Top Ten Things I liked About Portland

Raphael and I had never been to the state of Oregon and we kept hearing great things about Portland, so we decided to take advantage of being so near on the West Coast and did a quick weekend trip. I was able to use miles for both the hotel and flight, so it wasn't that extreme. We also lucked out and had two gorgeous sunny days there, because apparently it's been a long and rainy season this year, but it made everything look very green.

Top Ten Things I liked About Portland:

1. No sales tax!! Coming from a state where 10% is added to your bill every meal and with each purchase, it was like having a coupon off of everything. I of course had to take advantage of this and made my way to their local outlets, where I cleaned up at LOFT.


2. People were super friendly. Not sure if was because of the sun being out, but everyone we met was really helpful and proud of their city.


3. Food Cart Pods. There are these food pods throughout downtown, which are like LA's food trucks, but not mobile since they are stationed in one area. They are also more like little huts than actual trucks too. However, each specialized in different things from Thai, soup, boba, etc. I enjoyed the Dump Truck, which served dumplings.


4. Pie! Thanks to Gourmet Pigs' advice, we headed to Portland's fun and funky Alberta Arts area for some pie at Random Order, which Travel+Leisure voted their Vanilla Salted Caramel Apple Pie as one of the top ten pies in the US. Although, we preferred their banana cream pie.


5. The air. Boy did it smell clean and fresh.


6. The Falls. We got a pit outdoorsy and did a mile hike up Multnomah Falls - outside of Portland where we got to see the most beautiful double water fall.


7. So clean. It's a very clean city.


8. Wine Country. Only 40 minutes away from downtown is Portland's thriving wine country known for their Pinot.


9. Green. I heard the city was very Granola, but it was cool seeing their Solar Compact Garbage containers on the street and how restaurants used grass-fed beef and locally sourced products.


10. River walk. We enjoyed strolling on their river bank and passing the hundred's of others walking and lounging by the water.