Portland: A City Divided

I have spent the last 2 days exploring the city of Portland, Oregon with friends. The city is divided east and west by the Willamette River and each side has a very distinct characteristic. Both sides have great things about them.

The city as a whole seems very chill. The majority of the city seems to get around by bicycle and they tout this fact throughout the city with stickers, street art and a plethora of bike racks.

WEST:
Our first day in the city we strolled around the west side. The western side of the city is where one will find all of the city’s “high rises” (there are actually no real high rises which is why it has been so apply dubbed “Stump City”). Upon entering the city, we found street parking on one of the side streets (which was amazingly free unlike LA) and walked to the city streetcar. Though the transit system is no where near the size of New York or even Boston, it does a very good job of getting people around at minimal cost.

From there, we visited a couple coffee shops, went to Powell’s Bookstore (which is the largest independent owned book store in America and was pretty awesome), and roamed the city. Later in the day we visited a recommended donut shop called Voodoo Donuts. They have some of the most amazing donut flavors I have ever seen. We had a maple bacon, cocoa puffs, and a peanut putter and oreo donut. They were fantastic!

At the end of the night, we had sushi for dinner. Before we went home we stopped by a pretty amazing bike bar called Hopworks Urban Brewery. By “bike,” I mean bicycle of course. Very good beer but the atmosphere was nothing really special.

EAST:

Day two, we explored the east side of the city. This side was very different.

I didn’t really get any pictures of the area because I spent most of the morning and afternoon in a coffee shop editing. From what I saw, it looked like a very independently owned side of town. Everything was small, unique shops or restaurants. Nothing too special or anything to write home about but pleasant nonetheless. We visited Mt. Tabor Park and just chilled for a while which was really nice since we had been going non-stop for 2 days straight. For dinner, we went to a place called Dick’s Kitchen. Had a very good burger and to top it off, an amazing Grasshopper milkshake with a bit of a twist. It was a vanilla milkshake with creme de menthe WITH a shot of vodka. Added a nice kick to it.

Tomorrow…Seattle!! I am really looking forward to it for a couple reasons. One, my parents used to live there and I never got to visit. Second, my friend Charles lives there and I get to see him after not seeing him since we graduated from college. I am quite excited!

Goin on a roadtrip

Leaving tonight at 10pm with 3 friends on what I hope to be a pretty epic road trip up the CA coast to Portland and Seattle and back again. Should be good times. Hopefully I’ll remember to post as I go along. If not, forgive me.