A Mini Vacation and Wine

Well we are off for mid-winter (ha! it had better not be) break and decided to head down to Portland for a few days.

The weather is remarkably like Seattle, in fact if it wasn't for the no sales tax, this could easily be Seattle.

Portland is more bohemian than Seattle, which makes it one of my favorite cities. It has quite a few galleries and boutique stores in addition to the big department stores. Unlike Seattle, it hasn't tried to destroy all of its downtown history. So stores that look like they just stepped out of the 1950's coexist next to modern new buildings. The little bubbling drinking fountains that are on every street, still bubble with water.

It is a very easy city to walk and mass transit is everywhere. If you do need your car, you can head over to my most favorite place in Portland, the Hawthorne District. A lovely neighborhood of cute shops, little bakeries, bookstores, and wonderful old houses.

Plus, Portland has the reason best reason to come here. Sometimes the only reason I need. Powell's Book Store is here. It is a huge bookstore that is loaded up with everything you will ever need or want to read. I bring an empty piece of luggage just to haul books home with me.

We are staying at Hotel Monaco which is super cute and dog friendly. Though we left the dog at the doggie spa to have some work done. It was time for his 50,000 mile check up. They upgraded our rooms to lovely suite rooms for free and they have a free wine tasting from 5-6 pm in their extremely darling lounge. Sweet!

After driving here with the kid I need a glass of wine. Actually he was wonderful but the retarded navigation system in my car was a giant PAIN IN THE ASS. Maybe it is because my car is British and they have no idea where Oregon is, but for some reason we ended up touring the industrial section of Portland as well as two separate gravel yards. I know, that does sound fun but trust me when I say, it was NOT.

After it tried to drive us into a lake to find our hotel, I took matters into my own hands and actually drove us here. I was amazed myself. But I was on such a high after my fantastic weekend, where I backed in at an angle. It was truly a sight to see. A beautiful sight to see. And it was almost between the white lines. A success.

So I am heading off for a taste of wine. Tomorrow, it is a shopping day. Something for you to look forward to.