My trip to Portland was somewhat spontaneous like most of my trips are, and I'm super glad I went. Being in Vancouver so close to the United States border, you hear about cities like Seattle and Portland which are must sees when living here. I had been to Seattle a few months ago and I thought why not kick of 2016 with a trip to portland where everything was supposedly 'weird' and quirky'.
I landed myself a great couch surfing couple Emma and Jon who picked me up from the station downtown after the 8 hour ride from Vancouver. They were super nice from get go and immediately had me admiring the city as they pointed out sights on our way home.
On our first evening we headed out to the hip 'Albert St' where we popped into many quirky shops. Along the way I inhaled super unique vapour flavours in the vapour store (ie breakfast cereal flavour), went to the super trendy 'Townshends Teas' and had a Masala chai latte, tried heaps of quirky flavours of ice cream at Salt and Straw (featured on Bizarre foods America) ie pear and blue cheese, tried craft beers at a local pub and even went to karaoke that night with their friends.
The next few days I planned to explore the city by foot and hit up famous places like Vooddoo doughnuts, Lardos sandwiches, Blue Star Donuts, Powells bookstore (largest in the world), the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Pearl/Oldtown/downtown/Chinatown, Mississippi street areas and much more.
Over four days I got to see all of these places, try the most unusual foods, eat from one of the hundreds of food trucks, meet and hang out with locals thanks to my hosts, play awesome board games, eat two famous sandwiches from Lardos, enjoy an awesome Ramen from Boxer Ramen (even if it was non veg), stroll in and out of unique stores, taste a wide array of salt/bitters/chocolate from The Meadow (also featured on bizarre foods America), finish a season of Americas worst cook with my hosts and even finish the trip off with a late night trip to Papa Haydns for some incredible takeaway deserts and drive by a view of the nighttime city lights.
I landed myself a great couch surfing couple Emma and Jon who picked me up from the station downtown after the 8 hour ride from Vancouver. They were super nice from get go and immediately had me admiring the city as they pointed out sights on our way home.
On our first evening we headed out to the hip 'Albert St' where we popped into many quirky shops. Along the way I inhaled super unique vapour flavours in the vapour store (ie breakfast cereal flavour), went to the super trendy 'Townshends Teas' and had a Masala chai latte, tried heaps of quirky flavours of ice cream at Salt and Straw (featured on Bizarre foods America) ie pear and blue cheese, tried craft beers at a local pub and even went to karaoke that night with their friends.
The next few days I planned to explore the city by foot and hit up famous places like Vooddoo doughnuts, Lardos sandwiches, Blue Star Donuts, Powells bookstore (largest in the world), the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Pearl/Oldtown/downtown/Chinatown, Mississippi street areas and much more.
Over four days I got to see all of these places, try the most unusual foods, eat from one of the hundreds of food trucks, meet and hang out with locals thanks to my hosts, play awesome board games, eat two famous sandwiches from Lardos, enjoy an awesome Ramen from Boxer Ramen (even if it was non veg), stroll in and out of unique stores, taste a wide array of salt/bitters/chocolate from The Meadow (also featured on bizarre foods America), finish a season of Americas worst cook with my hosts and even finish the trip off with a late night trip to Papa Haydns for some incredible takeaway deserts and drive by a view of the nighttime city lights.
Overall, Portland lived up to my expectations and beyond! My hosts were so incredible and I was so appreciative of their generous welcoming! The city was like nowhere I'd seen before in terms of its unique character and you could spend hours wandering around finding hidden treasure in the books and crannys of the city!
With it being a mere 8 hours bus ride from Vancouver or even less by car, there's no reason to miss out on this hip place to be! I can't wait to return :)
With it being a mere 8 hours bus ride from Vancouver or even less by car, there's no reason to miss out on this hip place to be! I can't wait to return :)
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