Traveling in Portland

I’ve been to Portland twice, although my first visit was before I had this website and I didn’t take any photos. When I returned in 2012, I had forgotten just how large Portland actually is. It’s no Chicago or San Francisco, but it’s still a major American city with a personality of its own and plenty to explore. Portland is also famous for its rainy weather, something I experienced throughout my visit. The forecast had promised sunny skies for Saturday, but apparently Portland and I had different definitions of sunny. Instead, I had overcast skies mixed with rain for almost the entire three-day weekend.

Aside from the weather, Portland is famous for its music, nightlife, restaurants, breweries, parks, gardens, and outdoor lifestyle. While looking for a parking spot, I was initially confused by why the cars were parked so far from the curb until I realized the space beside them was reserved for bicycles. Portland is an extremely bike-friendly city, and between the bike lanes, hills, parks, and nearby mountains, there are plenty of ways to stay active. The photo on the right shows one of the tunnels passing through the hills surrounding the city.

One of my favorite parts of Portland was the Northwest District. The neighborhood has plenty of restaurants, small pubs, shops, and tree-lined streets. Many of the businesses seemed to occupy converted houses, which gave the neighborhood a much more residential feeling than a typical commercial district. I had dinner and drinks at a Mexican restaurant and spent some time walking around the streets and shops until another round of heavy rain arrived.

Another part of the city had a large market packed with people, shops, and entertainment. Nearby was Voodoo Doughnut, which immediately got my attention because the line stretched out the front door and along the sidewalk. I wasn’t willing to wait that long, but the guy photographed above was nice enough to let me take a picture of the giant doughnut he had purchased. Some of the doughnuts were covered in cereal or candy, while others came in unusual shapes and combinations. They were certainly some of the strangest doughnuts I had ever seen.

The market itself had plenty of characters and street performers. The man on the left approached me and asked to have his picture taken, while the entertainer on the right was showing off his break-dancing skills to a small crowd. Other performers were doing their own stunts, including one guy walking around on stilts dressed as Superman.

The market was also filled with vendors selling clothing, artwork, and all kinds of handmade and creative items. One of the stranger things I photographed was the plant growing out of a seashell on the left. Live music added to the atmosphere, including a band performing covers of artists such as Tom Petty.

Thanks to my girlfriend, I learned to appreciate farmers markets, and while we were in Portland we visited the large Saturday market at Portland State University. I used to think farmers markets were basically outdoor grocery stores where you bought vegetables directly from farmers, but after visiting a few I realized how much more there can be to them. Portland’s market had vendors selling fresh produce, prepared foods, flowers, handmade items, artwork, and souvenirs. With so many different vendors, it was also a good place to try locally made food. There was live entertainment throughout the market as well, including the musicians photographed above.

Portland also has a historic Chinatown. Compared with the busy markets and other neighborhoods I had already explored, this part of the city was much quieter during my visit. One of the highlights is the traditional Chinese garden, while the large Chinatown gateway marks the entrance to the district. I spent some time walking around the neighborhood and exploring the few shops I came across.

One shop had decorative dragons and other items for sale, while outside I came across the strange old machine photographed on the right. We put a quarter into it to see what would happen. Dolls started moving, fans switched on, and two old television sets began displaying images and talking. The machine was so old and unusual that I still wasn’t entirely sure what it was supposed to be doing, which made it all the more interesting.

While in Portland I also went to catch a movie, which took me away from the tourist areas and into a more everyday part of the city. The theater was inside a shopping mall that surprisingly had its own indoor ice-skating rink. It wasn’t something I had gone out of my way to see, but these random discoveries are sometimes part of what makes exploring a city interesting.

One of the most beautiful places I visited in Portland was Washington Park, located in the hills west of downtown. The park contains several attractions, including gardens, recreational areas, and the famous Portland Japanese Garden. The Japanese Garden was easily one of the highlights of my visit, with landscaped ponds, trees, stone pathways, and carefully designed gardens throughout the grounds. On clear days, Washington Park also offers views toward Mount Hood, although Portland’s weather wasn’t cooperating during my visit.

The Japanese Garden was a great place to finish my exploration of Portland. Even with three days of mostly gray skies and rain, I came away liking the city much more than the weather. Portland’s neighborhoods, markets, food, parks, and slightly unusual personality give it a character that’s hard to confuse with anywhere else. After two visits, there are still plenty of places around the city and the surrounding mountains that I’d like to explore on another trip.