Portland – Day 3

Slept in a bit once again, then checked out and wandered to theBijou Cafe for brunch (I had yummy Brioche French Toast with marionberry syrup).  It was much rainier today, but after brunch we walked over to the Portland Market, and stayed relatively dry under the bridge.  Running along the water that morning were the participants of the Portland Marathon – I felt really bad for them trying to run in this nasty weather.

The Portland Market was super disappointing – there’s was nothing I was interested in sadly.  From there we hit Pioneer Place, Macys and Banana Republic and again I found nothing (except Eleni & Katina who were also out shopping).  I felt like a failure to Team 9% – all I had bought was food and a tshirt.

From downtown, we headed across the river to 28th & Burnside and then NE Alberta Street – two little neighborhoods we had read about. Lots of cute shops and restaurants – I bought more food at Crema (a bakery) and then dinner at the Tin Shed Cafe.

The drive home was uneventful – more rain, some traffic, Mar asleep in the backseat

Portland – Day 2

We slept in until 9:00am, despite Mar’s initial desire for us to wake at 7:30am (Mean – it’s vacation!).  The Portland magazine had an article about diners, so we walked over to the Byways cafe for breakfast but the line was super long.  While we waited for the Greeks to join us, we looked through our other materials and found the Daily Cafe was also nearby.  Mar & Sallie wandered over there to check out the line, which was shorter, so when Eleni & Katina appeared, we walked over to join them.  Eleni both had an omelet, Mar & Sallie shared a couple different things, Katina had baked goods.

Once fed we shopped the Pearl District – favorite stores included Cheeky B, Verdun Chocolates and:

Yes, a cupcake shop named after me!  I bought a t-shirt, and a cupcake of course (Peanut Butter & Jelly).  From the Pearl District we walked over to 23rd Avenue for more shopping (Nob Hill, I think?), stopping by Eleni & Katina’s Hotel DeLuxe forst for a quick pit stop.  The Greeks made it halfway through this neighborhood before heading home for naptime.  Mar, Sallie & I continued wandering, dodging raindrops once in awhile. 

With the down & back concluded, we walked back towards downtown and headed into Powells, but I was too overwhelmed at the end of the day to be able to concentrate in there.  Too Many Books!  which is a good thing, but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind.  I followed the lead of the Greeks and went back to our hotel while Mar & Sallie immersed themselves among the many bookshelves.

Once they returned, we picked up the other girls and all headed to the Greek Festival for dinner.  It was more spread out than the Seattle Festival, and had a much smaller menu (no calamari!!), but at cheaper prices.  I had tyropita, then pork souvlaki, then another tyropita.  For dessert we shared a huge basket of Loukoumades, and it was a small order.  In Portland they tend to prepare a lot of food so you don’t wait in line as long – the downside is that you end up with a lukewarm gyro like Sallie.

From the festival we drove to the waterfront for drinks at Hotel 50.  This is a brand new spot that hasn’t even had their grand opening yet, but is one of Eleni’s clients so she wanted to check it out.  The bar was freezing and too bright, but the drinks were good and decor was nice.

Afterwards we dropped Eleni & Katina downtown to meet up with some friends while we headed back to Hotel Lucia, arriving just in time for our weekly Tina Fey as Sarah Palin fix.  Oh so good…

Portland – Day 1

With Mar’s birthday approaching we planned a weekend in Portland to celebrate.  As luck would have it, the Greek Festival was opening on theweekend chosen, so Eleni & Katina would also be heading south.  In choosing this first weekend of October though, Mar had forgotten she needed to be in Sun Valley on Friday, so she flew into PDX while the rest of us drove.

What a drive it was.  Sallie & I didn’t leave until just before 5:00pm which we knew would be bad news, but actually we cleared Southcenter and Tacoma pretty easily.  However, Eleni and Katina had texted us form ahead that Olympia was bad news and that proved to be true.  Two lanes blocked right at the exit to downtown.  It was dark, rainy and traffic was sloooowwww.  We were getting hungry, so once we made it past the crash we pulled off into Olympia to eat.  Imagine our surprise to find the streets jammed with people and no parking to be found – it was was the Art Walk.  I seriously can’t believe how many people were out in the nasty weather.  We did a couple loops looking for a spot, then gave up and hit the highway for Centralia.

In Centralia we saw a sign for Casa Ramos and figured Mexican food should be good.  As we sat down and perused our menus we quickly figured out that Casa Ramos is now owned by Azteca.  My fajita quesadilla was still yummy though.

Hitting the road again, it was still pretty rainy off and on, so thanks to Sallie for driving.  I contributed nothing to this weekend other than my sparkling personality and amazing DJ skills – no planing, no organization, no driving.  Very unusual spot for me to be in.  But kind of nice not to think and just be an aimless follower for once

We finally arrived in Portland and at the Hotel Lucia around 10:30pm – whew.  The hotel was swanky, nice room but TINY bathroom.  Mar was happily ensconced in a chair in her PJ’s, so when Katina & Eleni texted us about going to Greek Night, we passed and collapsed into bed.