So... I'm mostly a lurker (pretty much 100% these days) but I still think of y'all whenever I think of visiting somewhere new.
I'm heading to Portland (Oregon) for 5 days for a conference and wondering if anyone has suggestions (ie can't miss sights other than Powell's Books and voodoo doughnuts) or advice. It's my first time visiting the states and my first totally solo trip (ie don't even know anyone at the destination) so I'm feeling kinda nervous and could use some buffista advice.
Thanks!
Also, if anyone did want to meet up (I love my local-istas and it'd be great to meet some more) I'm free all day tomorrow and most evenings (leaving Sunday am)
Portland is beautiful, Helena. I would say if you can spend time on one of the rivers, that's a great way to pass the time there. Cass lived there a few years ago, I bet she has more recs.
Foodcarts is a big one, in Portland. Erin is out current buffista there but I think she's soon various surgery and recovery for the next couple months.
Portland used to have some of the best Pho places in the USA. Don't know what is good these days, but yelp can probably give you some clues. Given that Portland has a large Vietnamese community.look for places where a lot of Vietnamese eat. These places are likely to be in strip malls rather than in glitzy restaurant rows.
I'm trying to think of things my sister takes me to when I'm up there - Powell's is the big one. Food trucks. Eating in general (that may be more of a me thing, I tend to be a food-oriented tourist everywhere). The rose gardens, the Japanese garden. Stumptown for coffee, Jade pearl for tea. I forget the name of the mountain, but it's right there in the city. Tabor?
Helena! I'm in Portland but just had surgery on my hip and am pretty confined to a bed/sofa loop for a few more weeks now so I'm no good at showing you round our fine city :( But fine city it is! Fall is gorgeous, the leaves are already starting to turn and if you have a spare day to head out to the gorge for a day hike it coudn't be more beautiful. And yes, Mt Tabor is a volcano (dormant) within city limits, has multiple parks and a darned lovely view from the top. Trimet is the local public transit system and has super useful apps. You can even buy day (or week, or weekend) passes online without having to worry about exact change. What part of town will you be in? Powells and Voodoo are staples of the tourist trade. Willamette Week is a great (local) resource for events. Feel free to msg me at 703 798 5453 if you get lost or need a last minute idea. I can't really go anywhere but that means i'm pretty much always on call as a resource :)
eta: if you're near the convention center and ever just have an extra hour, go for a walk along the waterfront. The Willamette river bisects the city and is basically a huge park along both side of the river. You can walk up the east or west side esplenade north to the steele bridge and south the hawthorne bridge, both have pedestrian pathways and make a nice long loop with Japanese memorial at the NW corner and OMSI at the SE corner. Random sculptures and public art along the way.
One place I love to go in Portland is Le Bistro Montage - when my brother lived there it was his go to place for amazingly delicious and not overly pricey foods. [link]
Oh the rose gardens! They are lovely
Also if you are there on a Weekend, The Saturday Market (which is open Saturday & Sunday). It is a stop on the Max line - right on the stop. A real trip all the crafts and things. Plus if you are in a gluttonous mood, really good "Elephant Ears" (a kind of fried pastry). Even a hearty eater will probably want to share one of those
