So why did you go to Portland in the middle of the quarter? Great question.
First of all, it was because tickets were cheap. Southwest gets me every time with their flash deals. Second of all, my friend Kendall and I have always wanted to go, especially for nature and food.
k e e p p o r t l a n d w e i r d s i g n | 3rd street, between Burnside & Ankeny
If you’re only planning to explore downtown and you’re not renting a car, a solid 3 days is really all you need in the city. However, if you’re solely trying to eat and drink your way through Portland, or get an adequate amount of time in nature, you’d definitely need to stay a month because a person can only consume and hike so much in one day.
Here’s a little itinerary of our trip. Kendall and I had the best time.
DAY .5
We arrived in the evening on a Thursday evening in April. Portland in April is what our Multnomah tour guide categorized as ”anything is possible.” After checking into our Airbnb, we took a walk to the neighborhood pub called The Old Gold and then called it a night.
DAY 1
MORNING
Whether you’re a nature person or not, a Multnomah Falls Tour is a must. Nature is only a 30 minute drive from the city, due to Portland’s Urban Growth Boundary. Each urban area in the state of Oregon is required to define an Urban Growth Boundary and under this system, Portland has become the model for UGB. We took the tour from America’s Hubworld Tours. It was a small group tour, less than 10 people. Before setting out into the lush Oregon nature, we took a notable bathroom break at Vista House. It has beautiful views of green and a beautiful all marble bathroom too. In addition to the beautiful Multnomah Falls we visited 2 other waterfalls and drove through the lush green of Oregon nature.
AFTERNOON
We took a walk through downtown Portland after the tour. During lunch time there’s food trucks all lined up on SW 10th and Alder. We found Nong’s Khao Man Gai and ordered their hainan chicken and sat in Pioneer Courthouse Square for lunch, surrounded by a street performer playing violin. (2020 update: After verifying some facts about Portland for this post, I learned that the food truck pod on SW 10th and Alder is no longer there sad face)After lunch we walked around downtown and #RealTalk you can walk all of Portland downtown within an afternoon. We stopped by Powell’s City of Books, Union Way, Stumptown Coffee, and walked along the waterfront. Like I said, it’s a pretty small city and we ran out of things to do/see since we were so still full, so we went back to the Airbnb for a nap before dinner.
p i o n e e r c o u r t h o u s e s q u a r e | 701 SW 6th Ave.
NIGHT
Known for their beers and brews, a visit to a Portland brewery is a must.
Our first beer stop was Deschutes Brewery for dinner. We ordered a flight of beers to share and a plate of food each. I’m not a huge beer fan, but it was interesting to taste different types to actually tell the difference. Otherwise I just think all beers taste the same.
d e s c h u t e s b r e w e r y | 201 NW 11th Ave.
For our night time activity, we found a ghost tour to partake in. Portland, Oregon isn’t the most haunted place, but we’re suckers for ghost tours. We even bought the 21+ tour tickets to listen to the guide’s more candid version of history and because it included a stop at Voodoo Donuts. At the start of the tour the guide had all of us rate our belief in ghosts/the supernatural on a scale of 1 to 10. I said I was about a 3 and Kendall said she was an 8. Our guide candidly told us before he started working he was a 2 and now he’s a solid 2.5 LOL. We were given EMF meters as we walked around the city and learned that the ghosts in Oregon are friendly ghosts, like those who stayed behind to help in a fire. The stop to Voodoo made our $30 worth it, even if we didn’t get any ghost readings.
v o o d o o d o u g h n u t | 22 SW 3rd Ave.
DAY 2
MORNING
We heard Mother’s Bistro (121 SW 3rd Ave.) was a must for breakfast in Portland. The wait was over 30 minutes but it was worth it in the end. The restaurant is decorated like a mother’s house would be, with frills and antiques everywhere.
AFTERNOON
Like I said before, Portland is known for their brews so of course we booked a Brewcycle tour.
We booked the Northeast Route, which was very fun. Although Kendall and I are 5’ and 5’ 2” respectively so it was pretty hard for us to pedal. Luckily we were in a group with 6 Canadian men on their Bachelor’s party retreat so they really carried the group. We stopped at 3 breweries for about 15 minutes each and you just pay for the beer you want, none of the beer was included with the tour price.
I honestly don’t recall if we had lunch or not, but I do remember we stopped at Blue Star Donut, which definitely lives up to its hype in my opinion. Again, after our eventful afternoon we headed back to our Airbnb for a quick pre-dinner nap.
b l u e s t a r d o n u t s | 921 NW 23rd Ave
NIGHT
For dinner we headed to Pine St. Market, which is the Portland food court. We were craving some home cooked asian food so ramen was our meal of choice from Marukin Ramen. There’s tons of other food selections in the Market if you’re craving something else too. And we ended the night with some Salt & Straw. Fun fact: I had no idea what Salt & Straw was back in; no understanding of the delicious flavors or backstory. To me, it was just a regular ice cream shop. (2020 update: I love Salt & Straw)
p i n e s t r e e t m a r k e t | 126 SW 2nd Ave.
DAY 3
MORNING
We worked really hard to get breakfast this day. I think we tried 2 different restaurants before we landed at The Hazel Room (3279 SE Hawthorne Blvd.). It was Saturday morning, so all the breakfast places had over an hour wait and The Hazel Room happened to have the shortest wait.
AFTERNOON
To be honest, we ran out of big things to do Portland and Pittock Mansion showed up as a place of interest in our Google searches. Tickets were only $12 and it was a nice place to spend our weekend morning. We walked through the museum, enjoyed the view, and saw many dogs. Afterwards, we took a little hike down the mountain and eventually called for a Lyft back to downtown Portland.
p i t t o c k m a n s i o n | 3229 NW Pittock Dr.
NIGHT
For our last dinner in Portland we chose the Screen Door (2337 E Burnside St.). I think at least 3 of our friends recommended it to us as the best southern food and that we had to try it. We endured a wait time of what felt like over an hour and by the time our food came out we were already buzzed from our beer. If you like southern food and fried chicken, this is definitely the place for you. Personally, I didn’t see the hype since I’m not the biggest southern food fan. It was definitely good though, just wouldn’t be the first restaurant I’d recommend.
DAY 3.5
We had just enough time the morning of our departure to pick up some Pip’s Original Donuts and Chai (4759 NE Fremont St.). We ordered a flight of chai and selection of their donuts and discovered we don’t need any fancy chai to be satisfied. After our delicious morning treat, we called a Lyft and headed back to the airport.
To me, Portland is the place you go if you want a slow, relaxing visit. It’s a small city that feels like a small city. Take your time with everything around you, eat all the food they have to offer, and enjoy all the big doggies that every Portlander seems to have.
Here’s a list of other places we weren’t able to get to, but would definitely be on my shortlist the next time I visit Portland:
F O O D
Pok Pok | 3226 SE Division St.
Jam on Hawthorne | 2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Tasty N Alder | 580 SW 12th Ave.
Kenny’s Noodle House | 8305 SE Powell Blvd.
S I G H T S T O S E E
St. Johns Bridge & Cathedral Park | 8676 N Crawford St.
Portland Weekend Market | 2 SW Naito Pkwy
Vintage & thrift shops on Hawthorne
O U T D O O R
Mount Hood
Forest Park
Rowena Crest Viewpoint
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
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