After four days there, I absolutely concur with Jeff. I’ll even go so far as to qualify Jeff’s assertion through my own observa- tions while touring his traversable city -
It comes down to this: Portland more than passes my“law-abider/common courtesy”guidelines,where pedestrians and vehicles each await their respective turn,while remaining ever-polite at stop signs and crosswalks.Even cyclists main- tain an orderly
flow.Meanwhile,passen- gers on the bus, trolley and light rail lines are riding on the honor system (imagine doing that in your own city!).
While I witness all of this, the HBO show Portlandia comes to my mind; I recall its comedic parodying of the man and the woman who each arrives at an intersec- tion at the same time.“You can go.”“No, you can go.”“You go.”“No,you go…”
Like the show,Portland is, truly - well,a lit- tle bit different.
Unlike other cities of Portland’s size (619,000+), though, it’s far from“a two or three day city”- you know,a great place to visit,but you really only need a couple days
there.Not so in and around Portland:Whether you’re discovering the city-proper, the nearby forests,mountains, a lake or a river,you’ll never run out of things to
do.And I didn’t…
Ken Alan: Portland Itinerary Friday, September 2 - 12:47pm Arrive at Portland International Airport (PDX) My Travel Portland host instructs me to hop on the Max light rail line - and scores points for that - the rail line and the transit system in general make for a convenient,clean and cheap deposit into and out of Portland proper.Who needs to pay for an expensive taxi to get to and from the airport when you can ride the Max around almost everywhere for five bucks a day?
I de-train just two blocks from my first lodging experience - Hotel
Eastlund.The
property, in turn, lies directly (and conve- niently) across from the Oregon Convention Center (OCC); a fantastic feeder property to that ginormous events facility.
The newly-opened,168-room boutique Eastlund in part from the up-and-coming Eastside neighborhood its situated in; a high-end retail and residential outgrowth of the nearby Belmont section located just downhill; one of Portland’s deeply- hipster’ed nabes.
The Eastlund’s modern/linear lobby houses a floor-to-ceiling photographic mélange of stunning female facial forms (very AndyWarhol-esque,artistically speaking).Rooms are clean and contem- porary and they offer stunning views of the OCC in the foreground. It appears very shimmery and Oz-like as it frames the Portland cityscape just beyond.
The hotel offers two dining options, Citizen Baker,where I’ll enjoy two morn- ings worth of coffee and delicious fresh- baked breads and pastries (it also dou- bles as a wine bar),and Altabira City Tavern, the Eastlund’s popular rooftop
View from the Sentinel Hotel
restaurant and bar where views of the OCC take center stage.
5:00 pm Head to Central Eastside Situated adjacent to the aforementioned Belmont section,Central Eastside is a hotspot for food, shopping and activities, and is a great neighborhood for walking. It’s here where I make a discovery: Portland has another nickname besides “Rose City.”It’s also called“Beervana.”
Sure,Denver can claim its own beer-cen- tricity, and my own hometown of Philly is deep within the hoppy throes of becom- ing its own beer mecca.Portland, though - Now that’s“Beervana.”
Home to craft beer industry heavy- weights Deschutes,Rogue,Widmer Brothers,and 10 Barrel Brewing - liquid legends with countless fans - the beer scene here goes from iconoclastic to cultish to an all-out worship of all things ale and lager.
I duck into a bona fide drinking institu- tion in Portland called Commons Brewery - a red bricked warehouse turned-into-a rustic pour house - replete
Mid-Atlantic EVENTS Magazine 85
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