We wake up early each morning and walk and walk, somewhat directed but mainly aimless. I’ve never liked having a car in a new city. The best places are discovered on residential streets, in between recommended destinations.
French press coffee, local and seasonal street food, cute bungalow houses, local artists and laid-back unpretentious people … Portland is so much better in the off-the-map areas that nobody bothered to recommend. Pearl District? Hawthorne? Nah. I’ll take the neighborhoods of North Portland … Alberta and Mississippi.
I judge cities by their food, drink, and walkability index. There is no shortage of goodness here. I liked Powell’s bookstore and the farmers market near downtown, but the rest of the beauty of this place is in the north … NoPo, as my friend Eric says. The coffeeshops, bars, boutiques, and cutting edge restaurants are perfect. I never liked skyscrapers. But I do like cute neighborhoods brimming with small, local businesses and hardly any car traffic. Just streets filled with bicycles and pedestrians. Open air coffeeshops and nice people.
Tomorrow we hit coastal Oregon, Astoria and Cannon Beach. I’ll be photographing a very special couple, right on the Pacific Ocean. We’ll spend the 4th hiking with waterfalls. Then home to Madison … With photos upon photos to share.
