Portland: Bread and Bridges

Eats and paths, what can be more essential than that? Especially when it comes to travel. In today's post, I'm taking you on a little getaway to Portland, Oregon, where we spent a couple of days of our family Spring break. We will explore some Portland paths (a.k.a. Bridges) as well as learn about local eats (a.k.a. Bread), and my hope is that we will discover some of the elements that make Portland Portland. Of course, it's only a brief glance, and I hope it'll be interesting to those of you who have never been there and might plan a trip in the future. With Portland being only 2.5 hours from our home, it's surprising that we don't visit more often. Justin and I were there last time 5 years ago during my parents' stay, and for Anya it was her first trip. 

I sprinkled my vacation outfits around two or three posts that I plan to write about our little trip, so you'll see pretty much all of them, but hopefully won't get bored looking at the same stuff over and over again. I'm not sure why, but this style came to mind immediately when I thought of Portland - it seemed to fit the city's distinct urban culture, though I can't say that I met anyone dressed in this style while being there. Yet this particular first day outfit immediately got noticed by a woman wearing a bright bohemian skirt. Oddly enough my "vacation sweater" (which you'll see in this post and one more time later) was complimented by a homeless guy, of all people. You just never know who might share the same passion for style, do you? The brown Ecco booties were also admired openly, to my surprise, on more than one occasion, who knew! 

Denim shirt, corduroy jacket and vest - secondhand. Russian platok - gift from my parents.

Sartorial Notes: 

What I Packed for a Mini-Break 

(4 nights, 5 days in city and by ocean shore)

I was a bit concerned with the changeable weather (especially because we weren't staying in Portland only, but traveling to the ocean where it's pretty much always breezy and wet), so I consulted my friend BEATE who is a pro at putting together both feminine and practical outfits, featuring skirts, wool layers and walkable shoes. Beate always looks both stylish and cozy, and she gave me spot-on advise (she can teach classes!), which actually started with this skirt (and I'd have already chosen it anyway!). I ended up packing a couple of skirts, one light sweater, three blouses, a thin wool vest, a light corduroy jacket, a couple of flat shoes (one pair wasn't used) and a pair of short wedge Hunters (you can see them in my JANUARY 2014 post). For an outer jacket, I opted for my old quilted jacket which isn't rainproof, but it protects from wind, is super lightweight and dries off quickly (just 15 minutes in a warm car, and it was dry). You could see it most recently in NOVEMBER 2017. A wool coat would be much classier indeed, but to tell the truth, they all seemed too wintry to me, while I was ready for a spring mood. Other than this pair of sunglasses, I didn't bring any accessories with me - they seemed unnecessary. Oh, and I had a couple of scarves and a wooly hat too - it protected me from rain drops and breeze when needed. Actually, the weather ended up being much nicer than expected, with only one rainy day, so my outfits worked pretty well on most occasions. The only little issue I had was on the ocean beach. First, I wished I could take off my shoes and walk barefoot (my absolutely most favorite thing to do!), since it was surprisingly nice and warm. But alas - tights, you know. That was the only time when I wished I had pants instead of a skirt. And the second time was with my shoes. Wedges weren't the most comfy shoes for those areas of the beach where the sand was soft, but my Hunters are the only waterproof pair of shoes I own - I am an utterly unpractical girl in all the possible and impossible ways. Considering all of that, I think I've done pretty well.

  

Travelogue: 

Part 1. On the Banks of Two Rivers

On to our journey now! Like many large cities, Portland is located where two rivers meet - the Willamette and the Columbia. That suggests bridges, right? And sure enough, the city has 2 road bridges over the Columbia River and 12 bridges over the Willamette, one of which you see on these photos, the stunning suspension St. Johns Bridge. The construction started in 1929, right before the Stock Market Crush, and during the Great Depression the bridge provided many residents with jobs. This gorgeous suspension bridge was opened in 1931. I stumbled on photos of this beauty as I was preparing for the trip (cultural ambassador - remember?), and was immediately struck by the beautiful towers in Gothic style. I knew we should pay this bridge a visit! What do you know, when I asked Anya and Justin what's on their must-see list, Justin named this very bridge! Apparently, it's featured in his favorite fantasy-adventure show The Librarians (2014), filmed in Portland. Just as with the skirt which both Beate and I considered for this trip, Justin and I chose the same bridge. I love when such little things happen - serendipity, that means we are on the same wave length! 

Aren't the details of old architecture just so incredibly charming and beautiful?

