I am so excited to be traveling again.
The morning was filled with last minute chores...... Feed the chickens, start the dishwasher, feed the cats, take out the trash. All the things that needed to be done prior to vacation.We headed to the airport around 11:00 so we could take our time and have plenty of time for our 1:45 flight. We even had time for our customary pre-travel glass of wine.
The flight was great. We ended up having an empty seat between us (we actually worked very hard at not letting anyone sit there) so we had plenty of room. We napped, we read, we looked out the window, we had a gin and tonic....... Again, all the normal stuff.
About 45 minutes before we landed, the scenery really started catching my attention. Mountains, rivers, snow capped mountains (Mt. Hood). Just really beautiful! So many trees also!
As we came in for a landing, I realized that Portland was much larger and much more beautiful than I had expected.
We landed with no problem and headed out to explore.
First, we had to get our car. Nice and easy. The Airbnb was about 20 minutes away. We are always a little curious as to how the living quarters will actually be but were pleasantly surprised at our accommodations. I called the owner to tell her we had arrived and everything was good.
I asked her for dinner recommendations. She told me about an Italian restaurant within walking distance that "is amazing". Nostramos. I also asked her about a rooftop "bar-looking" place we could see from our window. She told me it is an old high school that has been renovated and turned into an event space. There is a rooftop bar with event spaces on the lower floors. She gave me a few other tips then I thanked her and we hung up.
Jim and I decided to walk over to Nostramos for dinner . We did not regret it! We didn't have a reservation but there was a cancellation for an outdoor table so we were seated right away. We were seated at a large table that was considered community dining so there were two women sitting at the other end of the table from us. We received our water and menus right away. Jim looked at the menu and pointed out the wording on the back. It has a special thank you on the back that reads, "Thanks to our Farmers and Purveyors". I am so happy! We talked to the two women at the other end of our table that turned out to be grandmother and granddaughter. The grandmother has just moved to Portland from San Francisco. The granddaughter was from Portland. Very nice people. Our food arrived and it was amazing. We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone if you are in the Portland area.
After our fabulous dinner we decided to head to the rooftop bar to see what was going on there. We took a nice stroll down the street heading for the old high school. As we were walking we saw an old VW Westphalia parked on the street. Nice. Then we noticed the people were actually camping out there. Odd. And there was a guy sitting in the side doorway of the van playing a guitar, I love Portland.
We got to the old high school (Revolution) and as we entered, they asked if we were there to see the show. We told them no, but asked who the "show" was. They told us it was Lake Street Drive but they were sold out. Dang it! How cool would that have been!
We headed up to the rooftop and were completely amazed. We had an absolutely stunning view of downtown Portland. Even though it was quite windy up there, the bar was packed. We managed to get a great spot when two people left and got some really great photos of the view.
After a short period on the rooftop we decided it was just a bit too chilly for us. We made the decision to head back home. On our way, we see a tent had been set up - IN A PARKING SPOT ON THE STREET - for someone to sleep in. Amazing. Again, I love Portland!
We get back home and were done for the evening. Goodnight Portland.
No comments:
Post a Comment