WiFi cafes and grungy pubs in Portland
The first night of our 800-mile-long journey from central California to Portland, Oregon is a relief. We spend the night at Crescent City, and are greatly comforted by the jacket-worthy temperatures wrought by the coast and a layer of thick clouds overhead.
The stretch of highway from Eureka to Crescent City is particularly pleasant. We encounter a dramatic sunset while passing by moody beaches, and cliffs that overlook the clouds themselves.
When we reach Portland, however, we are greeted by an unexpected wave of heat. Our five-night stay takes place in 38-degree (celcius!) weather, and our studio apartment isn't air-conditioned.
We seek refuge in WiFi-enabled cafes, of which there are many. Coffee in Portland and its surrounds is also extremely tasty, and I have what is possibly the best coffee of my life at a restaurant/lounge in Sellwood.
One afternoon, it is so unbearably warm that I even manage to persuade Jim to spend a few hours in a suburbian mall. I pick up a comfortable grey maxi dress at Macys, and a pair of summer wedges at J.C. Penney.
Heat aside, Portland exudes a lovely little city atmosphere that reminds me much of Perth in Australia. Most areas, and even its CBD, are peppered with independent, grungy bars and pubs from which black-clad locals of all ages stumble at all hours.
People are friendly and refreshingly genuine; waiters sport visible tattoos and spout colloquialisms -- none of that stuffy 'sir/madam' business, thankyouverymuch.
One night, when we visit the Lucky Labrador Brewing Company, we come across a 'board game' party, for which thirty or so brewhouse patrons sit around several tables playing various board games. This is the city for us, we decide, when we learn that board games night takes place at the pub every Thursday.
Despite our love of the city, we are glad to leave when the time comes. Our next destination, the Olympic Peninsula, is known for dreary weather and we sure could do with a little less sunshine!
The stretch of highway from Eureka to Crescent City is particularly pleasant. We encounter a dramatic sunset while passing by moody beaches, and cliffs that overlook the clouds themselves.
When we reach Portland, however, we are greeted by an unexpected wave of heat. Our five-night stay takes place in 38-degree (celcius!) weather, and our studio apartment isn't air-conditioned.
We seek refuge in WiFi-enabled cafes, of which there are many. Coffee in Portland and its surrounds is also extremely tasty, and I have what is possibly the best coffee of my life at a restaurant/lounge in Sellwood.
One afternoon, it is so unbearably warm that I even manage to persuade Jim to spend a few hours in a suburbian mall. I pick up a comfortable grey maxi dress at Macys, and a pair of summer wedges at J.C. Penney.
Heat aside, Portland exudes a lovely little city atmosphere that reminds me much of Perth in Australia. Most areas, and even its CBD, are peppered with independent, grungy bars and pubs from which black-clad locals of all ages stumble at all hours.
People are friendly and refreshingly genuine; waiters sport visible tattoos and spout colloquialisms -- none of that stuffy 'sir/madam' business, thankyouverymuch.
One night, when we visit the Lucky Labrador Brewing Company, we come across a 'board game' party, for which thirty or so brewhouse patrons sit around several tables playing various board games. This is the city for us, we decide, when we learn that board games night takes place at the pub every Thursday.
Despite our love of the city, we are glad to leave when the time comes. Our next destination, the Olympic Peninsula, is known for dreary weather and we sure could do with a little less sunshine!
posted by liz at
6:14 PM
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