After visiting the St. Johns, we headed to the very heart of the busy city, parked our Outback and went on a walk. I strongly believe that a huge part of fun when visiting a new or not-so-new, but still not-very-familiar city, is just exploring it randomly, by car, public transportation and of course on foot. I admit that the planning/organizing Natasha in me protests (sometimes, out loud), being afraid that we simply waste precious time and won't see something really important. But I try to quiet her down and focus on finding a balance between planned activities and spontaneous, free-spirited walkabouts, simply staring at everything around us, feeling the vibe of the place, soaking in its atmosphere, and of course trying to find a good place to have a bite, visiting little shops, taking pictures etc. Justin as our driver for the entire trip had to deal with the busy traffic and the fact that Portlanders share the road, so together with cars, buses and trucks, bicyclists ride on city streets, even though there isn't always a designated lane for them. We do have bicycles around here, but the number is much higher in Portland, so as a driver you have to constantly remind yourself to be extra careful and if possible keep an additional, third eye on traffic. Anya was such a third eye for Justin.

Another bridge I'll show you is the bascule Burnside Bridge which was built in 1926, replacing an old 1894 bridge, and is on the National Register of Historic Places now, so hopefully no more replacements. We happened to drive over this bridge quite a few times this visit, and even to walk on it once. It was a very nice and surprisingly warm day, I think it was around 60 F. We planned to visit one of the area's many beautiful gardens that day, but the best laid plans, etc,. etc. ... The night before, Justin noticed that one of our headlights was out. Since we were on a road trip, we decided to keep it on the safe side and replace the light the very next morning. The guys who worked on our car found a huge metal bolt in one of the tires which was great timing because if the tire blew up on a highway, that would be much worse of course. At the same time it was a bummer because to change a tire in our car, we have to change all four of them which as you understand adds up quickly. At the same time, it again was great timing because there is no sale tax in Oregon, so we definitely ended up paying much less than we would here in Washington. (Another sweet part of Oregon, you don't have to get out of your car when you buy gas - service boys do it for you, it's the law in just a few states, including Oregon. I think I encountered it only in two states so far, another one was maybe Virginia? I can't be sure, but definitely on the East coast.) 

The famous White Stag sign (you'll recognize it immediately if you watch the hilarious series Portlandia) as seen from the Burnside Bridge. 

The White Stag sign has been a part of the town's landscape since 1940, and was designated a City of Portland Historic Landmark in 1977. It used to advertise different local companies and changed the messages a few times, but since 2010, it reads "Portland Oregon" which is quite fitting. You will see this sign as you drive (or walk as we did) on the Burnside Bridge over the Willamette River towards downtown. It's even prettier when it lights up at night.

My outfit that day contained the same old plaid skirt, vintage blouse (bought at Goodwill in Oregon, by the way, years ago) and my ultimate vacation pullover - excellent quality, clearance buy last year (by Talbots). 

While waiting for our car to be fixed, we visited a row of vintage shops filled with wonderful finds. I didn't find anything for myself there, but there was a gorgeous red wool cape that looked so good on Anya - but she is very particular with her tastes and preferences, and her dream coat is yet to be discovered. 

Part 2. What to Eat in Portland

Now, on to the bread portion of my very long Portland travelogue post! Portland isn't only going to feed you with spiritual and intellectual food such as can be found at their world's largest independent bookstore Powell's Books (established in 1971). I don't have pictures from there this time, but we visit it every time we're in Portland - there are a few bookworms in this family. There are 4  levels, filled with books on all topics and even many world languages - you can get lost in there, that's why you need a map (!) - the store pretty much occupies the whole city block. I love that it sells both new and used books, and that it also buys used books from customers. I bought some books in the Russian language before, and this time too. The selection of Russian books is small, but still I was able to find something that interested me (books on literature, folklore, children's books, etc.) But enough of that intellectual food - Portland also will feed you in quite a literate sense, with all sorts of foods from around the globe. We dined at a little Moroccan restaurant called Tangier, as well as a Lebanese place called Nicholas. At Tangier, I loved lamb shawarma and Moroccan red wine. At Nicholas, I really enjoyed baklava and my favorite garlic sauce which they serve with meat. Their service was excellent and prices reasonable. Along with Powell's Books, so-called food cart pods seem like a quintessential Portland experience to me (you can find out more on this site: http://www.foodcartsportland.com/). Street food is such a big part of city life everywhere in the world, but here in the USA it really isn't common at all. It's probably due to complicated laws and expensive cost of land in cities, which is a shame because street food is just so much fun, being both a quick and cheap bite and at the same time a learning experience about a particular culture. We tried Thai and Mediterranean (my favorite Lebanese seems particularly popular in Portland), and it all was great! But there was so much more: American, Korean, Italian, Vietnamese, German, and even Czech.

On Anya's must-visit list, there was a place called Voodoo Doughnut. I made a mental note of it because of her, but wasn't especially excited myself, simply because... guilty as charged: I'm not really a fan of doughnuts. Here, I said it. But I am so glad that we found this funky little shop! I think to better understand the quirky spirit of Portland, you have to have this experience. They are very friendly folks with a variety of doughnuts which you most probably didn't even know can exist. Mine was in the shape of a voodoo doll (just like on their neon sign) with raspberry filling. The Old-fashioned was good too! It was a short, but very memorable and surprisingly uplifting visit to their original store.

Photos by Justin (camera) and myself (phone).

To be continued.

Linking with Visible Monday.

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