, and its a beautiful look at life, love and healing. My suitcase got much heavier after multiple visits to Powell’s, but it’s totally worth it. Two massive thumbs up.

It’s slightly less lovely in terms of literature, but The Heathman Hotel is going to make the wishlist of any Fifty Shades of Grey fans. I happened to walk by it one rainy afternoon and popped inside to warm up. The lobby library was a wonderful place to work, so I found myself hanging out by the fireplace, admiring the art, and contemplating my own.

Imaginary Authors is one of my favorite perfume brands, and because they are homegrown in Portland, there were some beautiful book displays in various shops around town. Every Storm a Serenade my favorite scent in the portfolio, but there are some truly unique and wonderful fragrances in the collection.

If you think the walls themselves are art, Portland has beautiful architectural details and signage. I’ve been known to have my head in the clouds, and there were plenty in Portland, but I honestly couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful buildings and gorgeous graffiti. You really don’t need an itinerary for Portland, you’re going to discover something interesting on nearly every block.

It rained pretty much the entire time I was there. I got maybe 4 brief reprieves from the deluge for my entire month in town. So I didn’t go out of my way for outdoor adventures. My cousins and I made it the Japanese Garden and did a quick (free) tour of the dormant International Rose Test Garden. The grounds were STUNNING and it is such a peaceful place. It truly felt like a painting.

But honestly, you needn’t pay or go out of your way to enjoy beautiful blooms. I couldn’t justify paying to enter the Chinese Garden after going to the Japanese Garden, but it was absolutely lovely admiring the foliage from the gates and up and down the streets of Chinatown. I befriended a fellow barfly at dinner one night and we made a field trip to The Grotto, a hallowed Catholic shrine. It was raining cats and dogs so we didn’t pay to access the mountaintop garden, but it is free to visit the replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta and the gorgeous chapel. I lit a candle for all the solo travelers chasing adventure, and my very Catholic grandma. It’s supposedly the sight of many miracles- so if you need one, it couldn’t hurt to make a pilgrimage.

I spent plenty of time scoping out the cherry trees, but one particular tree in Portland is worth a visit for dreamers and wishers alike. I randomly discovered it en route to dinner with my friend Morgan. The Wishing Tree isn’t far from Alberta Arts District, and is a fabulously fanciful stop. It’s worthy of a quick detour if you’d like to make a wish and throw your good vibes at the other ones left behind.

Portland is pretty, but it is spectacularly delicious too. I worry about my beloved Tangier’s survival, because there are never any people in there when I visit. I’ve taken several people and we all agree that it’s the best Moroccan food we’ve ever had. We only found it because we couldn’t get a table at neighboring Lechon on my last trip. My Baltimore cousins were able to score us a late night table, and let me tell ya, those tapas are top shelf. The scallops, chicken, and lomo saltado were standouts in an entire feast of stunning dishes. We left with happy bellies and hearts.

The PSU Farmer’s Market has quite a collection of incredible vendors, there’s no way you leave hungry. Twisted Croissant has a storefront and a booth at the market and their pastries are definitely worth a try. I tried croissants all over town and was thoroughly impressed by Nuvrei’s creative combinations. I’m solidly in the savory camp, so the everything bagel seasoned croissant with ham and bechamel brought me back for seconds. It has to really catch my eye to get me to try a sweet croissant, but the Pistachio Rose was so excellent, it also required another round.

I struggled to not visit Tea Bar every single day once I discovered it (dangerously close to my apartment.) The guava layered matcha and the spicy ginger chai will ruin all other bubble teas for you. They are also one of the rare places that offer decaf options. They had amazing sounding pastries but I’d skip them. If coffee is more your jam, you should definitely make a field trip to the original Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Their world famous cold brew is excellent and the shop is filled with incredible art and great vibes. Being an asian with a dairy sensitivity, and a bougie hipster millennial- I’m a big fan of oat milk. I love that Stumptown has chosen to make oat milk their default milk as it has a lower carbon footprint than cow’s milk and more than half of their customers order it already. Sure beats paying an extra $1 to save your system from distress.

It’s been on my wishlist for the better part of a decade- but I finally got to try Pine State Biscuit. The Wedgie is like an epic southern wedge salad on a biscuit. It was unique and fun, but the biscuit itself was pretty standard fare. It’s nothing I’d send you out of your way for, but I enjoyed the experience.

The only thing on my wishlist for my first trip to Portland was to try a Voodoo donut. Even though donuts don’t really do anything for me, I had to know what all the fuss was about. We ordered the voodoo doll, the phallic donut, and the one made to look like a blunt… but there wasn’t much beyond novelty to them. I told myself there was no reason to get another donut this trip- but then I found myself a little freaked out alone late at night in Old Town waiting for Dante’s Sinferno to start. I hopped in the line at Voodoo next door just to kill time and be with other people. Let me tell you, The Chuckles is worth a wait in line. It’s a risen donut dipped in chocolate, topped with peanuts and hot chocolate powder. It sounds like a cavity in a bag, but it was ridiculously good.

Last but not least, my friend Will was a Psych major at Belmont but grew up to be a chef. He and his wife have opened up an incredible catering company called White Pepper. On Thursday nights (5-9) they do a burger pop up in their space, and the food is ridiculous. Don’t sleep on the curried cauliflower, and one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

All that food will probably make you thirsty. I can’t help myself, I’m a Ryan Reynolds fan, and even though he recently sold his stake in Aviation, I heard the tour was a lot of fun. I’ve never been on such an interactive tour, and I’ve been on a lot of them. You get to play with the botanicals and see how their bouquet varies so much from other gins. There’s an escape room in Ryan’s office, and the twin stills are named Blake and Ryan. It’s cute, but it’s pretty steep at $35 a person for a tour and the cocktail that inspired the name.

I discovered Freeland Spirits at the farmers market and walked right past operations one day. They are female owned and operated and they have incredible packaging and branding. I popped in just to feel out the vibe of the taproom and stayed for a mocktail and a snack. They do a seasonal flight of unique and whimsical cocktails. They are brewing up some magic, and it’s a must stop.

If you’re like me and you need something a little drier to ward off the cold wet winter in the PNW, you might want to make a field trip to the Pendleton Mill. The original mill in Pendleton, Oregon is clear across the state and very small. Every single Pendleton blanket and woven product comes through the Washougal Finishing Mill. It’s just across the bridge from Portland in Washington, and you can tour it for free with a reservation on weekdays. It’s such a cool experience to see the retro machinery at work. I got to see the friendly faces cranking out these iconic treasures. My favorite part was watching women with magnifying lights and needles sitting in sewing circles and working on imperfections. The ones that are too big to fix get marked down considerably. You can even get one of a kind blankets under the Weaver’s Choice Green initiative. They finish off partial spools in unofficial patterns for an absolute bargain. Our guide was great, and my friends and I got gear at a deep discount. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve gotten to do in a long time, and I’m no stranger to cool experiences.

I took close to 10K photos between my Seattle and Portland sits, and my roadtrip down the coast to my sit in Monterey. I got to see much more of the Pacific Coastal Highways and I can’t wait to share them with you!