It all began at Eisenhower Bagels, just blocks from our motel.
The Wesley: egg, pepper jack, bacon, Sriracha, crispy sea salt kale, and cream cheese on a plain bagel. | The Eisenhower: egg, swiss, cheddar, prosciutto, roasted garlic potatoes, green onion, rosemary and cream cheese on a rosemary parmesan bagel. |
Happy customers! Why wouldn't we be? We just ate the best breakfast sandwiches of our lives. That's no hyperbole! These little babies are legit!
Portland's doing a great job at keeping it weird! Evidence outside of Powell's Books. This girl had a Gaga-esque way of dressing, vamping, and making music.
Welcome to Book Heaven! Powell's Books commands a whole city block! It's the most abundant and organized collection of reading material I've ever seen!
They even had an end cap for LGBTQ Teens! Is this real life?! Needless to say, we browsed here for hours and left with a few goodies.
There's a bit of a rivalry between Blue Star Donuts & Voodo Doughnuts. (For one thing, they can't even agree on how to spell the thing that they artisanally craft!) I'm not even that big of a donut fan but I figured I'd take one for the team and settle this once and for all.
First up, Blue Star's cinnamon sugar. A classic, but in this case it lives up to their motto: "Donuts for Adults." They rounded out the flavor with cardamom and vanilla. A+
Next up: Voodoo Doughnuts! The line was crazy and we know why! Getting a donut here is an EXPERIENCE! They have quirky decor, bad ass music playing (some new Rihanna tune that day), and the menu is both extensive and fantastical!
After much debate, we settled on the Voodoo donut (above, with chocolate icing, raspberry jam, and a pretzel stake in the heart!) and the Cap'n Crunch (exactly as it sounds, a glazed donut slathered in vanilla frosting and drowning in Cap'n Crunch cereal). These were a marvel to behold but just too sweet to actually eat without going into a diabetic coma or dropping a few teeth.
The winner is...Blue Star gets my vote for taste and Voodoo for creativity.
The winner is...Blue Star gets my vote for taste and Voodoo for creativity.
Kris enjoying the paper and some cold brew at Stumptown Coffee at Ace Hotel.
One of the Downtown food truck pods. This one took up a whole city block!
Tilikum Bridge. Tilikum is the Chinook word for "people."
I'd been dying to see the new female-driven Ghostbusters and here was our chance. The Bagdad is an historic theater that plays first and second-run films, and serves food and booze. Sounded good to us!
Got there early and had our choice of seating!
Awesome sound, screen, and seating. Bonus for having a captioning device!
Aside: Ghostbusters was AMAZING! It was funny AND empowering. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?! That is all.
Aside: Ghostbusters was AMAZING! It was funny AND empowering. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?! That is all.
The International Rose Test Garden! Not sure how this is free but it rocks! Definltey come here...skip the underwhelming and overhyped Japanese Gardens (they charge admission) across the street.
Only in Portland could this exist.
...and this is free! The most amazing video store I've ever seen! (I know I say this a lot about Portland things but it is no exaggeration!) They have over 90,000 rentals and each volume is meticulously categorized by actor, director, genre, subgenre, etc.
Ex 1. Meticulous & hilarious categorization.
But the real reason why people come here is the world-class display of movie memorabilia. Over 100 items from clothing to props. Above see the sundress Helen Hunt wore in As Good As It Gets and Julianne Moore's fur coat from Magnolia.
One of two of the knives used in the Psycho shower scene. This is the only one that exists anymore. How is this in a random video store in Portland?! He also has pants from The Wizard of Oz, multiple outfits from West Side Story, the soap bar used by Brad Pitt in the Fight Club promo photo, the chair Ingrid Bergman sat on in Casablanca ...MIND BLOWN.
One of my personal faves, besides an Elizabeth Taylor gown, was Barbra Streisand's outfit from The Owl & The Pussycat. Fangirl moment!
Salt & Straw Ice Cream for dessert! Homemade waffle cones, creative gourmet flavors...nom nom nom.
So glad we happened to be in Portland for Alberta Arts District's Final Thursday. Food vendors, street musicians, local crafts, and TONS of people watching. Such a diverse crowd. It was awesome to see them all convening in one place, especially in the name of creativity!
Yup, Portland is weird. In the best of ways. This is a local burlesque troupe.
Well, gotta go! On our way for sushi and then to try out a wine bar.