Portland, portLAND, PORtland

Back from a whirlwind long weekend with my pal A in guess where? Man, I really do love Portland. We stayed with friends of A's just outside the city - convenient, and they were great hosts. And the weather was insanely beautiful. Walking around in early October with bare legs and no coat? Unless you're homeless or crazy, that's just not usual. So what did we get up to?

• Coffee. And lots of it.
• Enjoying the food options in a truly Gluten Free mecca - whole cafes dedicated to GF baking - it is enough to make you cry.
• Powell's Books. Powell's Books. Powell's Books. If I say it three times, does that mean one will appear in Vancouver? Gads I LOVE that store. Between us we bought about 20lbs of books I believe (we actually weighed them) - next time, we will drive down so we can pack the whole trunk full.
• A night at the theatre. A bit campy, but boy the sets and art direction were amazing.  More amazing? The couple sitting a few rows ahead that were Portlandia incarnate.  
• An afternoon at the Japanese Garden. Calm sigh.
• The farmer's market at Portland State University. LOVED IT. Such a gorgeous setting and amazing produce, cheeses, meats, GF baking, and peppers you could watch being barrel roasted right before your eyes.
• Trader Joe's. I know, I know, not that exciting for you American types, but it is a magical land of inexpensive surprises for us poor Canadians.
• A whole lot of walking and exploring and appreciating. Portland just feels so very livable.

If I was 24, I would be going to school there, no doubt.  There is a vibrancy and artsy quirkiness that is just so darned appealing - and unlike Vancouver, the city somehow manages to pull it off without pretension.

I've skipped over a lot of stuff, but I'm running out of steam. My one regret? Missing the Grizzly Bear concert, but my valiant sibling pretty much video'd the whole thing so I can get a sense of the wonder that I missed (check it out here)

Stumptown Coffee.  So good.

An example of what has become the all pervasive trend in signage in Portland - multi-font, slightly folksy. It is EVERYWHERE

OMFG EXCELLENT GLUTEN FREE BEER IS POSSIBLE!!!!! 

PSU Farmer's Market

PSU Farmer's Market

Beautiful cherry toms

Japanese Garden - so lovely, such great patterns.

Yep.

Look down....

Ya, I didn't do much clothes shopping, but this little number came home with me.  Figured I could scare Mags with the fox mask.  OK, ok, maybe not.