Saturday, June 16, 2018

Tourists in Portland

Waking up, and ready to head out, to be tourists!
tour·ist
ˈto͝orəst/Submit
noun
1.
a person who is traveling or visiting a place for pleasure.


Yeah. That was us. Some people balk at the idea of going to a place, doing a thing, eating something, lest they be labeled a "tourist." But, not I. Mostly. I once missed ordering the best salad in France, because a stupid guidebook cautioned against eating from a particular part of town that was strictly for tourists. My mom got the salad, and I took a bite... now that delicious salad haunts me, and taunts me, and I should have behaved like a tourist when I had the chance.

On our third day in Portland, we rented a vehicle (and we named it Doughdge,) and we drove it to as many places, for pleasure, as we could manage. No regrets.

Now that we weren't dependent on public transportation (which, btw, is actually quite awesome in Portland,) we could go further afield, and squeeze more into our day. We began in Alberta Arts, which will always be a sentimental favorite, because it was my introduction to Portland, when I chanced to land in this gem of a neighborhood before a flight home.

We parked on a side street. And walked. Up Alberta, down Alberta. And it was delightful.






I hesitated... do I always take a picture of the giant white bun?? Ah, well, then why break with tradition?

Tradition is what brought us to Petite Provence for breakfast.

Maria and I needed the brothers to know the tastiness of their croissants and especially their raspberry preserves.

Yes!

And the oatmeal. Maria declares that she likes it better every time. I hope this is a tradition we can keep.

A hard part of being a tourist is when you are reminded that you'll have to go home, eventually, and that you'll be too late for the Frog & Toad Musical, and you're going to miss the Pinball and Arcade Show.

But we did get to visit both Collage locations, and meet a lot of great dogs.

Rest in Peace, Free Hutch. This was such a cool stand, like a Little Free Library, but sharing all sorts of things. I'm glad I saw it when I did... it made a nice impression on me.


Grant. This place is waiting for you. Let's all be tourists here, together, someday. Yeah?




Oh, man. This is a lot of pictures, even for Chcikenblog. Are you still with me? Actually, no one reads blogs any more. I read that... probably in a blog, but the glossy, commercial kind that post everything in numbered lists, and leave a funny after-taste. Anyway, I figure since no one is into blogs, then I can post tons of pictures, and ramble on, flitting from one topic to another, and it won't matter. But if you are here, and you have kept up: Thank you. And if you ever go to Portland, I hope you will try the ice cream at Salt and Straw, because they have amazing and unique flavors, and they give lots of samples, generously, kindly. You deserve generous kindness. (This is not a sponsored post.)




Portland, which smells like roses, knows... sometimes you just want to eat flowers.

Orange blossom sorbet with edible flowers.

Mt Tabor Park~ walking...




Neighborhood walking~








Artifacts... where we found things.

Still walking~



This was the spot I spied from afar, and I mentioned it to WAMMO... there's this place, it says "Magical Gallery," we could check it out. And so what began as a chance sighting, then was a curious moment, soon became a highlight of the day... the whole Portland visit. The Fernie Brae was a magical gallery. William recognized artists and their work, right away, and his knowledge and delight enhanced the experience. Alex and Maria, too, were enchanted with all of the original art, the sculptures, the quality of the collections, for sale, and displayed.

Kim, I wanted to fly you over, and walk through this wonderland with you. Some pictures I took, thinking "For Kim. For Kim. For Kim." Your art belongs here, too.




Scott Foster... SAATCHI Art







Maybe you recognize some of the art? William, and Alex did. I was glad to have William to describe for me why it was familiar, that we were looking at original work by Brian Froud, conceptual designer and costume designer for The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. This darling, yet unassuming shop also has work by Wendy Froud... she worked on Yoda!! (geek squeee) And! They have art by Toby Froud! (geek squeee) The babe with the power? Labyrinth? Ok. I'm cool.

This was an epic tourist moment. Traveling, and visiting places for pleasure.

Now, dinner. Away to American Dream Pizza, and as it happens, some more art, of a kind...









Maria and I have a fond place in our hearts for this place, because we stumbled upon it when we were lost in the Portland wilderness, overheated, turned around, hungry, and searching for Pokemon!



St Johns Bridge. It's still light out! We are still being tourists, and driving, and walking, and finding beauty everywhere we go!

And finally, as tourists, we make a very tourist move... can you guess where?

Yup.


We did this.

Split five ways, over two days... the Voodoo guy was the favorite. And. Oh, I am so embarrassed to say... that cereal crusted donut mashup? Uh, it was tastier than I care to admit. I feel like such a total tourist.